2017 Mercedes-AMG E63s 4Matic+
Discussion
After just short of 5 months with a new generation Panamera 4s (see here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... ) i decided it was a good excuse to get back into an AMG.
So to get things rolling, this is the car in question on collection day just before Christmas:
This is the first (March car) of the new E63, and in S guise. It has some nice option extras including:
Hyacinth Red Metallic paint
20'' Cross Spoked wheels in satin black
Full Carbon fibre interior inserts
Sports seats
Premium pack ( Pan sliding roof, Burmiester system, Comfort access)
Performance Exhaust
Night pack (Gloss black window frames, side vents, roof, front bumper inserts)
AMG Drivers pack (186mph limiter)
amongst a generously standard spec'd car that includes the widescreen cockpit, ambient lighting, LED Multibeam headlights, Adapative cruise etc etc.
and some numbers:
612bhp
627lbf torque
3.4 seconds to 60
1900kg
9 speed
So straight to it. The car is a complete animal, in short. I drove a Tesla P100d at Goodwood last summer, and other that aside, the E63s is the fastest accelerating car i've driven by quite a margin. From a standstill (Launch control or just planting it) or on the roll, the power is just on tap at any time, any rev, any speed. It reminds me very loosely of my W204 C63 - its very linear power delivery right until the red line, kudos to AMG for hiding the fact the car has a small (all things relative) turbo'd 4.0 V8. It's astonishing.
Just to clarify now, the Panamera i had before this was a brilliant car.. it was such a perfect all rounder. It could out accelerate most things on the roads, the torque was stupendous, the PDK sublime, practicality was perfect and it did a genuine 35-38mpg. Unforunetly i had no use for a diesel anymore as my miles have dropped with work now. And honestly, Ownership was special, but driving it was a tad... stale. The car had no character (it was a diesel 4S, 4.0 V8 TT).
This E63s seems to be the perfect compromise between the Panamera, and the previous C63 i had before that. Its spacious, boot is huge, has all the modern tech anyone needs (and i like tech) and its comfortable. I use the term comfortable loosely, the only real downside to this car from what i can see putting 1k miles on it is the ride comfort, its border line acceptable even in Comfort mode. In Sports+ or Race mode, it really isnt a very nice ride on our UK roads on anything other than a motorway.. The Welsh valley roads wher ei live really do give the E63 a hard time. Coupled to this the tyre noise is probably my biggest annoyance, on the motorway at a steady 70 the Michelin PS4's are quite obviously there which is strange as an E class id imagine would have had a bit more accoustic insulation.
But overall i dont regret the change. The E63s is more 'me' at this moment in time. The cracks and bangs from the all important Performance exhaust are intoxicating and addictive but i can make it shut up not to look like a knob in the office car park. The Command Online infotainment is a huge step up from my old C63 but its probably on par with the system in the Panamera which was excellent. Both cars examples of the fancy pants LED headlights are also on par, both deeply impressive. I think the BOSE system in the Porsche was better than the Burmiester in the Mercedes for low down bass, but its still a good system never the less. The mercedes 'Box isnt comparable to the PDK.. the gearbox is always a let down in AMG cars but its not going to be tracked so its fine for a hoon. Sports seats in the merc are probably a bit more comfy than the 14 way seats in the Porsche, but not as beautiful.
I love the way it looks.. its probably a bit too reserved in some people eyes especially in black/silver/grey, so i was happy to go for the much rarer Hyacinth red.
Bit of history of this car - it was a Mercedes Press Car. This means several journalists used this and other cars from Milton Keynes Mercedes (all KM17 xxx plates). I found a pic of James may driving my car https://drivetribe.com/p/a-smoke-and-a-joke-aap2ZV... . Was also used here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYUPWdpXbIg but unfortunetly Nicki didnt come with the car! Buying a press car put me off as its clearly been driven enthusiastically, but the condition was perfect and showed no signs of abuse and its still under Mercedes Warranty so i was happy to sign the papers.
no plans for the car other than keeping it minty fresh and just enjoying it!
a few press pics from Autocar, GQ and Drive Tribe and then at home after a detail, plates on (dont cry Pistonheads plate police) and an interior at night shot:
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So to get things rolling, this is the car in question on collection day just before Christmas:
This is the first (March car) of the new E63, and in S guise. It has some nice option extras including:
Hyacinth Red Metallic paint
20'' Cross Spoked wheels in satin black
Full Carbon fibre interior inserts
Sports seats
Premium pack ( Pan sliding roof, Burmiester system, Comfort access)
Performance Exhaust
Night pack (Gloss black window frames, side vents, roof, front bumper inserts)
AMG Drivers pack (186mph limiter)
amongst a generously standard spec'd car that includes the widescreen cockpit, ambient lighting, LED Multibeam headlights, Adapative cruise etc etc.
and some numbers:
612bhp
627lbf torque
3.4 seconds to 60
1900kg
9 speed
So straight to it. The car is a complete animal, in short. I drove a Tesla P100d at Goodwood last summer, and other that aside, the E63s is the fastest accelerating car i've driven by quite a margin. From a standstill (Launch control or just planting it) or on the roll, the power is just on tap at any time, any rev, any speed. It reminds me very loosely of my W204 C63 - its very linear power delivery right until the red line, kudos to AMG for hiding the fact the car has a small (all things relative) turbo'd 4.0 V8. It's astonishing.
Just to clarify now, the Panamera i had before this was a brilliant car.. it was such a perfect all rounder. It could out accelerate most things on the roads, the torque was stupendous, the PDK sublime, practicality was perfect and it did a genuine 35-38mpg. Unforunetly i had no use for a diesel anymore as my miles have dropped with work now. And honestly, Ownership was special, but driving it was a tad... stale. The car had no character (it was a diesel 4S, 4.0 V8 TT).
This E63s seems to be the perfect compromise between the Panamera, and the previous C63 i had before that. Its spacious, boot is huge, has all the modern tech anyone needs (and i like tech) and its comfortable. I use the term comfortable loosely, the only real downside to this car from what i can see putting 1k miles on it is the ride comfort, its border line acceptable even in Comfort mode. In Sports+ or Race mode, it really isnt a very nice ride on our UK roads on anything other than a motorway.. The Welsh valley roads wher ei live really do give the E63 a hard time. Coupled to this the tyre noise is probably my biggest annoyance, on the motorway at a steady 70 the Michelin PS4's are quite obviously there which is strange as an E class id imagine would have had a bit more accoustic insulation.
But overall i dont regret the change. The E63s is more 'me' at this moment in time. The cracks and bangs from the all important Performance exhaust are intoxicating and addictive but i can make it shut up not to look like a knob in the office car park. The Command Online infotainment is a huge step up from my old C63 but its probably on par with the system in the Panamera which was excellent. Both cars examples of the fancy pants LED headlights are also on par, both deeply impressive. I think the BOSE system in the Porsche was better than the Burmiester in the Mercedes for low down bass, but its still a good system never the less. The mercedes 'Box isnt comparable to the PDK.. the gearbox is always a let down in AMG cars but its not going to be tracked so its fine for a hoon. Sports seats in the merc are probably a bit more comfy than the 14 way seats in the Porsche, but not as beautiful.
I love the way it looks.. its probably a bit too reserved in some people eyes especially in black/silver/grey, so i was happy to go for the much rarer Hyacinth red.
Bit of history of this car - it was a Mercedes Press Car. This means several journalists used this and other cars from Milton Keynes Mercedes (all KM17 xxx plates). I found a pic of James may driving my car https://drivetribe.com/p/a-smoke-and-a-joke-aap2ZV... . Was also used here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYUPWdpXbIg but unfortunetly Nicki didnt come with the car! Buying a press car put me off as its clearly been driven enthusiastically, but the condition was perfect and showed no signs of abuse and its still under Mercedes Warranty so i was happy to sign the papers.
no plans for the car other than keeping it minty fresh and just enjoying it!
a few press pics from Autocar, GQ and Drive Tribe and then at home after a detail, plates on (dont cry Pistonheads plate police) and an interior at night shot:
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Edited by irfan1712 on Friday 4th January 13:16
What a fantastic colour. Really like the wheels too; they’re reminiscent of a few BBS styles and I think they’re the dog’s b
ks. It is a tremendous car, if a little bland exterior-wise. I hope the ownership experience is worthy of frequent updating as I probably will never get the chance to own such a car.
ks. It is a tremendous car, if a little bland exterior-wise. I hope the ownership experience is worthy of frequent updating as I probably will never get the chance to own such a car.thanks chaps. Its a very good at plodding along and doing the whole bring commute thing.. start stop at traffic..shuffling to 9th gear quickly..being generally lazy and compliant. The moment its put in sport+ or race mode it really, geuneinly turns into a complete savage, in a car designed to be a 2.0 diesel rep mobile!
RE the gearbox it does shift a lot but the shifts are good enough not to notice so its not an annoyance by any means. The wheels do also remind of BBS CH-R's which i had on my MK5 R32 some years ago... good shout!
i agree n the subdued looks. i think thats part of the appeal, i dont like complete debadged sleepers but its nice that it does blend in with the traffic (apart from being a bright red e class which in itself is a bit rare!).
certainly some negatives ive experienced owning the car so far so far but all cars have them.. the reknown steering clunk/tyre skipping for example is absoultely atrocious. Many mercedes 4matic cars suffer with this bit its a design flaw, it is what it is. And as mentioned the ride comfort and tyre noise but again they arent deal breakers (for me) atleast so im fine with it really.
i do miss the Panamera's ride comfort. that car could switch between comfort, sport and sport plus and it would genuinely feel like 3 different cars. The E doesn't differentiate enough between ride suppleness/hardness between the various modes. its basically hard, harder or hardest lol.
RE the gearbox it does shift a lot but the shifts are good enough not to notice so its not an annoyance by any means. The wheels do also remind of BBS CH-R's which i had on my MK5 R32 some years ago... good shout!
i agree n the subdued looks. i think thats part of the appeal, i dont like complete debadged sleepers but its nice that it does blend in with the traffic (apart from being a bright red e class which in itself is a bit rare!).
certainly some negatives ive experienced owning the car so far so far but all cars have them.. the reknown steering clunk/tyre skipping for example is absoultely atrocious. Many mercedes 4matic cars suffer with this bit its a design flaw, it is what it is. And as mentioned the ride comfort and tyre noise but again they arent deal breakers (for me) atleast so im fine with it really.
i do miss the Panamera's ride comfort. that car could switch between comfort, sport and sport plus and it would genuinely feel like 3 different cars. The E doesn't differentiate enough between ride suppleness/hardness between the various modes. its basically hard, harder or hardest lol.
Absolute beauty, really starting to prefer the latest Merc offerings over their other German competition. Unbelievable acceleration from cars like this despite weighing about as much as a small island.
Probably a bit of a pointless question and certainly not your main concern but what can you get out of it MPG wise on a run with that 9-speed box?
Probably a bit of a pointless question and certainly not your main concern but what can you get out of it MPG wise on a run with that 9-speed box?
Very nice. I’ve read your your new car purchases threads and they’re always entertaining. I’ve got an mk5 r32 and I love it to bits, I wouldn’t sell unless I could get something better or my circumstances change. It’s always nice to see people trade up. What’s your current merch like with a 9 speed gearbox?
thanks for the comments.
I'm achieving an average of about 22mpg. On a long motorway run at 70 it'll do a respectable 27mpg, if i drive iike an imbecile it'll drop down to around 17mpg. Not really that bad for a 600bhp, 2 tonne car.. But as always no where near the claimed manufacturer numbers of a combined 31mpg (lol).
The actual annoyance with the economy isnt the consumption, but the size of the tank. its 60, maybe 65 litres at most - exactly the same as my C63. It's doing between 270-350 miles to a tan dependant on how i drive. The C63 would do 220-270 miles to a tank again dependant on my lead foot. As a comparison, the Panamera would easily have a 570-620 mile realistic range- but that was an 80litre swimming pool of a tank!
I'm achieving an average of about 22mpg. On a long motorway run at 70 it'll do a respectable 27mpg, if i drive iike an imbecile it'll drop down to around 17mpg. Not really that bad for a 600bhp, 2 tonne car.. But as always no where near the claimed manufacturer numbers of a combined 31mpg (lol).
The actual annoyance with the economy isnt the consumption, but the size of the tank. its 60, maybe 65 litres at most - exactly the same as my C63. It's doing between 270-350 miles to a tan dependant on how i drive. The C63 would do 220-270 miles to a tank again dependant on my lead foot. As a comparison, the Panamera would easily have a 570-620 mile realistic range- but that was an 80litre swimming pool of a tank!
Edited by irfan1712 on Sunday 6th January 14:00
Edited by irfan1712 on Sunday 6th January 14:00
Hey Irfan,
I've been funny enough following your footsteps in terms of car ownership ha! (Was on R32oc and now mbclub)
Congrats on the E63s absolutely love the colour.
I'll be hopefully picking up a W204 C63 in the next week same colours as yours was but white ivory instead of the cherry red leather.
Hopefully end up in an E63s eventually in the future ha.
I've been funny enough following your footsteps in terms of car ownership ha! (Was on R32oc and now mbclub)
Congrats on the E63s absolutely love the colour.
I'll be hopefully picking up a W204 C63 in the next week same colours as yours was but white ivory instead of the cherry red leather.
Hopefully end up in an E63s eventually in the future ha.
Edited by AMV on Wednesday 9th January 20:49
You have fantastic taste in cars sir.
Another absolute belter.
I would love to try a panamera at some point. And one of these. Both brilliant
Enjoy. And that red is perfect. Bet you won't see another!
Do you think you are done for a bit now? Or could be tempted by something else in the next year or two?
Another absolute belter.
I would love to try a panamera at some point. And one of these. Both brilliant
Enjoy. And that red is perfect. Bet you won't see another!
Do you think you are done for a bit now? Or could be tempted by something else in the next year or two?
irfan1712 said:
Coupled to this the tyre noise is probably my biggest annoyance, on the motorway at a steady 70 the Michelin PS4's are quite obviously
I have owned two tuned E63s and have fitted Dunlop Sport Maxx to both. It's astonishing how much quieter it is in the cabin with Dunlops on, which shows there's little wrong with the soundproofing... .irfan1712 said:
The actual annoyance with the economy isnt the consumption, but the size of the tank. its 60, maybe 65 litres at most - exactly the same as my C63. It's doing between 270-350 miles to a tan dependant on how i drive. The C63 would do 220-270 miles to a tank again dependant on my lead foot. As a comparison, the Panamera would easily have a 570-620 mile realistic range- but that was an 80litre swimming pool of a tank!
For a while they were putting 40 litre tanks in C Class - I guess to save weight as they did the emissions tests with a full tank.trowelhead said:
You have fantastic taste in cars sir.
Another absolute belter.
I would love to try a panamera at some point. And one of these. Both brilliant
Enjoy. And that red is perfect. Bet you won't see another!
Do you think you are done for a bit now? Or could be tempted by something else in the next year or two?
Thanks mate! Hows the Range? Panamera is sublime i'd defo recommend it, honestly though try a 4S petrol or go Turbo. Defo done for now, i like to keep a car atleast two years and i just couldnt see me enjoying the Panamera for that long hence the change.. The E63s is here to stay for a minute!Another absolute belter.
I would love to try a panamera at some point. And one of these. Both brilliant
Enjoy. And that red is perfect. Bet you won't see another!
Do you think you are done for a bit now? Or could be tempted by something else in the next year or two?
AMV said:
Hey Irfan,
I've been funny enough following your footsteps in terms of car ownership ha! (Was on R32oc and now mbclub)
Congrats on the E63s absolutely love the colour.
I'll be hopefully picking up a W204 C63 in the next week same colours as yours was but white ivory instead of the cherry red leather.
Hopefully end up in an E63s eventually in the future ha.
Hello mate - fine taste you have! You'll enjoy the C63, picking the 204 is the better choice in my opinion for now..its needs to be experienced! Having said that i'd love to hear an R32 again. I cant remember the last time i actually saw a mk4 or 5.. where are they all!?I've been funny enough following your footsteps in terms of car ownership ha! (Was on R32oc and now mbclub)
Congrats on the E63s absolutely love the colour.
I'll be hopefully picking up a W204 C63 in the next week same colours as yours was but white ivory instead of the cherry red leather.
Hopefully end up in an E63s eventually in the future ha.
Sport220 said:
Usually not a fan of AMGs, but this one looks brilliant! Love the colour and general look of the exterior, very nice.
Thanks man. Really starting to love the Hyacinth red the more i look at it! pleasant change from the sea of black white and silver.Jack Mansfield said:
Lovely car, great colour. We had this exact car on fleet too for a few days. One of the editorial boys took me down the strip at Santa Pod in it and if I remember rightly it was the fastest car of the day, beating 911 GT3s, Nissan GT-Rs, Corvettes etc!
Hope you enjoy it
Ha, small world - hope you looked after it (just say yes). I saw a few videos online which confirm the E63s is capable of beating some surprising exotica, i think that adds to the appeal. I know these hand made engines are running more than the quoted 612bhp though - MSL put their stock car on to the rollers and theirs was pushing 670bhp and 728lb ft of torque straight out of the box which is just bananas. I think i believe this is the case with most M and RS cars too though.Hope you enjoy it
Sheepshanks said:
For a while they were putting 40 litre tanks in C Class - I guess to save weight as they did the emissions tests with a full tank.
the C63 defo had a 60litre tank.. 40 litres wouldnt get me to the end of the street haha.Little update
The E63s has been performing faultlessly recently. Its had quite a hammering - I've done 7k miles since December and now its officially my 'family car' as we welcomed our baby girl to the world 5 weeks ago. She's taken well to 612bhp and its used as a tool to sooth her to sleep so all is good!
on that note, we are in the process of moving houses. The E63 has served as a make shift van, with the seats down it really has been laugh out loud impressive with the amount of wardrobes and other ridiculous 'not for saloon' style objects. An example of an over 2 meter wardrobe slotting in perfectly:
the mileage I've done over jan and feb with work meant I didn't get to clean it as much as I liked, particularly with the bad weather and gritty roads. This was about 2k miles worth of grit salt and grime, it pained me to see the car like this but cant help but think how much of a brute it looks when its dirty!
looks like a different car:
Safe to say I'm generally loving ownership. I'm surprised by how much of a head turner it is..a red e class in itself seems rare but I didn't realise how much road presence it has. Its averaging 22mpg @ roughly 300 to 350miles a tank if I'm sensible, which I can live with.
two wheels have lacquer peel on there which is on my to do list, as is a thorough detailing weekend to spruce her back to pristine. Its always protected so its easy to clean but a top up is in order I think. I love my small reg plates, but the small reg on the regular size front plinth annoys me with the black plastic exposed either side. currently looking for a US reg holder but their not the same fixings, meaning a new set of holes need to be drilled.. not keen on that. I may get another European reg plte holder and experiment with chopping it down perhaps.
I do occasionally miss my Panamera - more because of the specialness of owning a Porsche. This is still a complete head case but its still only an E class.. (all things relative!). Still, I don't regret my decision to change at all. I had a little play with a 600bhp GTR and remapped RS6 V10 a few weeks ago on the way to work late one night, safe to say the GTR owner was shocked at the performance of the merc when we met on the next roundabout!
Front rubber is due a change soon. The tyre skip is horrendous and is made worse by worn tyres... Mercedes really have dropped a bomb with this design fault on the 4matic cars.
The E63s has been performing faultlessly recently. Its had quite a hammering - I've done 7k miles since December and now its officially my 'family car' as we welcomed our baby girl to the world 5 weeks ago. She's taken well to 612bhp and its used as a tool to sooth her to sleep so all is good!
on that note, we are in the process of moving houses. The E63 has served as a make shift van, with the seats down it really has been laugh out loud impressive with the amount of wardrobes and other ridiculous 'not for saloon' style objects. An example of an over 2 meter wardrobe slotting in perfectly:
the mileage I've done over jan and feb with work meant I didn't get to clean it as much as I liked, particularly with the bad weather and gritty roads. This was about 2k miles worth of grit salt and grime, it pained me to see the car like this but cant help but think how much of a brute it looks when its dirty!
looks like a different car:
Safe to say I'm generally loving ownership. I'm surprised by how much of a head turner it is..a red e class in itself seems rare but I didn't realise how much road presence it has. Its averaging 22mpg @ roughly 300 to 350miles a tank if I'm sensible, which I can live with.
two wheels have lacquer peel on there which is on my to do list, as is a thorough detailing weekend to spruce her back to pristine. Its always protected so its easy to clean but a top up is in order I think. I love my small reg plates, but the small reg on the regular size front plinth annoys me with the black plastic exposed either side. currently looking for a US reg holder but their not the same fixings, meaning a new set of holes need to be drilled.. not keen on that. I may get another European reg plte holder and experiment with chopping it down perhaps.
I do occasionally miss my Panamera - more because of the specialness of owning a Porsche. This is still a complete head case but its still only an E class.. (all things relative!). Still, I don't regret my decision to change at all. I had a little play with a 600bhp GTR and remapped RS6 V10 a few weeks ago on the way to work late one night, safe to say the GTR owner was shocked at the performance of the merc when we met on the next roundabout!
Front rubber is due a change soon. The tyre skip is horrendous and is made worse by worn tyres... Mercedes really have dropped a bomb with this design fault on the 4matic cars.
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