C63 Sedan to C63 Estate

[JimmyR1]

I am due to replace my 2010 C63 sedan soon and am keen to stay in the C63 family. With a young family of my own I have been considering the C63 Estate but with very few Estates around it is hard to get a look at one let alone test drive any of them. I am therefore keen to hear from those who have made a similar move from the C63 sedan to the Estate and have a few questions if I may.
- I believe there is no additional rear leg room in the estate compared to the sedan (which is already pretty tight with the deep AMG seating in the front). Is this the case?
- On paper there is not a whole lot of extra load capacity in the Estate but in the real world how does it compare?? Currently with some careful planning I can get all the gear we need into the boot of the sedan but it appears that with the Estate it must be more convenient to simply chuck it all in the back rather than shoehorn it in under the parcel shelf etc
- The biggie!!! To what extent does the extra weight and size of the Estate blunt performance and handling compared to the sedan? Is it really possible to have all the great performance car attributes of a C63 and the practicality of an Estate?
- Given the above and the fact that going forward track days are likely to be infrequent at best do I really need the Performance Pack in an Estate, especially when you have to factor in additional running costs (19” tyres, performance brake discs and pads, diff fluid etc) in what will be a daily driver

[2 5HAN]

Previously had an 08 plate C63 Saloon and now have a 12 plate C63 Estate

The boot is very useable, having said that you don't have the top to bottom depth of the Saloon.

Bonus is however you have the Rear Guard that you can put up if you really need it to load the boot up.

Nice low loading area wide enough for suitcases.

The Rear seats do rake back into the boot space though.

Putting the seats down is very quick and easy and best of all the leather doesn't get marked or squashed when you do fold the seats. Personal bug bear of mine when cars do this!

Handling wise I have found the 12 plate car far more planted and settled compared to my 08, not sure if this is just general improvements over the years and the LSD that this one has?

[ghibbett]

I've driven saloon and estate back to back (both on 19"s). I couldn't detect any difference in body shell stiffness although I'm sure there is a difference.

However the big difference is that the estate, having in effect an open cabin that includes the boot volume, allows you to hear more of the exhaust. That was something I definitely did notice - more of that lovely V8 woofle in the Estate

[mondie]

2 5HAN said:

Previously had an 08 plate C63 Saloon and now have a 12 plate C63 Estate

The boot is very useable, having said that you don't have the top to bottom depth of the Saloon.

Bonus is however you have the Rear Guard that you can put up if you really need it to load the boot up.

Is the guard made of mesh/metal so in an accident it has some ability to keep the boot contents from coming into the cabin?

Cheers
mondie

[Benmac]

mondie said:

Is the guard made of mesh/metal so in an accident it has some ability to keep the boot contents from coming into the cabin?

Cheers
mondie

Presuming its the same as the one in my C350 it's just string mesh that hooks into some inserts in the headlining and then rolls back and retracts when not required. It's pretty secure but I wouldn't trust it to hold back anything vaguely heavy in a crash.

[mondie]

Thanks Benmac, so not a good solid barrier but rather just a net of sorts, doesn't really make me feel too good about loading the wagon right up for a long journey.