Up until recently, if you wanted a performance wagon in America, you had two choices: the Cadillac CTS-V and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. I love the CTS-V wagon; it was the first review I ever wrote, and it has been turning my head ever since. The E63 wagon has always been cool in my eyes, but it never quite matched the Batman styling of the CTS-V, and its purported handling disadvantages kept it off my shopping list.
But times have changed. I am looking for a cargo hauler which will satisfy me in the way my E90 M3 does, and no station wagon hauls more cargo than an E-class Mercedes. It is time to find an E63 to drive, and since E63 wagons are as rare as hens’ teeth, I’m at Mercedes-Benz of Encino test driving a 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG sedan.
I start up the E63, and the engine immediately emits a satisfying blurt. “I see you’re smiling already,” says the salesman from the right seat. He is right; this monster AMG V8 is the kind of motor I want in my next car. With the S package, it makes a mad 577 hp and 590 ft-lbs of torque. AWD is standard so that the rear tires actually stand a chance. This should be a fun trip around the block.
I put the E63 into gear and pull onto the street. The E63 glides forward with the smoothness that automatic transmissions provide. The E63’s throttle response is lagless; there isn’t the touchiness to the gas pedal that I have in my high compression, naturally-aspirated V8 M3. That is fine; it is suited to the E63’s persona that it can do laid-back boulevard cruising too.
The E63 has an adjustable-stiffness air suspension. A button next to the shifter lets me toggle between three different modes. The comfort setting is the default, and here I find a firm, but not punishing, ride. My 2011 M3 in comfort mode delivers a similar sporting but liveable ride. Compared to the M3, the E63 is better at filtering out rough frequencies from the coarse pavement. Sections of road that shake the M3’s chassis and transmit noise into its cabin are smooth in the E63. I did not explore the E63’s firmer suspension modes for more than a minute, but I can say that full sport is noticeably firmer than comfort.
It is sometimes overlooked, but a car’s seats also contribute to its perceived ride quality. The E63 I am testing has cooled seats. Personally, I think this makes for a less cozy seat, as cooled seats tend to use firmer cushions to give passage to the flowing air. I’d like to try Mercedes’ non-cooled seat to see if it makes for a more luxurious ride.
Initially, the seats feel wide for my thin frame. The torso bolstering isn’t anywhere near my (admittedly narrow) rib cage. At least in the M3, I can adjust the hug of the seats, pulling in the bolsters for a firm hold when I am cornering. No such adjustment is available in the E63. But it turns out that no such adjustment is needed either. As I navigate the one sweeping corner of my test drive, the seat’s right bolster reaches out and actively holds me in place against the lateral G forces. The clever feature makes me laugh, but who knows if I’d like it over the long term or if it would work well in canyon and track use.
Both the salesman and sales manager have given me not-so-subtle hints that this car is wicked fast and that I’m not to floor the throttle. The good boy I am, I follow the rules. My acceleration run uses maybe 75% throttle, but it’s enough to see that the E63 is much faster than the cars in my garage. Mercedes pulls hard from low RPMs without a hint of turbo lag. I don’t get anywhere near the red line, yet the E63 is moving like a missile. Through the open windows, there is a hint of turbo whistle over the V8 blat. This is the first E63 to use turbocharging, with mighty effective results. My M3 is going to feel slow on the way home.
Steering feel is one place that the Mercedes doesn’t better the BMW. The E63’s steering is lighter and less feel-some; I am not getting that gritty road texture through the wheel. Like the suspension, the steering filters out the coarser details of the road.
I try driving the E63 in both automatic and manual modes. The transmission drives like the automatic it is, promptly working through the gears without any of the stuttering or jerking that I’ve learned to accept from the BMW M-DCT. The E63’s transmission doesn’t redefine my benchmarks for shift sharpness or immediacy—those still belong to dual clutches—but I have no complaints, and it never missteps in my test loop.
Four right turns and 2.5 miles completed, my drive is over. I can hardly say I know the E63. It sends me good signals, channeling the autobahn-bruiser, sports-special personality I love from my M3, but I have no deep understanding of the E63’s dynamic envelope.
Parked back in the dealership lot, I take a few minutes to inspect the car’s cabin and cargo space. The cabin materials look good, but the design is dated with two telephone keypads worth of buttons surrounding the volume knob. My M3 is three years older yet looks a generation newer on the inside.
One of my hopes for my next car is to find more passenger space for family and friends. From the driver’s seat, the E63 feels just a little larger and wider than my M3. The E63’s seat doesn’t sink quite as low, but I have better outward visibility thanks to the more upright greenhouse. (This E63 is equipped with massaging seats, I’m sad I didn’t turn them on.)
Sliding into the back seat (driver’s side), I find more knee room and foot room behind my driving position than I would in the M3. There is more than an inch of air between my legs and the seatback. Back seat passengers have a more upright seating position in the E63, reminding me that the E-class is designed to whisk four septuagenarians to the opera in quiet comfort. The fact that Germany uses E-classes as taxi cabs bodes well for adults in the back seats too. Even though the leg and shoulder room can’t match that of a full-size SUV like a Porsche Cayenne (another car I am considering), there is an airiness to the E63’s backseat environment that I appreciate.
Scrutinizing the rear bench, I guestimate there’s enough width to allow two adults to sit comfortably alongside a center-mounted child seat. (Another purchase criteria for me.) Helping is that the seatback isn’t terribly sculpted around the outboard seating positions; if you need to scooch close to the door to make space for the child seat, you won’t be forced to severely twist your torso inwards.
Last, I examine the E63’s trunk. Outside of a Crown Victoria or Lincoln Continental, I’m not sure I’ve seen a larger trunk in a sedan. The trunk’s interior is impressively regular in shape, it doesn’t taper much in width or height as you move into its depth, so it is effortless to load with suitcases. It also appears deep enough to accommodate two rollaboard bags lying head-to-toe and tall enough for two of the same bags to be stacked on each other. So long as the luggage is regular in shape, family trips should be a breeze.
Overall, I’m impressed and intrigued with the E63. As a powerful car with sports tuning and a V8, it rings many of the bells I love from my M3. The dated interior, muted road feedback and high purchase price give me some pause, but the V8 burble, tight chassis and carrying capacity keep my interest. I need a more extended drive of the E63 before I can reach a conclusion.
Mike's Steering Column 