Thursday 23rd January 2014

Chris Harris video: XFR-S vs. E63 AMG vs. M6

It's battle of the fast four-doors as Chris starts the 2014 video season with over 1,600hp

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And so to the first tyre destruction effort of 2014 - which was actually filmed a while ago and held back to keep us entertained in the January darkness.

The most commonly used barometer for proving the excessive escalation in power figures is the supercar, but I think you could argue that the existence of a 585hp factory warrantied E Class is perhaps even sillier.

Remove the badges and the E63 is comically understated - an image somewhat at odds with a driver's emotions when trying to drive it fast on a wet circuit with the electronic chassis systems deactivated. The thing really is an animal.

Jaguar has chosen a more gregarious set of clothes for the XFR-S, and you know what? Most people seem to rather like the silly paint and wing. This is an unreconstructed muscle saloon from the old school and it rather wears its personality with public pride. It too is immensely fast and capable of majestic throttle ballet.

I suppose the M6 Gran Coupe is a slightly different machine, but it's the latest V8 M saloon and, on paper, it matches the others' performance. But is it really worth £20K more than an M5?

Suppose you'd better watch the vid to find out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[E65Ross]

My old man recently bought an M6 coupe and to be honest, as fantastic as it is I MUCH preferred the E92 M3 it replaced by some margin for thrills. M6 is just dull in comparison.....it's quicker, quieter, more comfortable, has a nicer interior and so on yet just hasn't won me over. Quite why, I can't pin-point!

[mrclav]

That's a lot of smoking tires...

[Layacable]

Great video CH.

Part of me thinks the Jag looks a bit "vauxhall-ish" ?

[365daytonafan]

Thoroughly enjoyed that, although feels like it should have been subtitled ''Used car of the year 2018.''?

[richs2891]

Cool Video and yeah the jag just does not look right with that spoiler - don't feel the colour helps either.
Just remembered what it reminds me of in that colour and side profile - a Holden

Edited by richs2891 on Wednesday 22 January 20:46

[mikebradford]

Loved the look of the M6
made the Jag look like a halfords special

at that price point id take the BMW
seen a few of these saloons now, non M versions. and they have great road presence

[rtz62]

Echoing previous comments, the Jaguar looks plain awful in that colour and with that spoiler; what were they thinking of?
The BMW looks like an ex-Olympic 100 metre gold medalist that has lost their looks, and their waistline.
The Mercedes, especially in the dark silver or grey looks like the gimlet eyed bodyguard that can shoot the whiskers off a bee at 500m.
I'd hazard a guess that sales-wise the Mercedes will be the best seller, and for most drivers, not of the monkey-persuasion, it will be a great drive.
The jaguar would sit in my garage and only be taken out at night so as not to frighten horses and small children.
The BMW would be reserved for Sunday church trips with elderly relatives, and the odd trip out to Eastbourne, to renew their blue-rinses.
If it was my (finance) money over a 3yr period, I'm afraid the default Benz would sit on my driveway.

[Cheib]

The M6 Gran Coupe is just such a great looking car and when you can basically buy a new one for £30k less then list.....it starts looking even more tempting.

There's a car on the AUC website with 29 miles on it for just over £70k......looks decent value at that price!

[Agoogy]

I'd say that's BMW's crowning glory, the ultimate driving machine, a boot, 4 seats, beautiful, balanced... juts lovley. Feels good to say that about a BM for a change.
Mercedes is just daft, but would've been good to see the CLS instead...

The Jag has been done wrong. awful wheels , awful spoiler horrible paint....but just because it's the oldest design there doesn't make it any less relevant. Take the spoiler off, change the colour and wheels and you still hae a very handsome car indeed...

enjoyed the vid...

[Bezza1969]

Why is the M6 so much faster than the M5? 8.2 to 100 in a RWD saloon, that's stonking!!

[D200]

The M6 looks the best inside and out, is the fastest, best handling, best throttle response, best gearbox etc - the definite winner in my opinion.

The Merc does sounds better for sure but I don't think the M6 sounds bad, just not as 'rorty'

And while the Merc is lighter then the BMW it looks like it weighs far [the general look of it and the cornering shots]

Last year Motortrend tested all these and put them on a dyno - I can't remember the figures but both have actually more than the claimed hp figure - crazy.

I wouldn't even compare the Jag to them two - it's great car in isolation but sadly a step below the other 2 in every way

[Erdy]

AMG hands down for me. Love the squat, no-nonsense 3 box look to the others and that noise. Probably the most fun just burbling about without having to be hustling it.

Bmw looks like a squashed/melted limousine conversion with a hideous arse.

Jag looks really cheap and tacky. its got ripspeed rims yo ffs!

[XJ Flyer]

Bezza1969 said:

Why is the M6 so much faster than the M5? 8.2 to 100 in a RWD saloon, that's stonking!!

It would be interesting to see what the Jag and the Merc could do with the same type of mechanically clutched transmission as the BMW instead of being lumbered with a torque converter type.

[-Z-]

E65Ross said:

My old man recently bought an M6 coupe and to be honest, as fantastic as it is I MUCH preferred the E92 M3 it replaced by some margin for thrills. M6 is just dull in comparison.....it's quicker, quieter, more comfortable, has a nicer interior and so on yet just hasn't won me over. Quite why, I can't pin-point!

I made the same jump (albeit to the cheaper, uglier, cousin) and so far I prefer the drivetrain of the F10 M5. The e90 M3 was epic when really going for it but at low speeds was not obviously special enough.

The M5/M6 is more of an event in general driving but can still entertain almost as well on a b road.

[-Z-]

Bezza1969 said:

Why is the M6 so much faster than the M5? 8.2 to 100 in a RWD saloon, that's stonking!!

8.4 secs for the M5 here:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1203_20...

It is possible that BMW is under rating the S63TU engine. Most dynos are reading about 530bhp at the wheels giving just over 600bhp at the fly wheel which would explain why the Jag gets thrashed despite a better on paper power/weight ratio.

[anonymous-user]

When it comes to powertrains, in my experience, BMW is a 110% company, Merc a 100% one, and unfortunately Jag, a 90% one........

[Zod]

So the official figures for the E63's acceleration are rather exaggerated,

[0a]

Yay a proper Harris video.

Can we not have so many Porsches in 2014 - why not post those from last year instead?!

[Andy M]

Coupling together the data from: http://fastestlaps.com/cars/bmw_m5_f10.html and the calculator on: http://www.torquestats.com I reckon BMW are very conservative about their power of the M5/M6 engine.

Rather than the 560bhp claimed, I reckon the true figure is a lot closer to 640bhp.


Edit: another M vs AMG comparison: http://youtu.be/pmXZmyPFiJI

Edited by Andy M on Wednesday 22 January 21:53

[em177]

M6