Circle them wagons: PH Blog
Why C63 wagon beats saloon but still isn't the best AMG hold-all around
Batman and Robin thing possibly lost in translation
No secret I love an AMG wagon, my heart very much with the Edition 507 long-termer I handed back with tear stained cheeks. And rear tyres down to the canvas. And to these eyes the new-age '63 works a lot better as an estate. It may be carrying a few extra pounds over the saloon but, frankly, with 510hp and 516lb ft in S trim, who's counting. And I'd swear the open estate cabin acts as a resonator for the exhaust noise, which can only be a good thing.
A chat with AMG's V8 engine man was interesting too. I asked him if his background was oily hands or computer keyboard. He was proud to say it was the former. And what of his colleagues; AMG boasts that around 700 of its circa 1,100 workforce are engineers. But what's the split between mechanical and software experts these days? "Very good question," he winced, before explaining it requires different skills but he enjoys the fact his job involves building physical components the computer whizzes can then configure to their needs.
Dan's family wagon on a slight track diversion
Back to that wagon. Driven harder the engine revealed more about its character. Third gear really covers most bases on a twisty road, the low end punch night and day potent compared to the old V8 yet carrying enough top end to the next corner to make a shift up to fourth redundant. At the very extremes there is just a hint of rather exciting sounding turbo whistle, providing a nice accompaniment to the bass-heavy exhaust note. And the thing just flies.
Wagon is definitely the cooler option
All of which adds up to the 63 S wagon being my pick of the bunch of V8 uber estates. But with the keys to this or my old 507 I'm afraid I'd still take the latter. Why? Here it gets personal. I realise the new car has a more mainstream audience to play to and does it incredibly well. But I miss the undiluted aggression of the old one, aesthetically as well as on the road. Its steering was burly, the passively damped chassis unapologetic but brilliantly judged and the diff super assertive in lock-up and willingness to dictate the angle of attack. If such things intimidate mainstream customers it didn't seem to bother the near-40,000 buyers who made the W204 C63 AMG's biggest seller ever.
I understand completely why technology has been embraced to let the new car play to a bigger audience. But I still know where my money would go.
Dan
I definitely agree with the previous comments about the backfires. I can imagine them being exciting at first then getting tiresome very quickly. Are they artificial? If so, there should be an option to disable them in the onboard computer.
Also, I'm not sure I like the idea that an engine is so capable that it only requires one gear. Revving out that W204 looks like great fun and sounds glorious.
I think anyone in the market for the new C63 S Wagon accepts they'll be spending over 70k, so the obvious comparison in the audi ranks is the RS6 which can be had for less than the cost of the C63 S wagon.
Apart from that there was the use of the word 'super' to mean 'very', which just sounds unprofessional.
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