Mercedes C63 AMG Edition 507: PH Fleet

We thought we'd say an extended farewell to one of our favourite V8s in suitably PH style

There are many reasons I wish I currently had means to buy a C63 AMG wagon*. The main one being the C63 AMG wagon currently residing on my driveway. That in a few months time someone from Mercedes will take it away from me fills me with a deep sadness.

The perfect fleet for fun on two- and four-wheels

In the absence of being able to put my money where my mouth is I recently managed to convince a friend to instead put his there. And into a C63. When I turned up recently in 'my' Edition 507 wagon he was somewhat put out; he gets the last laugh though because he gets to keep his.

We shot his C63 with the E92 M3 as part of our farewell diary to the BMW, this being another classic German V8 we'll never see the like of again. Which is why we're also going to run the 507 on the PH fleet for a little while, pretty much taking the theme of Harris's video eulogy (yes, it's the same car) and stretching it out over a number of months. Offered the chance you'd do the same, right? We've got some stuff planned beyond day-to-day living too, including a trip to Affalterbach if all goes well to meet some of the chaps behind both this car and its forthcoming replacement.

While there I particularly want to seek out Herr Steffen Hahn and shake him by the hand. His signature adorns the top of our M156 V8 and I have a desire to tell him I am a huge fan of his work. I'm sure his graft is Germanic and consistent and there's no such thing as a Friday afternooner at AMG. But he had a particularly good day with this one.

Er, Dan, wasn't there a bike on there earlier?

Sloppy seconds
There's been a C63 wagon on the PH fleet before. But we've been granted a second crack of the whip. As demonstrated by the M3 and the 997 GT3 we borrowed for a similar farewell I think it's an interesting premise to run a car on long-term test at the end of its life. It's somehow got a more PHey angle to it, given that access to a similar car can be had from £25K in the classifieds while more recent examples with all the goodies, in their first year of registration and with four-figure mileages are easily found for two-thirds of the £68K base price of a new one. So a lot more to talk about than a car new to the market with no history or used pedigree. And a broader range of people who might possibly be tempted into following suit. Bear with me, there'll be no shortage of encouragement from me to do so.

The first couple of weeks with the C63 have done nothing to dissuade me from evangelising either. After a quiet start the first real journey was up to North Yorkshire, bike attached to roof bars and 15-month-old in his Maxi Cosi in the back, a boot full of his clobber behind. For the first 200 miles or so the AMG rumbled its way up the A1, tickling low 20s mpg and fuel consumption seemingly unaffected by the addition of a bike on the roof. As in, still pretty terrible.

The heart of the matter, all 6.2 litres of it

Red pill or blue pill?
I arrived at the fork in the road that, for the last 30 miles or so, offers a relaxing dual carriageway finale. Or a blast along some of North Yorkshire's finest B-roads. At this point I still had a third of a tank to go; plenty to complete the run. It's a Matrix style blue pill or red pill moment I reach on every journey home, usually pretty tired and emotional after the soul-sapping drudgery of the A1. Sensibly, given the cargo, I should have stuck with the blue. Obviously I went red.

About half way along the Helmsley road I stopped for some photos. Or that was the pretext. Really I just needed to catch breath. Fans whirring, brakes ticking, the C63 looked accusingly back at me, goading me for having to take a breather. Several people I'd overtaken in the last few miles trundled past, shaking their heads. The also nearly departed SLS AMG remains one of my all-time favourite cars. Life demands dictate I need to carry bikes and baby clobber and a C-Class estate suits me better. That AMG levers what amounts to the engine from the former and into the latter remained a source of wonder to reflect on as my pulse rate slowed. Then I continued on my way, that final third of a tank vapourised and the reserve light coming on with still a few miles to my destination and a soothing brew.

Can't afford one yourself? Get a mate to buy one!

Warning shot
Cargo unloaded my brother and I then went out onto t'moors for some photos. And into a sleet storm. Not ideal conditions, it has to be said. But perfect for firing a warning shot over his bow with a demonstration of how sideways the 507 will go even in its mid-way ESP setting. Which is to say very. Enough to require a half turn of corrective lock. He looked a bit thoughtful at that.

Even in the dry and with the systems full on that optional locking diff works much more proactively and wakes up long before the ESP, gently nudging the nose into the turns and requiring that delicious sense of loosening your grip on the wheel while under power but maintaining the same steering angle. In the wet it's rather more involved but, treated with respect, grip can still be found. As a couple of Race Start demos to test the AMG Performance Media package (two grand to measure your lap times, basically) proved, recording a personal best 4.5 seconds 0-60 on a wet road - just two tenths slower than the official 0-62. Video evidence below. With gratuitous V8 noise.

Finally, just after the C63 arrived I was amused to get one of those nonsense press releases about what cars impress people on first dates. I think it was from Europcar's prestige rental department, flogging the idea that a rented set of flash wheels would somehow make up for personality deficiencies or bad breath. Anyway, apparently just 1 per cent of people surveyed reckoned an estate car has what it takes to make a good impression.

They're just looking at the wrong estate cars.

FACT SHEET
Car: 2013 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507
Run by: Dan
On fleet since: March 2014
Mileage: 7,193
List price new: £68,470 before options (£80,075 as tested, comprising Privacy Glass £330, reversing camera £390, Lighting Package £150, three-zone climate control £590, Keyless Go £665, AMG Performance Media £2,040, Comand Online with six-disc changer £250, DAB £335, Harmon Kardon surround sound £650, phone pre-wiring with roof aerial £290, Designo Magno Platinum paint £3,660, rear axle limited-slip differential £1,745 and 19-inch wheels £510)
Last month at a glance: Back in a C63, fell in love all over again

* Unilateral editorial decision: Mercedes estate cars are wagons. Not 'Tourings', not 'Sportbacks'. Wagons. End of.

Essential Race Start test run...