Mercedes-AMG C 63 S 2015 Review - International

It was easy to love the old C 63 AMG – that thumping great 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine roaring and spitting a fierce, mechanical melody. And a rough and ready chassis that cornered flat and later had you flat on your back on the chiropractor's couch.

It was a car of extrovert character; loud, proud, uncouth, a big drinker and very, very naughty when the time was right.

But it was also a car of its time and that time has, sadly, passed.

Ever more stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations have forced Mercedes-Benz's hot-shop to trade in that wonderful, evocative 6.2 for a smaller 4.0-litre biturbo V8 in the new C 63. But the compensation is more power, more torque and a substantial 30 per cent drop in fuel economy.

There's also the brand new rear-wheel drive MRA architecture that's been donated by the award winning W205 C-Class; albeit with lots of tuning and refinement by the petrol-heads at Affalterbach. For instance, much of the front and rear suspension are AMG's own work, the track is widened and the front-end extended more than 50mm to accommodate the V8. The sheetmetal gets tweaked as a result with pumped out guards and power domed bonnet.

You can tune the dampers, seven-speed auto, the engine, the steering and the stability control to suit your driving style (even switch it off completely) and like the mainstream model there's a huge lift in interior quality to go with the mechanical overhaul.

Yep, there's no doubt the C 63 has matured, even become respectable.

But you know what? It's just a facade – a necessary one in this politically-correct age. Give this extraordinary car just half a sniff of driving enthusiasm and it turns from a well-behaved member of society back into a loud-mouthed delinquent.

While it's impossible to say with absolute surety, based on an all-too brief road and track drive in southern Portugal last week, that the new C 63 is a true great, it certainly felt pretty darn exceptional. In my humble opinion, the new Lexus RC F has no show against this thing and the brilliant BMW M3 and M4 will not find it easy either.

We should clarify the car we are talking about here is the C 63 S, which is the upper spec of two sedan and estate models being offered by AMG. We only take the S in Australia because local AMG buyers have traditionally opted for the top model.

We've covered pricing and equipment basics and the technical details, but in a nutshell the C 63 S comes with the 375kW/700Nm version of the M177 engine, while the standard C 63 'makes do' with 350kW and 650Nm.

The 'S' also gets active engine mounts to aid both ride and dynamics as well as an electronically controlled limited slip diff that AMG claims controls the rear-end better than C 63's mechanical LSD, and a thunderous performance exhaust (more on that latter).

Pricing is $154,900 for the sedan and $157,400 for the estate. For that you get superb single-piece performance seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, aluminium shift paddles, a head-up display, an AMG-specific instrument cluster with TFT multi-function display that includes cool stuff like a racetimer and turbo boost gauge and the latest Comand controller with touchpad and online access.

Nappa leather is standard and so is a panoramic sunroof and metallic paint. In terms of safety the C 63 S will get the same Driver Assistance Package Plus as the mainstream W205-series in Australia, from the C 250 up. This includes the ability to follow the road and pull-up by itself, spot errant pedestrians and brake to avoid them and so on.

The S will also come with the option of front ceramic brakes with a price under $10,000 expected in Australia.

It's also worth noting the claimed fuel consumption average goes up from the European NEDC 8.2L/100km to 8.6 here. You'll never see either number if you're driving the C 63 S with any sort of enthusiasm.

And that's definitely the best way to drive this car. Sure you can cruise and commute; set AMG Dynamic Select to comfort and the MCT-7 tranny will slur through the ratios, the engine will rumble along at low revs and the suspension will do its best to provide a comfortable ride – something it doesn't do all that convincingly, especially at low speed on its 19-inch rubber.

But wind up into Sport, Sport+ or the feral Race mode and things just start happening at an ever more ferocious level.

Clearly the lads at AMG love torque and they love noise, because this thing has got gallons of both. Your could select third gear and leave it there, letting that tacho needle swing from below 2000 to 7000rpm-plus without hesitation while the speedo needle goes ballistic.

But then you wouldn't have the joy of lickety-split gearchanges whump-banging with the throttle to the floor and the cabin filling with a thunderous roar.

And then lift the throttle and there's delicious crackle-bang on the over-run. Yum yum.

This thing flings itself off corners, devours hills and makes over-taking contemptuously easy. A 4.0sec 0-100km/h time is claimed and definitely feels legitimate (launch control is standard).

It really is an epic drivetrain, and one that AMG has only just started developing.

Importantly, the chassis has taken a significant step forward to cope with all this urge, so the C 63 S is also pretty darn awesome at slowing down and turning as well. The big 360mm steel discs do the job up-front and then beautifully weighted and surprisingly tactile electro-mechanical steering takes over, backed up by awesome Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber and an unobtrusive stability control system that lets you pile in as fast you dare.

This is a car that can corner on rails or bust out a move from the rear-end if you are so inclined (and in the right place to do it). It's the sort of car that you really settle into, really communicate with intimately and really have the confidence to push harder and harder. As the temp rises it supports and flatters the driver, rather than getting trickier to drive or fall apart at the limit.

And that goes for the estate as much as the sedan, it might be slightly noisier – all the better to hear the crackle-bang – but it feels as good to drive even if it is just a fraction slower and heavier. It's also even more of a sleeper than the sedan, ready to give HSVs a shock at the lights.

The concern for both sedan and estate is the ride, which felt pretty stiff on any setting on what were mostly smooth roads. The jury's out on whether it will be able to cope with Australia's mix of rough and broken surfaces.

Let's hope it stands up to that test, because in so many other ways the C 63 S is a fantastic car. It is an addictive drive, full of noisy, endearing speed and smarts. AMG had a tough job replacing one of the true legends of the modern automotive age. Initial signs are they've made a very good and enjoyable job of it.

2015 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S AMG pricing and specifications:
On sale: July