Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG 2009 Review - International

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

What we liked
>> Effortless power
>> Brilliant gearbox
>> wide range of its performance envelope

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 4.0/5.0
Safety: 5.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

The richly-moneyed ground on which AMG's E-Class muscle cars traditionally dominate is getting more crowded with every passing month. BMW's M5 is an old rival, traditionally carrying a harder edge in corners and giving its owners a harder ride on the straights, but a host of newcomers have been knocking on the serious-executive express door.

The most obvious is Porsche's Panamera, which comes with two engines -- for now. AMG also has to contend with Jaguar's new, faster version of its gorgeous XF sedan, the XFR and Audi's twin-turbo RS6 sledgehammer.

The AMG versions of the E-Class, whether they be E55s or E63s, have had a fairly simple role to fill. Where the E-Class has always been compromised for the masses, the AMG versions have been there to capture the Benz buyers who want more muscle and a darker, meaner look. So when AMG began working on their replacement for the old E63, Mercedes-Benz's official in-house hot tuner knew it needed to come up with something familiar to its regulars, but (given the competition) something a bit special and something a bit different, too.

The all-new E-Class wasn't a bad place to start. Filled with the latest of Benz's safety gadgetry and efficiency upgrades, the AMG version was always going to be faster, badder, louder and a bit brasher.

The new E63 takes the E-Class basics and adds a host of new front and rear suspension parts, the latest version of AMG's 6.2-litre V8 engine (don't be fooled by the 6.3 badging) and the brilliant multi-plate clutch-equipped seven-speed automatic gearbox out of the SL63 AMG.

Due to arrive in Australia in November, Benz predicts it will be slightly cheaper than the outgoing E63 and even its basic form has equipment spilling out of every orifice.

Visually, it differs from the standard E-Class by more than the standard 18-inch AMG wheels. The front wheel arches have been widened by 17mm each side to accommodate the larger tyres and the wider track, the grille is deeper and houses a variety of cooling radiators, the side sills are deeper and thicker and it gets unique daytime running lights.

But AMGs are all about being fast when you want them to be and livable when you don't. This one does it better than most, largely because of the cleverness of both the gearbox and the suspension set-up software. Electronically controlled dampers (and air suspension at the back) are the key, even though most of the E-Class's suspension has been discarded for the higher-performing AMG role.

With its ability to switch between Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus modes, the E63 goes from soft-ish to 40 per cent firmer when you need it for corners, then firmer and more-accurate again for the full-on stuff.

It does make a massive difference, too. It's comfortable in town, it's swift and stable on autobahns and it's reassuring in heavy cornering.

The differences between the suspension modes are notable, too, particularly when you fiddle around with the button four modes on the gearbox. Sometimes it will be at its fastest with the gearbox in Manual and the suspension in Comfort. It just depends on the road.

The car always starts with the gearbox in its Controlled Efficiency mode, where it chases its best fuel economy so hard that it's in sixth gear by the time you hit 60km/h. (At 12.6L/100km combined, Benz claims it's 12 per cent better than the outgoing car.) Then it gets faster and faster, through the Sport mode to the Sport Plus and, finally, a Manual mode that flicks through the shifts, via steering wheel paddles, in 100 milliseconds.

And it launches hard, with the V8 howling its oddly wobbling note and punching to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds.

There's 1840kg of mass for the 6.2-litre engine to shift, but it musters both 386kW of power and 630Nm of torque to shift it -- so it's always ready to attack pretty hard, especially when the gearbox is capable of skipping down from seventh to second gear if you flick the downshift paddle fast enough. Not bad for an auto.

While it has a speed limiter at 250km/h, don't believe that it runs out of puff there. In fact, it hits it in three of its seven gears. De-limited, as you can order the car in Germany, the car will run to 300km/h.

Never before has an AMG had this breadth of character. It can be the town car to love and it can be the toughest bouncer in the club when you want it to be, too.

With all this competition knocking at the door, it will need to be!

Look out for a full local launch review of the new E-Class range soon and more details on the E63 AMG later this year.

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