RE: Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe: UK drive

RE: Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe: UK drive

Author
Discussion

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Surely the M4 competition is its direct rival along with the RS5
As is the RCF.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
As is the RCF.
And the Mustang too.

GT86 is a rival but not a very good one

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
And the Mustang too.

GT86 is a rival but not a very good one
Actually the Mustang is. I’d rather have the Mustang than the Mercedes.

I’m sure you’re winding up re the Gt86

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Welshbeef said:
This is a thread specifically about the newly launched C63 S - not Lexus.

Worth starting one about that or one which is a VS thread else it’s going to go off topic.
The RCF is a natural competitor to the C63 coupe and with its naturally aspirated engine a worthwhile thing to talk about in relation to it - particularly as more and more cars moved to forced induction.

Edited by st4 on Sunday 17th March 16:53
Except it feels slow, lethargic, heavy and ponderous. It's a faux-leather chesterfield with an old-tech V8. It's not a bad car....but it isn't really a competitor to a C63s....

It's a 'sports car' for 60yr old's whose back and joints would disintegrate if they drove an actual sports car. It's like a modern day Vauxhall Calibra/Rover 800 Coupe - looks like a sporty coupe, has a little bit of 'pep' under the throttle pedal, but drives like a steady saloon so as not to frighten 'mum'.

It's a good car for its target market. Mostly with grey hair and a beige wardrobe. Those who look at Alan Partridge and think, bit of a young upstart, a radical, but safe and nice chap.

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Actually the Mustang is. I’d rather have the Mustang than the Mercedes.
You would, because to you, the most attractive quality about a car is it being 'pleasant' to drive.

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Ares said:
Except it feels slow, lethargic, heavy and ponderous. It's a faux-leather chesterfield with an old-tech V8. It's not a bad car....but it isn't really a competitor to a C63s....

It's a 'sports car' for 60yr old's whose back and joints would disintegrate if they drove an actual sports car. It's like a modern day Vauxhall Calibra/Rover 800 Coupe - looks like a sporty coupe, has a little bit of 'pep' under the throttle pedal, but drives like a steady saloon so as not to frighten 'mum'.

It's a good car for its target market. Mostly with grey hair and a beige wardrobe. Those who look at Alan Partridge and think, bit of a young upstart, a radical, but safe and nice chap.
And a C class isn’t the car for pre dementia retiree grandparents. That’s just dumb to pretend otherwise.

It’s a 470bhp coupe so in the ball park of the c63.

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Ares said:
You would, because to you, the most attractive quality about a car is it being 'pleasant' to drive.
Yes. It is. I wouldn’t want my car to be unpleasant to drive. You, being the chump you are, probably do.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
And a C class isn’t the car for pre dementia retiree grandparents. That’s just dumb to pretend otherwise.

It’s a 470bhp coupe so in the ball park of the c63.
Torque wins races not power.

That is why the C63 and other blown cars destroy similar powers n/a cars.

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Ares said:
Except it feels slow, lethargic, heavy and ponderous. It's a faux-leather chesterfield with an old-tech V8. It's not a bad car....but it isn't really a competitor to a C63s....

It's a 'sports car' for 60yr old's whose back and joints would disintegrate if they drove an actual sports car. It's like a modern day Vauxhall Calibra/Rover 800 Coupe - looks like a sporty coupe, has a little bit of 'pep' under the throttle pedal, but drives like a steady saloon so as not to frighten 'mum'.

It's a good car for its target market. Mostly with grey hair and a beige wardrobe. Those who look at Alan Partridge and think, bit of a young upstart, a radical, but safe and nice chap.
And a C class isn’t the car for pre dementia retiree grandparents. That’s just dumb to pretend otherwise.

It’s a 470bhp coupe so in the ball park of the c63.
You clearly haven't driven a C63s. Old AMGs might have been more 'waft' than 'drive', but this generation are brilliant. I had full weekends with the M3/C63s/Ghibli/RCF/QF. The AMG is more focused and with greater feel and dynamism than the M3. If it wasn't for the QF's DNA, I'd have one on the drive over the M3 I thought I would get.

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Ares said:
You clearly haven't driven a C63s. Old AMGs might have been more 'waft' than 'drive', but this generation are brilliant. I had full weekends with the M3/C63s/Ghibli/RCF/QF. The AMG is more focused and with greater feel and dynamism than the M3. If it wasn't for the QF's DNA, I'd have one on the drive over the M3 I thought I would get.
The last AMG I drove was a w204 6.2. It was quite fast but I didn’t really wow me.

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Ares said:
You would, because to you, the most attractive quality about a car is it being 'pleasant' to drive.
Yes. It is. I wouldn’t want my car to be unpleasant to drive. You, being the chump you are, probably do.
I want a hell of a lot out of a car. Especially a £65/70k car..... Being 'pleasant' most certainly isn't in the top 10. I want way way way more than 'pleasant'. If I wanted 'pleasant' I'd have an MPV...or a Lexus laugh


Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Ares said:
You clearly haven't driven a C63s. Old AMGs might have been more 'waft' than 'drive', but this generation are brilliant. I had full weekends with the M3/C63s/Ghibli/RCF/QF. The AMG is more focused and with greater feel and dynamism than the M3. If it wasn't for the QF's DNA, I'd have one on the drive over the M3 I thought I would get.
The last AMG I drove was a w204 6.2. It was quite fast but I didn’t really wow me.
So a car from 12-14 years ago..... and you're judging the 2019 AMG on that basis?? Time to step into this decade, if not millennium,

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Ares said:
I want a hell of a lot out of a car. Especially a £65/70k car..... Being 'pleasant' most certainly isn't in the top 10. I want way way way more than 'pleasant'. If I wanted 'pleasant' I'd have an MPV...or a Lexus laugh
I want excellent safety, reliability, comfort and good driving in a car. I’m lucky to live in a part of the world where the roads are good and quiet so driving is fun the bulk of the time.

My cars awesomesmile

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
Ares said:
I want a hell of a lot out of a car. Especially a £65/70k car..... Being 'pleasant' most certainly isn't in the top 10. I want way way way more than 'pleasant'. If I wanted 'pleasant' I'd have an MPV...or a Lexus laugh
I want excellent safety, reliability, comfort and good driving in a car. I’m lucky to live in a part of the world where the roads are good and quiet so driving is fun the bulk of the time.

My cars awesomesmile
Dude, if that is what you want, your cars are dull. You have the same criteria as my 76yr old dad (plus caravan towing prowess).

I want excitement, I want to get home with the desire to turn around and do the journey again. I want to feel like I'm connected to the car. I want to feel like the car is alive. I want my heart rate to jump 40bpm just looking at the car. Jump another 40 bpm when I start the car, and get to 40 bpm higher still once I've taken it down a great twisty, open moorland road. I want to not be able to avoid looking back at the car after I've parked it with a smile on my face. I want to fking love my car.

I certainly don't want to get out and think 'that was pleasant'.

My god Stephen, you are 34 yrs of age. fking act it. Live life beyond beige and comfortable or you'll wake up at 40yrs old wearing a beige cardigan lusting over a pair of beige tartan slippers.

off_again

12,249 posts

233 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Wow, that degenerated quickly!

Welshbeef hit the nail pretty well though. I would suggest that the Lexus is probably the closer rival than the M3/4, especially in competition spec!

However, the C63 is far from being a full or old mans car! You absolutely have to have your head on and you can light up the rears without an issue in pretty much any condition. I absolutely wouldn’t recommend the car if you are expecting a dull cruiser. It’s not. If you want an old mans Merc, get the E63 with AWD. It’s faster yes, but has a ton more traction and won’t spit you off a corner so easily. There is a reason why the C63 is RWD only (even though you can get the W205 in AWD also).

Just coming out of winter here in California and gentle power management is the lesson of the day. You can still go quickly, but you have to manage the heat, conditions and power very carefully. I am surprised that so many Canadians run them as daily drivers! Though full on winter setup is needed! Read a post on a forum about a guy who tried to drive in snow in the midwest and it was hilarious! Basically abandoned it until the roads were dry enough!

Boring and dull? Hell no. Modern AMG’s are theatre though. Unnecessary exhaust noise. Pops and bangs and engineered in ‘feel’ makes the difference. But equally I want a car that I can actually use as a car. I have a Boxster for handling and open air fun (it’s california!) but the C63 has to work for 95% of other times. And for what they do, they are excellent.

One thing I would say is that 4.0 V8 dominates the experience. It’s always there and torque is always available. That allows you to enjoy it more often. And that makes it a worthy fun car. And who else doesn’t need 500 BHP?

I won’t claims it’s the perfect car for all. Clearly it isn’t. But I think we can all agree that it’s not dull. And Weistec can do a simple OBD map and get you to over 600, that’s not dull!

Ares

11,000 posts

119 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
off_again said:
Wow, that degenerated quickly!

Welshbeef hit the nail pretty well though. I would suggest that the Lexus is probably the closer rival than the M3/4, especially in competition spec!
<snip>
Have you driven it? And the C63S?

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Are there any owners who had the 6.2v8 moved to the hot v but then moved back to the 6.2v8 purely for the way it drove/sounded?

off_again

12,249 posts

233 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Ares said:
off_again said:
Wow, that degenerated quickly!

Welshbeef hit the nail pretty well though. I would suggest that the Lexus is probably the closer rival than the M3/4, especially in competition spec!
<snip>
Have you driven it? And the C63S?
Nope. Not driven the Lexus. Know a few people who have and their explanation sounds fair. Long legged, comfortable and more of a GT car than an out and out 0.7 seconds quicker around a lap kind of car. Definitely at the other end of the spectrum to the M3/4 and C63. And I own a C63S as a daily driver, so have fair familiarity to it.

Driven an M3 though. I was impressed, but with those seats and ride, it’s clearly optimized for performance over most other things. Yes, it’s good, very good. But for me the C63S was a better blend of things that I wanted. And since 95% of most people’s driving will be at legal speeds and conditions, seems a fair compromise.

Oh, and one thing that I would say about the W205, they are built well, but man do they squeak. I have an Alabama built one (all USA ones are built here) and it’s good, but it’s a little disappointing. That’s pretty much the only negative in my book. Did come from a Cayenne which made NO noises! So it’s a little different.

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Are there any owners who had the 6.2v8 moved to the hot v but then moved back to the 6.2v8 purely for the way it drove/sounded?
I've been through the engines over the past few years.

6.2 n/a

5.5 biturbo

4.0 V8 (510)

4.0 V8 (612)

They're all great engines but there's no denying the M156 n/a engine is very special.


BIRMA

3,803 posts

193 months

Sunday 17th March 2019
quotequote all
Brooking10 said:
Welshbeef said:
Are there any owners who had the 6.2v8 moved to the hot v but then moved back to the 6.2v8 purely for the way it drove/sounded?
I've been through the engines over the past few years.

6.2 n/a

5.5 biturbo

4.0 V8 (510)

4.0 V8 (612)

They're all great engines but there's no denying the M156 n/a engine is very special.
I agree, I had the SL63 with the N/A engine, I did the four hour driving course at MB World and for four hours thrashed the twin turbo SL63 around the tracks there. My initial thoughts were how brutal the turbo car brought in the power, whereas with the N/A car you had to work it more. Although I have been doing trackdays since the early 80's I found the whole course rather good, once the instructor had established that you're not an idiot they let you take it to the limits and it was fun and the limits are far higher than you would ever do on public roads.
My drive back in the N/A version was one where I compared the two although not quite as fast as the track experience I did think the N/A engine was just as good. I really liked the fact that the folk at AMG had worked on the exhaust note of the turbo model as that was one of the features of AMG that attracted me to them.
This latest car is obviously another step up with the hot V V8 but it is getting near the price of a black series C63 with it's fabulous N/A engine.
For the record I now drive a Lexus RCF with a N/A V8.