Mercedes-AMG unleashes E 63 Estate

The reign of Audi’s RS 6 Avant as the world’s best all-round hard-hitting load hauler might be drawing to a close, with Benz’s E 63 AMG Estate taping up its fists and putting on the gloves.

While the outgoing E 63 AMG was actually quicker than the RS 6 off the line, it wasn’t as good anywhere else, but the all-new E 63 and E 63 S sedans have drawn nothing but praise since they launched late last year, just like the latest E-Class Estate.

Now with all-wheel drive when being steered from either side of the car, the new E 63 S Estate will punch to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds (the non-S version is a tenth of a second slower), thanks to 450kW of power from the biturbo 4.0-litre V8 engine sitting up front.

That’s a big step up from the RS 6’s 3.9 seconds and the power is a big step up from the old E 63 estate’s 410kW (and the RS 6’s 412kW), though the Audi has traditionally been a touch cheaper than the AMG rival and BMW has yet to commit to an M5 wagon -- and probably won’t.

Incidentally, a 3.5-second sprint to 100km/h is only a tenth off the E 63 S sedan’s benchmark, and the Estate does it all with 640 litres of luggage capacity behind it.

Sadly, the new E 63 Estate is unlikely to become available in Australia, where only the new E-Class All-Terrain – a new crossover version of the latest E-Class wagon – is guaranteed for release.

Indeed, it appears the only way Aussies will gain access to the new E 63 wagon is if AMG produces an All-Terrain version of it.

"The new AMG E 63 Estate combines our brand's hallmark driving dynamics with high everyday practicality,” Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers said.

“It is not for nothing that the model has been a permanent fixture in the AMG portfolio for 40 years. The powerful engine and the intelligent all-wheel drive underpin our claim to always be at the forefront of development when it comes to performance,” he claimed.

As with the sedan, the core of the argument isn’t the engine, though the hot-vee motor (with the two twin-scroll turbochargers sitting inside the engine’s vee angle and shoving in up to 1.5 bar of pressure) is a stand out in most conditions.

The 3982cc motor is good for 420kW of power and 750Nm of torque, even in its stock E 63 mode, while the E 63 S version thumps out 450kW and 850Nm of torque (from just 2500rpm). It sits on active engine mounts to counter its momentum when it’s being hustled through corners and the engine even turns into a V4 when it’s cruising and the driver isn’t asking it for much torque.

It hooks this up to a nine-speed automatic transmission, which is based on the unit Benz uses in the stock E-Class, but AMG throws away the heavy torque converter and replaces it with a series of wet clutches that change gear faster. It also has different gear ratios, all aimed at speed in lower gears and economy in the big ones.

Together, they combine for an NEDC figure of 9.1L/100km and CO2 emissions of 206g/km. The figures are identical in both the E 63 and the E 63 S Estates.

What made the sedan what it is (and what insiders predict will make the Estate stand out from the crowd) is the active centre differential and the E 63 S’s electronically controlled rear differential.

Combined, they give the car constantly variable all-wheel drive, which AMG runs via the same computer that governs the engine and the gearbox, so it reacts faster and clearer. It also fiddles with it constantly so the big wagon feels a touch more rear-drive most of the time.

It combines that with underpinnings that are 17mm wider at both ends (the body is 27mm wider), uses AMG-specific aluminium uprights for the five-link rear-end and takes an upgraded version of the C 63’s four-link front end.

The bigger overhaul, though, is fully active, three-chamber air suspension system that helps the body to stay flat regardless of the forces running through, along or across it.

And there are plenty of forces being generated here, with the E 63 S Estate weighing in at 1995kg (the stock E 63 Estate is a scant 10kg lighter), so that’s 115kg heavier than the sedan.

That much mass takes some stopping, so AMG has fitted the stock version with 360mm x 36mm disc brakes and six-piston callipers at the business end and 360mm x 24mm discs at the back, though the rear calliper is a single-piston floating unit.

That intent steps up in the S version, with 390mm x 36mm ventilated discs, while it also has the option of a carbon-ceramic setup, with 402mm x 39mm front discs and 360mm x 32mm rears.

Those brakes are circled by Michelin 265/40 R19 front tyres and 295/35 R19 rears, while its electromechanical steering system is speed sensitive and adjusts to suit the intended mood of the Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes.

There’s also a Race mode, which seems incongruous in a wagon, but it gives hard-core settings for the throttle, brakes, steering, transmission exhaust and skid-control systems.
It also delivers a lap timer, complete with sector times, a record of your 0-100km/h times, plus speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, braking and even steering angle data.

AMG officially limits the Estate to 250km/h, though it can be bumped to 300km/h for the right price, and what’s not the right price for a five-seat cargo carrier that embarrasses supercars in a straight line?