RS6 C6 or S6 C7 or E63 AMG 5.5
Discussion
I posted the below in the VAG forum but was hoping for your feedback too please.
Budget is up to 35k, want a very fast petrol estate car that is exciting, sounds good, rides well, reliable and will carry two young children and all their paraphernalia. Ideally, residuals are strong or likely to hold up (difficult to predict with the flight to electric I know.)
Here are my thoughts so far:
RS6 has the highest bork factor but is the cheapest to acquire. Save circa 3k per annum just in case? Had an S6 C6 and wasn't hugely impressed overall apart from the interior, which was nice. The car felt pretty slow and was pretty uninspiring in the corners. Fuel consumption was appalling at an average of 18 mpg, max 20 mpg on a long run without AC. Is the RS6 that much better than the S6? It did have a hewn from granite feel about it though.
S6 C7, stonking engine - seems very fast on paper and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Only sat in one. Newer tech, similar to the Q7 I had - how does it handle? MPG looks easier to stomach at 25mpg - 30mpg. Not the same visual impact as the RS/AMG and would I feel that I was missing out on owning an RS? (probably)
E63 AMG 5.5 bi-turbo (potentially can stretch to the S version too at the top of budget) - this is currently winning although I've never drive one only the 6.2 NA, which was hilarious. I gather the 5.5 bi turbo is faster, more usable as the power is lower in the rev range; seems to have very good reliability and the fun factor of RWD with 550 bhp!
What would you pick?
Budget is up to 35k, want a very fast petrol estate car that is exciting, sounds good, rides well, reliable and will carry two young children and all their paraphernalia. Ideally, residuals are strong or likely to hold up (difficult to predict with the flight to electric I know.)
Here are my thoughts so far:
RS6 has the highest bork factor but is the cheapest to acquire. Save circa 3k per annum just in case? Had an S6 C6 and wasn't hugely impressed overall apart from the interior, which was nice. The car felt pretty slow and was pretty uninspiring in the corners. Fuel consumption was appalling at an average of 18 mpg, max 20 mpg on a long run without AC. Is the RS6 that much better than the S6? It did have a hewn from granite feel about it though.
S6 C7, stonking engine - seems very fast on paper and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Only sat in one. Newer tech, similar to the Q7 I had - how does it handle? MPG looks easier to stomach at 25mpg - 30mpg. Not the same visual impact as the RS/AMG and would I feel that I was missing out on owning an RS? (probably)
E63 AMG 5.5 bi-turbo (potentially can stretch to the S version too at the top of budget) - this is currently winning although I've never drive one only the 6.2 NA, which was hilarious. I gather the 5.5 bi turbo is faster, more usable as the power is lower in the rev range; seems to have very good reliability and the fun factor of RWD with 550 bhp!
What would you pick?
Had a similar list to yours, went for a E63 5.5 in the end.
RS6 of same age/mileage 15% more expensive (are you comparing like for like?) 5.5 Merc vs 4.0 Audi
S6 was very tempting, a bit of chip tuning liberates a lot of horsepower
E63 is a Mercedes
M5 not available in an estate
Came down to not having gotten on with Audi's in the past, good experience with Mercedes and it's a lot less shouty than the Audi RS6. Other than the cold start noise....
Other problem with the S6 was trying to find one. The E63 landed up being less than 10 miles away.
Get about 29mpg on a motorway run - variable around town. The boot is massive, comfortable for long journeys, good quality interior.
Only thing I don't like to far is very high road noise levels, I may try changing tyres from Pirelli to Michelin. I have just come out of a Range Rover which was exceptionally quiet so maybe more aware of it than I should be.
RS6 of same age/mileage 15% more expensive (are you comparing like for like?) 5.5 Merc vs 4.0 Audi
S6 was very tempting, a bit of chip tuning liberates a lot of horsepower
E63 is a Mercedes
M5 not available in an estate
Came down to not having gotten on with Audi's in the past, good experience with Mercedes and it's a lot less shouty than the Audi RS6. Other than the cold start noise....
Other problem with the S6 was trying to find one. The E63 landed up being less than 10 miles away.
Get about 29mpg on a motorway run - variable around town. The boot is massive, comfortable for long journeys, good quality interior.
Only thing I don't like to far is very high road noise levels, I may try changing tyres from Pirelli to Michelin. I have just come out of a Range Rover which was exceptionally quiet so maybe more aware of it than I should be.
Edited by MarcelM6 on Monday 30th May 13:10
MarcelM6 said:
Had a similar list to yours, went for a E63 5.5 in the end.
RS6 of same age/mileage 15% more expensive (are you comparing like for like?) 5.5 Merc vs 4.0 Audi
S6 was very tempting, a bit of chip tuning liberates a lot of horsepower
E63 is a Mercedes
M5 not available in an estate
Came down to not having gotten on with Audi's in the past, good experience with Mercedes and it's a lot less shouty than the Audi RS6. Other than the cold start noise....
Other problem with the S6 was trying to find one. The E63 landed up being less than 10 miles away.
Get about 29mpg on a motorway run - variable around town. The boot is massive, comfortable for long journeys, good quality interior.
Only thing I don't like to far is very high road noise levels, I may try changing tyres from Pirelli to Michelin. I have just come out of a Range Rover which was exceptionally quiet so maybe more aware of it than I should be.
The RS6 I'm comparing is the C6 model with the 5 litre TT V10 motor - much cheaper, circa £20-25k but outdated tech and some potential for big bills.RS6 of same age/mileage 15% more expensive (are you comparing like for like?) 5.5 Merc vs 4.0 Audi
S6 was very tempting, a bit of chip tuning liberates a lot of horsepower
E63 is a Mercedes
M5 not available in an estate
Came down to not having gotten on with Audi's in the past, good experience with Mercedes and it's a lot less shouty than the Audi RS6. Other than the cold start noise....
Other problem with the S6 was trying to find one. The E63 landed up being less than 10 miles away.
Get about 29mpg on a motorway run - variable around town. The boot is massive, comfortable for long journeys, good quality interior.
Only thing I don't like to far is very high road noise levels, I may try changing tyres from Pirelli to Michelin. I have just come out of a Range Rover which was exceptionally quiet so maybe more aware of it than I should be.
Edited by MarcelM6 on Monday 30th May 13:10
Glad that you're happy with your E63 and the mpg sounds dreamy!
I've had my eye on a particular S6 Avant for a while and I'm just watching the price come down as it's on for too much. Might try a little test drive as it has the sport diff. I just worry that I'm going to feel short changed by not having the full fat RS product whereas the biggest concern I have with the E63 is whether I need to have a limited slip differential or not in the S model.
Seems like an LSD is a no brainer in a 550bhp RWD car but what's the consensus around that?
Oddly, I'm in precisely the same boat.
Have an X5 but no longer need 7 seats, so selling it for a fast estate.
My BMW guys said steer clear of anything F10 related.
So that left E63, RS or S6 or maybe a jag XFR.
Having driven several RS4's, I found them impressive but a bit dull (other than outright pace).
The E63 I drove made me giggle. It may not have a whole lot of traction, but it did strike me as fun, which largely sealed it, combined with good reliability reports. Gearbox isn't the last word in finesse but I can live with that.
Jag (like the previous gen RS6) is old tech so probably no in the running for me.
Have an X5 but no longer need 7 seats, so selling it for a fast estate.
My BMW guys said steer clear of anything F10 related.
So that left E63, RS or S6 or maybe a jag XFR.
Having driven several RS4's, I found them impressive but a bit dull (other than outright pace).
The E63 I drove made me giggle. It may not have a whole lot of traction, but it did strike me as fun, which largely sealed it, combined with good reliability reports. Gearbox isn't the last word in finesse but I can live with that.
Jag (like the previous gen RS6) is old tech so probably no in the running for me.
I ran the E63 5.5 for 20k miles and would suggest it definitely needs a good diff. I had numerous gearbox faults with mien where it completely lost drive for no apparent reason and then it would get going again 3-4 seconds later. Quite scary on a junction!
Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
The Stiglet said:
E63 AMG 5.5 bi-turbo (potentially can stretch to the S version too at the top of budget) - this is currently winning although I've never drive one only the 6.2 NA, which was hilarious. I gather the 5.5 bi turbo is faster, more usable as the power is lower in the rev range; seems to have very good reliability and the fun factor of RWD with 550 bhp!
What would you pick?
^^ This, I have only had mine for a couple of weeks and the amount of torque from around 1700rpm is huge. Fuel consumption from such a heavy and powerful car is in the high 20s. Fit & finish in my 2014 model is excellent and the pano roof is rattle free and a must have option as far as I was concerned. What would you pick?
Mosdef said:
I ran the E63 5.5 for 20k miles and would suggest it definitely needs a good diff. I had numerous gearbox faults with mien where it completely lost drive for no apparent reason and then it would get going again 3-4 seconds later. Quite scary on a junction!
Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
Did you ever find a solution to the road noise? What tyres were you on?Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
Cactussed said:
Well after a 45 minute drive home:
- road noise is minimal (on P Zeros)
- the shove is comical
- massage seats are great
- it feels really well planted, solid and yet surprisingly agile.
Impressed.
Boom! Congratulations and interesting to read that we are/were both in the same dilemma. Did I tell you that sometimes I wonder about buying an E70 X5M too?!- road noise is minimal (on P Zeros)
- the shove is comical
- massage seats are great
- it feels really well planted, solid and yet surprisingly agile.
Impressed.
Which one did you get, any that I might have seen on Autotrader/PH?
MarcelM6 said:
Mosdef said:
I ran the E63 5.5 for 20k miles and would suggest it definitely needs a good diff. I had numerous gearbox faults with mien where it completely lost drive for no apparent reason and then it would get going again 3-4 seconds later. Quite scary on a junction!
Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
Did you ever find a solution to the road noise? What tyres were you on?Road noise was atrocious but no worse than something like an F10 I’d guess.
Hi guys, I’m getting close to buying one of these but the prices are light years away from the 2020 PH buying article on the W212 E63. Is spending £34k for a high spec 40,000 mile estate mental? WeBuyAnyCar have a trade in value of £27,500 for it.
My plan would be to keep the car for 3/4 years but I don't want a total bloodbath come resale however, that seems hard to predict with the rise of electric vehicles and gov policy. I'd do around 5k miles per year.
My plan would be to keep the car for 3/4 years but I don't want a total bloodbath come resale however, that seems hard to predict with the rise of electric vehicles and gov policy. I'd do around 5k miles per year.
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