By Paul Gover.
Driving time with a Mercedes-AMG E63 S is like sipping on a caramel soy latte.
It’s smooth and creamy, tasty with a little bit of sweetness, and then you get to the caffeine kick . . .
Bang. The E63 becomes truly supercar fast, with a thundering V8 twin-turbo engine that rips the horizon up to the windscreen with incredible urgency and stuck-to-the-road cornering power which is surprising for a car so big and heavy.
There are also five seats for the family.
And yet the updated E63 S – it’s mostly cosmetic, from a prominent new grille to a bigger and tastier infotainment package – all about luxury and the sort of toys and trinkets you expect to find in a car that lives on the far side of $250,000.
The tickle for the E63 brings the bolder nose and more tech in the cabin as part of an upgrade that takes the starting price to $353,900, but the basics are still the same, from its thumping turbocharged V8 engine to fully-sporty suspension and brakes, as well as all-wheel drive to make the car safer and easier to handle in touch conditions.
Negatives? It can be unwelcomely noisy on country roads, a plethora of new buttons on the steering wheel can be confusing, and the all-wheel drive grip sometimes produces annoying and worrying tyre scrabble from the front that has some owners worrying about wear-and-tear and costly tyre replacements.
Are those shortcomings enough to sway a buyer? Some will ask tougher questions, and some will be properly worried about the feel from the front tyres in low-speed manoeuvring, but the car is still a benchmark for its class.
Benz has built belter V8 heroes into the E-Class body since the 1980s and they have always been popular, even through the rise of the SUV.
Nothing has really changed in 2021, as the E63 is a powerful car that makes a powerful statement.
It can arrive at any event with style and panache, rewards its occupants with sumptuous luxury equipment, is fun for youngsters thanks to the many functions in the infotainment package – including cabin lighting to mimic the best disco – and is truly comfortable for any trip despite a soundtrack that can be growly in the country.
But the E63 S is for people who want the response of a Lamborghini in a more family-friendly package, as well as the thundering quad-pipe exhaust performance that lets anyone know it is a serious speed machine. Benz has even included a ‘drift’ mode for sliding on a weekend visit to a racetrack, although very few owners are likely to feel that need.
Still, it’s good – no, great – to launch from the traffic lights or make a minimal-drama overtaking move thanks to the incredible thrust from the engine room, knowing that the all-wheel drive system developed for owners in snow-belt countries in Europe and the USA also does good work when the bitumen turns twisty and bumpy in Australia.
So the E63 S is a car for special occasions and rewarding drives, but also does the job as an old-school family sedan.
In 2021, in a world full of same-same SUVs, it’s good to find a car that delivers as impressively as any barista.
THE BASICS
MERCEDES-AMG E63 S
Price: from $253,900
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V
Power: 450kW/850Nm
Transmission: 9-speed auto, all-wheel drive
Safety: 5-star ANCAP
Position: luxury sports sedan
Plus: performance, quality, comfort
Minus: too many buttons, can be noisy, tyre scrabble
THE TICK: once again
Score: 8.5/10
