Mercedes-AMG GT Review 2023

It’s difficult to argue against if you’ve read this far. AMG’s take on a sports car is a little bit different to that of some rivals. The name might say Mercedes-AMG GT, but it’s definitely more sports car than big cruiser, but similarly, it’s not as precise and engaging as the best of its sports car competition. Mercedes-Benz has never really stuck to convention when placing models, its SL a classic example, and the Mercedes-AMG carves its own, not unsuccessful path, through everyone’s concept of a sports car. 

It’s difficult to question with the result, either; a big, characterful V8 powering the rear wheels via a paddle-shifted 7-speed automatic transmission, that looks sensational and sounds phenomenal. It makes more sense at the lower end of the line up, the GT R and GT R Pro too close to more talented rivals to really make sense, but AMG’s a brand with broad appeal, and its flagship sports car is well worth considering.   

The Mercedes-AMG GT struggles to justify its place among competition as you climb up the range, but at its entry-point it’s definitely a compelling choice. We’d not feel short changed driving out of an AMG dealership with that GT Coupe Edition 476, indeed, compared with the GT C above it and the GT R it looks like something of a bargain. Its 476PS version of AMG’s V8 allows it a 0-62mph time of 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 189mph, the 557PS GT C above it only 0.3 seconds quicker on that sprint and gaining 8mph to its top speed. 

The £40,000 you’ve saved in your pocket from buying that Edition 476 will quickly salve any regret you might have as a GT C pulls slowly away from you on the Autobahn in Germany, and you’ll still stand out from the crowd of ubiquitous Porsche 911s with the Edition 476’s slightly, we’re talking millimetres here, narrower body than the more powerful models. If you want a Roadster it’s GT C only, as there’s no Edition 476 version, making it a bit trickier to recommend.   

There is the obvious Porsche 911, indeed, pick any sports car and Porsche has a compelling answer. Thing is, if you’re even considering the AMG GT then you’ll likely have owned one or two of them, and fancy a change, or just don’t want another or to follow the norm. 

Other potential rivals include Audi’s R8, the McLaren 540 C, 570 S and even the 600LT topping out against that GT R Pro. The 600LT makes that GT R Pro look a bit heavy handed and blunt. You could buy an Aston Martin Vantage, too, it way more appealing than the upper models in the GT line-up, if significantly more than those at the entry-level point. That’s true of Ferrari’s offerings, too.

Mercedes-Benz has a hugely broad range of models and that means it’s got a sizeable parts bin to dip into. By and large, that’s acceptable, but the Mercedes-AMG GT does find itself in a class where it’s up against rivals with bespoke interiors, and that does rob it of some appeal inside. While most surfaces are covered in upmarket materials, there’s the odd bit of cheap plastic on display, silly details, too, like the back of the rear-view mirror, or the lid that covers the cup holders in the centre console – areas you’re likely to touch. 

Those materials aside, the quality is good, the fitment inside all tight, but there’s no denying that the AMG GT’s interior feels like one that comes from a large volume manufacturer, albeit it a premium one, rather than a more exclusive company. 

Whether you see that as a virtue or not is down to your take on it, but the overall effect just doesn’t feel quite special enough in a car costing in excess of £100,000 and up against some more rarefied machinery as a result.  

The interior might carry the legacy of being just another Mercedes-Benz model, but it pays dividends when it comes to the infotainment. 

Yes, it’ll be familiar to you if you’ve sat in any other Mercedes-Benz, but that’s a good thing, as it works well, even if it’s not the very latest development of Merc’s infotainment tech. The 10.25-inch screen isn’t touch operated, instead its functions accessed by a touchpad sat on the transmission tunnel. It works, with practice, that touchpad replacing Mercedes-Benz’s familiar knob which was far easier to use, Mercedes-Benz’s slavery to the fashion for touchpads not entirely welcome here. 

At least the screen and system it operates is relatively simple to navigate, with sensible sub menus to the extensive features it offers. All come with Bluetooth music streaming and hands-free telephony, DAB, Apple CarPlay, a pair of USB slots and an SD card slot, SatNav and a range of on-line services though Mercedes me connect – which is free for the first 10 years. 

Other services within, and requiring subscriptions after either one or three years, include In-car office, live traffic and map updates as well as additional navigation services. Some of the centre screen’s content can be viewed additionally via the configurable digital instrument display in front of you, AMG even including an iOS Track Pace App to record lap times and suchlike if you want/need such a thing. The Burmester surround sound system, standard in all but the Edition 476 sounds phenomenal, too. 

A combination of that front mid-engined placement and the wide and long transmission tunnel dissecting the cabin and you’ll hardly be surprised to find that the Mercedes-AMG GT’s interior isn’t exactly vast in its dimensions. In terms of exterior dimensions it's 4546mm long, 2075mm wide and 1287mm tall. It’s tight in there, which is true of many sports car rivals, but unlike mid-engined sports cars where the engine is behind you and there’s no huge transmission tunnel, the GT does feel compromised by its layout. 

You look down the long bonnet from inside, sitting, on what feels like the back axle because you’re situated so far back. All forgivable, though, as this is a sports car after all, and buyers will put up with compromises because of it. 

There’s very little storage space in the cabin, the glovebox small, the door bins being pretty much useless and the cup holders in front of the touchpad being so close to the dashboard that you’ll need to make sure you’re happy with the ventilation settings before you pop your mocha, choca, double shot, soya milk, latte to go in there. Forget it, you’ll not need the caffeine to keep you alert, there’s a punchy V8 for that. 

The boot will hold a reasonable amount, with a maximum capacity of 350 litres, which is actually more than a Ford Focus, there’s a but though, that being that the GT’s boot is flat and shallow, with a good portion of that measured space actually being behind the rear seats.

It’s accessed via a hatchback, just like that aforementioned Focus, but unlike it, you’ll have to heft any luggage over a high backside and drop it in from above. The usual ‘squashy bag’ proviso applies here, then, as in stuff them in what you can into the GT’s space, rather than fail miserably at boot space Tetris with hard luggage. 

One man (or woman), one engine, is AMG’s engine philosophy, each built from start to finish by a highly skilled technician. It might sound like nonsense, but some buyers love the idea of it, and actually ask that specific, favourite, technicians build the engines for their various cars. 

In the Mercedes-AMG GT it’s a case of one engine, three different outputs, from the 476PS of that entry car, through the GT C’s 557PS to the 585PS of the GT R and GT R PRO. There are differences to the engine to achieve that, but, they’re largely identical, and, really it’s a law of diminishing returns as you head up the range.

If you’re not wowed by the 476’s 4.0 second 0-62mph time, then you need help, especially as it’s achieved in such a raucous manner, it sounding fabulous and punching hard throughout its entire rev range. It’s fast enough, the gearbox, a seven-speed automatic, lacks the blink-shift speed of some, but you’ll be too busy managing the rest of the GT to worry about it.

It’s a fabulous engine that’s as ample in power and torque as it is glorious in voice, which, given its setting, is a good thing. It takes centre stage, its greater power output versions doing everything the same, only with a little bit more intensity – the GT R and GT R PRO only shaving 0.4 seconds off that Edition 476 for a circa £100,000 premium. The greater power only asking things from the chassis that, even the range-topping models with all their motorsport pouting looks and technology don’t really feel like they can exploit, nor, crucially, add any greater actual excitement. 

Mercedes-Benz will sell you any number of hushed saloons if refinement is what you’re after, the Mercedes-AMG GT is boisterous and noisy, and all the better for it.

That’s not to say it’s entirely compromised as a result of its focus, as it’ll all calm and quieten down on a longer cruise, the engine’s ample torque from 630Nm at the lower end of the range, to 700Nm at the upper, combined with seven gears meaning it’ll maintain good motorway progress without pulling big revs. 

There’s a bit of tyre and road noise, again, hardly surprising given the amount of rubber on the road and the suspension’s taut settings, while even on a cruise you’ll still get the odd flutter and crackle from the exhaust when you lift off just to remind you it’s ready and waiting for the next time the roads get interesting.

The Mercedes-AMG GT represents perhaps the ultimate contradiction, as while it might be a bit unruly it’s still produced under the three-pointed star, and at that company’s core is safety. 

The list of standard safety equipment is huge, all coming with huge brakes, those on the GT C Coupe up being standard carbon ceramic items, there’s traction control, Active Brake Assist, Anti-Lock Brakes, driver and passenger front and combined side thorax/pelvis airbags and knee airbags, three stage electronic stability control, Traffic Sign Assist, front and rear cameras, variable speed cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring.  

Mercedes-Benz takes safety hugely seriously, it a certainty that the company will have crash tested, simulated and actual, more GTs than rivals from smaller sports car manufacturers, chiefly because they have the capacity and facilities to do so. 

It’s always been a safety pioneer, and the GT comes fully loaded with its safety kit, even things like Attention Assist, which monitors the driver’s steering behaviour to help alert to fatigue on a longer journey – suggesting a break if it detects the driver getting drowsy. If you manage to crash it with all that kit on board, it’ll do its very best to protect you. 

Mercedes generally performs well for reliability, placing 13th out of 30 manufacturers in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index. The GT should be fairly reliable and it's covered by Mercedes' unlimited mileage warranty for the first three years. 

Given your lack of concern for the fuel you’ll be hosing into it, the likelihood is you’ll be all good on the insurance, too. The group is incidental, it’ll not be cheap, but you’re unlikely to have jumped straight from something like and Mercedes-Benz A-Class into an Mercedes-AMG GT, so you’ll be more than au-fait with the costs and complexities of insuring sports cars. 

Mercedes-Benz offers its own insurance, too, which is a possible route, but it’s inconceivable that you’ll not already have an insurer who’s up to speed on your previous and current other cars of the same value and performance, and be able to find you a premium that’s acceptable. 

All have CO2 emissions in excess of the Band M 255g/km which means a not insubstantial £2,135 for your first year of road tax, while it’ll cost you £465 a year for five years. After that, happy days, at £145 annually, until the government inevitably changes it to squeeze a little bit more out of you.  

Mercedes-AMG GT Edition 476, GT C, GT R and GT R PRO in coupe, with the Roadster offered in GT C and GT R trims. They differ very little in spec, real world at least, the differences nuanced, the price differential relating more to the increased performance. The Mercedes-AMG GT Edition 476 does without variable damper suspension and the Burmester stereo, and it lacks the slightly wider body of the C, but it’s still got that brilliant V8 and plenty of thrills. 

The GT C gets more power, AMG variable suspension and that improved audio, while the GT R and GT R PRO get racier accoutrements to suit their more hardcore focus.