Mercedes AMG C63S first drive

[LoudPipes]

I'm not completely sold on its looks but I'd love one.

Mercedes-AMG C63 first drive review

Date: 24 February, 2015
Andrew Maclean
National Motoring Editor

If this is the future of the V8 - the future looks very bright.

It wasn't until I was cruising along a bumpy rural backroad at rather pedestrian speeds that I had a lightbulb moment in defining the all-new Mercedes-AMG C63 S – one of the most eagerly anticipated new car arrivals for 2015.

It wasn't because I now had the time to think about how rapidly it had just been thrown around the demanding Portimao circuit in southern Portugal during our world first preview drive. Or how easy it was to transform its rear tyres into clouds of smoke and hang it on the lock stops for hundreds of metres. Or how great its growling 375kW V8 sounds soaring towards its redline.

You take those elements of its character as a given, especially considering how utterly brilliant its predecessor is and the fact that the all-new model is more powerful and quicker than ever before. Of course it is…

Instead, the lightbulb moment came as the C63 S loped along quietly, its exhaust note whispering a faint burble into the cabin and its new high-tech V8 barely drinking more than 8-litres per 00km of fuel while its suspension soaked up a rather nasty section of road rash without even flinching, none of which are character traits you would associate with the last-generation C63 which was noisy, thirsty and stiff in any situation, and at any speed. It was simply an old school muscle car re-interpreted by Mercedes-Benz with a veneer of European class. And it was great…for the time.

But the latest C63 is an entirely new beast that has adapted to the modern environment and with a broader spread of clearly defined personalities that makes it both more enjoyable to live with everyday and even more thrilling to drive for the occasional track day outing or backroad blast.

As always, the heart of the C63 is its engine, and despite the reduction in capacity – down from 6.2-litres of naturally-aspirated grunt to 4.0-litres of twin-turbo twist – it lacks for nothing. In its Comfort setting, it is quiet and refined and the seven-speed automatic quickly and smoothly skips through to top gear, allowing it to use all 700Nm of torque to effortlessly cruise along. It even has a sailing mode at highway speeds – where the engine and gearbox disengage when you lift off the accelerator – to help it achieve a claimed average fuel consumption of 8.4L/100km; about the same as a regular small hatchback.

Rapid acceleration, during overtaking for example, is never far away though as the twin-turbos quickly spool up to unleash an instant surge of pulling power as its peak torque is now spread across a broad rev range between 1750-4500rpm. It also uncorks a little more bark from its V8 as the revs rise too.

But it gets even better in the Sport and Sport + modes, as a flap in the standard Performance Exhaust system liberates a deeper, more prominent growl under acceleration as well as a sharper crack between gearchanges and a thoroughly addictive burble of unburnt fuel when you back off.

And in full Race mode, with launch control, it is capable of sprinting to 100km/h in just four seconds flat, which is supercar quick…and it feels like it.

Needless to say, with so much low-rev pulling power, it is pretty easy to overcome the sticky 265/35 19-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the back, but it is harnessed well by an electronically controlled limited slip diff that improves traction.

The well-sorted electric power steering also helps as it is beautifully weighted with good on-centre feel for straight line-stability and instant response to turn-in with plenty of feedback from the widened front axle.

Like the engine, the adaptive suspension offers a noticeable change in character between Comfort and the Sport/Race modes, with the former managing to soak up most road irregularities without crashing through to the cabin while the latter trades a sharper ride for less body roll and vertical movement to keep the C63 sitting flat through the bends.

The only gripe during our first drive was the significant amount of road noise generated by the tyres, even on smooth surfaces.

Otherwise, the C63 carries all the hallmarks of refinement that elevated the standard C-Class to the top step of the podium as Drive's 2014 Car of the Year champion. The cabin is beautifully presented and fully loaded with a host of unique AMG enhancements, such as the snug performance seats, carbon fibre trim and chunky flat bottomed steering wheel which make it look and feel as much as a sports car as it does a luxury car.

And in all of that, as the likes of fast Falcons and heroic Holdens are facing extinction, the C63 S perfectly showcases the evolution of the muscle car.


Mercedes-AMG C63 S pricing and specifications

On sale: August 2015

Price: $154,900 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Power: 375kW at 5500-6250rpm

Torque: 700Nm at 1750-4500rpm

Transmission: 7-spd automatic, RWD

Consumption: 8.4L/100km

http://www.drive.com.au/new-car-reviews/mercedesamg-c63-first-drive-review-20150224-13myw8.html