2017 Mercedes-AMG E63 S new car review

[Express]

2017 Mercedes-AMG E63 S new car review



A bi-turbo V8 in a big luxury sedan makes for an interesting experience.



Drive

Daniel DeGasperi

25 May 2017
























2017 Mercedes-AMG E63 S. Photo: Chris Benny Imaging


Manolo Blahniks and forestry trails. Airbus A380 First Class and hooligans. A large luxurious passenger sedan cabin and a hardcore driving experience. Of these apparent clashes the new Mercedes-AMG E63 S thrusts the last one into the spotlight and owns it.

There is no other way to introduce a full-sized five-seater with high-resolution widescreens, debonair circular silver air vents and black-ash woodgrain trim panelling. Oh, plus tombstone bucket sports seats, a micro-fibre steering wheel and 850Nm under the bonnet.

The latest E-Class flagship trades the old 800Nm 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 for a 4.0-litre that now adds 50Nm. Enter a new nine-speed automatic and an all-wheel drive system (which can turn rear-wheel drive at a button-press) and one very aggressive posh sedan is the result.

One that, for $239,900 plus on-road costs, claims 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and even with $10K-optional carbon-ceramic brakes is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than before.

Over 300km of often greasy Victorian high country roads, the contrasting virtues of the latest E63 S kept bouncing for attention - with many of them regularly succeeding.

Being hungry for the road ahead grabs the driver first, of course. So quickly does this engine rev, and pile on speed, that using the paddleshifters requires faster reactions than playing a game of snap if snagging the 7000rpm redline is to be avoided. The rich tenor of the V8 immediately impresses, the exhaust blurting, booming and bursting in extra volume.

Yet in Comfort the engine is silky and quiet, the auto purring between ratios and the tri-flap sports exhaust is mute. Ride quality on 20-inch rims is only just comfortable enough, never plush but with enough thump and road noise to remind occupants that this is no base E200.

This is the first E63 to use an AMG-tuned version of Benz's Airmatic air suspension, and it especially proves its worth with a quick change to Sport mode.

Tightly controlled and firmly planted without being hard, it could have been engineered on bumpy Australian backroads. There is no need for the tighter Sport+ suspension setting, although there certainly is for the drivetrain setting. Thankfully, an Individual mode allows the driver to select, for example, Sport+ engine and transmission with Sport suspension.

There is also a Drift Mode that makes this AMG permanently rear-wheel-driven, but it turns electronic stability control (ESC) off and is for racetrack use only. Unlike the Ford Focus RS setting of the same name, it doesn't help a driver hold a powerslide. It is simply rear-drive.

It's the chassis that most steps up over the last model.

Gone is the slight hard-driven edginess, the entertaining but delicate dance between containing understeer and oversteer and tip-toeing around ESC intrusion. The new chassis offers composure and control at the front-end, while sitting flat and gripping intently. Yet the visceral appeal of old is not lost.

In Sport+ when the dynamic engine mounts are hardened, the majestic dashboard starts to quiver as feedback shivers through the tightened steering. It feels as though the steering wheel is drilled intimately into the front axle, which in turn is wound into the road surface. The almost telepathically sharp steering is then matched by superb throttle response and the intelligent new all-wheel drive system.

Not in an Audi RS6 Avant/RS7 Sportback, nor the soon-to-be replaced BMW M5, is the driver sent so much feedback and communication.

The E63 S also sends 100 per cent of drive to the back 295mm-wide Pirellis unless slip is detected. In corners the throttle can be lightly stoked, like you would a glowing fireplace in winter, to result in a slight nip-and-tuck of the quad-exhaust-tipped end of this sedan.

However, after all this intensity - and if it sounds too hardcore a $30K-cheaper regular E63 will be available from December without the clever torque vectoring - this is still an E-Class.

It reads lane markings and attempts to keep the car inside them, and it has three climate zones to pamper back passengers who are treated to headroom and legroom aplenty. It sits at 1500rpm at 110km/h in ninth gear and can shut down four cylinders to save fuel when cruising, as occupants gently crank the Burmester audio system.

Admittedly, an RS7 is more refined in terms of ride comfort and noise suppression. Its mongrel is only found in the hardest of hard driving, and right there it's brilliant. The E63 S makes no apologies for being a bit fizzy, raw and connected just like the model it replaces.

Only now, like muddy boots mixed with high heels, or a hooligan in first class who has become more restrained with the free alcohol, the edges of a big brute have been polished to deliver newfound chassis composure, high-end cabin class and first-rate technology. But be assured that a brutal beast still - thankfully - lurks within.


2017 Mercedes-AMG E63 price and specifications

Price: From $239,900 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol

Power: 450kW at 5750-6500rpm

Torque: 850Nm at 2500-4500rpm; all-wheel drive

Fuel use: 9.3L/100km


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http://www.drive.com.au/new-car-revi...omePageReview7


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[Giant Cranium]

dream sedan right there!

[kcodezd]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

dream sedan right there!

Agree, time for an upgrade. In my dreams.

[Falcon SXR8]

Some say if you pop out the wedged in tablet screen there is old analogue gauges behind it

[Franco Cozzo]

'From $239,900'

Gee the Falcon and Commodore looks like real good value, too bad you don't know what you got until its gone, right?

$240K You're talking 7 series LWB spondoolies, the E class is a small sedan isn't it?

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

'From $239,900'

Gee the Falcon and Commodore looks like real good value, too bad you don't know what you got until its gone, right?

$240K You're talking 7 series LWB spondoolies, the E class is a small sedan isn't it?

No, E Class is a large sedan, C class is the small one.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

'From $239,900'

Gee the Falcon and Commodore looks like real good value, too bad you don't know what you got until its gone, right?

$240K You're talking 7 series LWB spondoolies, the E class is a small sedan isn't it?

AMG makes FPV and HSV products look crap.

[chrisandsharon]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

AMG makes FPV and HSV products look crap.

BS.
With what AMG are charging for some of their beautiful machinery one would hope that they would have a better machine. To say they make the FPV/HSV brand look crap is just snob arrogance.

When someone like Mark Webber praises the F6 (wanted to take one back to Europe) that says a lot about the FPV product. FPV is done, but Fme, if you're driving a 1/4 million AMG it's ****en obvious what the better machine is - doesn't take anything away from an awesome F6 or W1 and the like.

I will buy an AMG in the future, but I'd never stoop low enough or be arrogant to the point of making that statement.

As Dick Johnson said, he's mate owns a lot of exotics and sold his M5 for the F6.

What AMG have you owned or ridden in?

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by chrisandsharon

What AMG have you owned or ridden in?

A friend owns a W204 C63 and it goes like stink. Sounds horn as well.
another friend own a W205 C63s but a yet to get a ride in it.

[chrisandsharon]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

A friend owns a W204 C63 and it goes like stink. Sounds horn as well.
another friend own a W205 C63s but a yet to get a ride in it.

They do sound bloody nice, and for the price they'd want to.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by chrisandsharon

BS.
With what AMG are charging for some of their beautiful machinery one would hope that they would have a better machine. To say they make the FPV/HSV brand look crap is just snob arrogance.

When someone like Mark Webber praises the F6 (wanted to take one back to Europe) that says a lot about the FPV product. FPV is done, but Fme, if you're driving a 1/4 million AMG it's ****en obvious what the better machine is - doesn't take anything away from an awesome F6 or W1 and the like.

I will buy an AMG in the future, but I'd never stoop low enough or be arrogant to the point of making that statement.

As Dick Johnson said, he's mate owns a lot of exotics and sold his M5 for the F6.

What AMG have you owned or ridden in?

Wasn't Webber driving for Jaguar at the time? which was owned by Ford.
So some good PR perhaps.

But yes, the Aussies did great things considering their budgets.
And these Mercedes are awesome.

[chrisandsharon]

Originally Posted by MethodX

Wasn't Webber driving for Jaguar at the time? which was owned by Ford.
So some good PR perhaps.

But yes, the Aussies did great things considering their budgets.
And these Mercedes are awesome.

He was driving for Red Bull / Renault when he was driving the F6 around during the 2009 Melbourne Grand Prix.

Yes the Merc AMGs are awesome.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

AMG makes FPV and HSV products look crap.

That's just being a badge snob. Typical butt hurt Ford fan.

But that E63 is just horn

[Bossxr8]

Love AMG's but the styling of the lastest c and e isn't doing it for me at all. They just look soft.

[GTMOND]

Dash layout, with the bloody monster screen, looks too add on for me.

[chevypower]

$110k in the US. I am not surprised that it's more in Aus, but it's more than double!

[GO FURTHER]

Don't know if its just me or not, but lately I seem to be seeing a whole lot more of high performance Mercs including AMG sedans and coupes on Melbourne's roads.

Anybody else noticing this increase?

[cheap]

What's with the see through items on the engine cover?

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

Don't know if its just me or not, but lately I seem to be seeing a whole lot more of high performance Mercs including AMG sedans and coupes on Melbourne's roads.

Anybody else noticing this increase?

"Mercedes-Benz Australia sold over 4000 of their performance AMG models in 2015, the highest per capita sales rate of any country in the world. It’s also around 13% of their 31,700 cars sold in Australia throughout the year."

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/a...ne-else-2016-1

[Big_Daz]

Love these things, would have one in a heartbeat if I had the coin.... And I would have it white with the black rims just like in the photo's..

Cant even compare this to the Falcon or Commodore as they aren't in the same ball park...

[adz137]

Car-advice clocked it at 3.3 sec to 100. This and the Audi RS6 plus are my dream family cars, if only i could win the lotto, haha.

[XR6Runner]

2017 Mercedes-AMG E63 price and specifications

Price: From $239,900 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol

Power: 450kW at 5750-6500rpm

Torque: 850Nm at 2500-4500rpm; all-wheel drive

Fuel use: 9.3L/100km

I've said this before, and it still amazes me how the Germans can make these immensely powerful and fast cars, yet still maintain pretty great fuel economy! How do they do it??

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by XR6Runner

I've said this before, and it still amazes me how the Germans can make these immensely powerful and fast cars, yet still maintain pretty great fuel economy! How do they do it??

Not a reflection of the real world.
All lab based.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Not a reflection of the real world.
All lab based.

ALL cars are tested according to the same ADR procedure so a DIRECT comparison between models can be made. FPV and HSV models under the SAME test conditions use more fuel than the AMG. That real world fuel consumption figures are above the ADR figure is a reflection of how unrealistic is the ADR test cycle.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by XR6Runner

I've said this before, and it still amazes me how the Germans can make these immensely powerful and fast cars, yet still maintain pretty great fuel economy! How do they do it??

Turbos. Once the snails go to work it's game over. Keep in mind it's only a 4L engine and needs a lot of air crammed down its throat before you're getting your 450kw. On boost/off boost are like two different engines.

[GASWAGON]

Originally Posted by XR6Runner

I've said this before, and it still amazes me how the Germans can make these immensely powerful and fast cars, yet still maintain pretty great fuel economy! How do they do it??

Gotta be the twin turbos pumping all that oxygen in.

I remember when the BA XR6T came out and 240kW was impressive.

But the 3.0 litre I6 M3 was pumping out the same figures with not a single turbo under the bonnet.....There all N/A.

Its all in the Variable Camshaft Timing.....Very complicated and lots and lots of mechanical and electronic parts under the rocker cover.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by CoolBFWagon

But the 3.0 litre I6 M3 was pumping out the same figures with not a single turbo under the bonnet.....There all N/A.

Its all in the Variable Camshaft Timing.....Very complicated and lots and lots of mechanical and electronic parts under the rocker cover.

GT3 RS, pumping out 368kw from flat 6 NA.

[marcyeo]

Originally Posted by XR6Runner

I've said this before, and it still amazes me how the Germans can make these immensely powerful and fast cars, yet still maintain pretty great fuel economy! How do they do it??

Pretty sure its got cylinder deactivation as well?

[GASWAGON]

The great think about Turbocharging is it does'nt take any power from the engine to turn it/them like supercharging does.

And Turbo technology is now becoming so advanced that lag is very minimal.

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by CoolBFWagon

The great think about Turbocharging is it does'nt take any power from the engine to turn it/them like supercharging does.

And Turbo technology is now becoming so advanced that lag is very minimal.

Superchargers have this wonderful little thing called a bypass valve.

So no they require very little power to spin off boost.