RE: Mercedes-AMG C63 S (2019): Driven

RE: Mercedes-AMG C63 S (2019): Driven

Thursday 26th July 2018

2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S | PH Review

AMG's "C-Class powerhouse" is tinkered here, fettled there and better than ever



What with the sheer proliferation of new AMG models in 2018, it's easy to forget just how significant the C63 has been - in all its forms - since its launch just over a decade ago. Because let's face it: pre-2007 AMG, charming though it was, didn't exactly have vast scope in terms of product. You chose whether your V8 was small, medium or large, whether your car was saloon, estate or roadster, and held on for dear life.

Where the C63 succeeded (and broadened Affalterbach's appeal) was in its irresistible blend of AMG silliness with some genuine dynamic nous - here, finally, was a small AMG saloon that could really take on the BMW M3. A 6.2-litre V8 certainly helped its cause, too. Moreover, its W205 replacement - this car's predecessor - was as important for the brand, if not yet quite as loved by the public at large. It ushered in the current AMG era, that of twin turbos and electronically controlled diffs and copious configurability, very positively. While the AMG GT arrived a few months earlier, it was the C63 that really announced to the world how future AMGs were going to be.


Perhaps conscious that a winning recipe was not to be meddled with, AMG's facelift is a reasonably minor one. You can read the original news story here, but it largely amounts to a new gearbox, traction control from the GT R, yet more dynamic configurability and a cosmetic refresh. Whichever way you cut it, this is patently still a C63 - from the outside, the inside and behind the wheel, there is absolutely no mistaking this car for anything other than the 500hp C-Class we all know and love.

A brief road drive confirms as much in typically rambunctious and charismatic AMG style. In the graphite grey magno paint you see here, the 'S' Coupe is a brooding, menacing, malevolent presence on the road, 'uberholprestige' assured here by the new grille - it looks handsome, just in quite an intimidating way. Remember Christian Bale in American Psycho? It's that kind of look.


Despite being carried over unchanged, the V8 is still the star of the show, aided by a significantly improved gearbox. Where the pre-facelift car sometimes felt like it was great despite the gearbox, this new nine-speed MCT automatic actively complements the package. It will bimble and cruise and mooch like the very best Mercedes autos, yet also deliver incisive shifts up and down.

A further positive comes from the ride; while hard to definitively judge in an entirely different environment years later, the response of this C63 on its retuned AMG Ride Control suspension feels more accommodating than before. Still purposeful, yes, and still probably anathema to those who like traditional AMGs, but with a fraction more compliance than before.


Being the confident types, AMG chose to introduce a Bilster Berg track element to the C63 launch. Like the road cars, all track vehicles were 'S' spec with the optional carbon ceramic brakes. Interestingly the base 476hp C63 now receives the electronically controlled limited-slip diff once the preserve of the 510hp flagship (replacing the mechanical one) and all models get the 'AMG Dynamics' brake-based torque vectoring, though the S is the only one to benefit from the GT R-style traction control. But more on that in a sec.

Because, quite frankly, the track C63s could have been fitted with the old AMG 7.3 V12 and it would have gone unnoticed; Bilster Berg just doesn't give you a second's let up, especially when you're new. The gradient changes are savage, the apexes often blind and run off limited. However, such is the inherent friendliness and balance of the C63 that the intimidation subsides fairly swiftly. It's not a car that's brutally punishing of mistakes in a way that an M3 can be, with a more immediately welcoming character than the hyper alert Giulia.


And ruddy hell, what an engine. This 4.0-litre 'hot-V' V8 isn't new anymore, and 100hp away now from the most powerful version, but still bestows the C63 with the kind of attitude and excitement that no rival can yet match. Wound up to its more aggressive drive modes (via a Porsche-style selector on the new, very pleasant wheel), the throttle response is beyond reproach for a twin-turbo and the noise sublime: deep, bass heavy and melodic. It's always sounded great, but a week after an M3 CS driveand it sounds even better.

This gearbox works on track too, better than you'd probably expect. Upshifts are immediate, downshifts arrive quicker than before and the very fact it's workings are barely noticed says a lot. There's a suggestion a dual-clutcher would probably be sharper still, but this is a very good auto.


Second time around (and with some idea of where the track goes), the confidence is there experiment with the nine-stage traction control. It's regulated by the drive mode dial once you've switched out the stability control, clickable from 1 (full assistance) to 9 (everything off; all the best). Now while you'd expect a new AMG traction control system, given to a journalist for a track test, to impress, it really does feel like a worthwhile reason to get an S over the standard car. Because the interventions are so finessed, decisive and adjustable, it's a system that really feels like it's helping rather than getting in the way of your fun.

As it's only accessible when the ESC is completely off, you drive with more consideration too, mindful that momentum can still catch you out even if 516lb ft has some loose reins. That means the dynamic cohesiveness comes to the fore; the relationship between throttle, steering, driving assists and diff behaviour seemingly spot on for however you want to drive. The AMG Dynamics tech is probably doing something here, designed as it is for "optimal agility", but it would be a lie to suggest its presence could be tangibly detected.


Even though the C63 may not be a truly natural track car - an 1,800kg kerbweight sees to that - it ought to be entertaining and engaging enough for damn near everyone. Is an M3 more adept still? Most likely. Does that matter when the C63 is as good as it is on the road? Probably not.

Out among the hedgerows, in both saloon and estate, the C63's sense of all-encompassing talent is made to feel complete. The wagon is ever so slightly blunter to driver, but to a negligible degree, a point it of course it counters with additional practicality. And cool. The saloon might actually be the pick of the bunch, fractionally lighter than the coupe and even keener to play the hooligan.


What's not so good? There's very little. Great though the new steering wheel is to hold, the buttons it's festooned with are initially a little bewildering. There's also an argument to say that the last thing the C63 actually needed was more configurability - the S now boasts six drive programmes (with the four AMG Dynamics settings incorporated into them) plus the traction control. Experience suggests you often settle on a few, with many hundred more being superfluous. Moreover, while the AMG Track Pace app (standard on the S, optional on the standard car), promises to record over 80 vehicle-specific sets of data 10 times a second, really, what's the point? You can't time on a track day, and this isn't the sort of car to be taken on a closed track event.

Excessive fripperies aren't enough to detract from the tremendous appeal of C63, though. Here's a car that can be as luxurious, refined and restrained as any other Mercedes product, while also playing the archetypal AMG lout (and assured track day tool) as your mood sees fit. It covers every base superbly well, yet by dint of that fabulously likeable powertrain, avoids the aloofness that can characterise some mightily capable cars from Germany (naming no names...). As a result the C63's position as class leader, regardless of bodystyle, seems all but guaranteed. But rest assured we'll be finding out for certain as soon as possible.


SPECIFICATION | 2020 MERCEDES-AMG C63 S COUPE (W205)

Engine: 3,982cc twin-turbo V8
Transmission: 9-speed auto with lock-up clutch (MCT), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,750-4,500rpm
0-62mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 180mph
Weight: 1,800kg (EU, with driver)
MPG: 27.9mpg
CO2: 230g/km
Price: TBA













Author
Discussion

Master Bean

Original Poster:

3,517 posts

119 months

Tuesday 24th July 2018
quotequote all
Will you sort the forum out first, then review some cars.

jakesmith

9,461 posts

170 months

Tuesday 24th July 2018
quotequote all
You wot m8

MissChief

7,095 posts

167 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Am I the only person that thinks this series of C Class are, well, ugly? They don't have a pretty angle at all from any side and IMO they look like something Peugeot or Vauxhall could have come up with ten years ago.

MissChief

7,095 posts

167 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Master Bean said:
Will you sort the forum out first, then review some cars.
The forum is all but dead. There's no one actively looking after it since the Haymarket takeover and, TBH, if it were to suddenly die or get hacked I wouldn't be surprised if they just decided to not fix it. They won't spend ANY money on it at all.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
MissChief said:
Am I the only person that thinks this series of C Class are, well, ugly? They don't have a pretty angle at all from any side and IMO they look like something Peugeot or Vauxhall could have come up with ten years ago.
No - I really don't like them either!

Glad you mentioned Vauxhall - I've just realised it's the 1st generation Insignia that the rear of the current C-class reminds me of.

giggity

846 posts

160 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I have a serious soft spot and really want the M156 6.2 W204 however the W205 C63 is really beginning to grow on me.

It’s a sublime car and Mercedes-AMG is leaps and bounds above the rest.

I really should give the W205 another look in before deciding to bite on a W204!

9k rpm

515 posts

209 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I really like the look of these but can’t get over how much it weighs!

An M4 Convertible which is a lardy cumbersome thing compared to the coupe weighs 50kg less than this. I’m sure it is a lovely drive but really? 1,800kg is the same weight as an Alfa Stelio Quadrifoglio and we all know what people on here say about the weight of an SUV.

Also how can you possibly get any enjoyment from a 9 speed gearbox other than in auto mode? Surely the ability to shift manually is a gimmick. All in the name of economy I know but come on, this is a 500bhp super coupe!

Kenny Powers

2,618 posts

126 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Beautiful car! Although I personally cannot ever quite come to terms with Mercedes’ (AMG’s?) almost ubiquitous silver-accented rims. Admittedly I’ve never perused a configurator or even stopped to consider if I might just be imagining it, so hopefully there are better, more conventional choices of wheel.

I’d still buy one regardless! thumbup

Edited by Kenny Powers on Wednesday 25th July 06:29

ocrx8

867 posts

195 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Mr Tidy said:
No - I really don't like them either!

Glad you mentioned Vauxhall - I've just realised it's the 1st generation Insignia that the rear of the current C-class reminds me of.
I’m with you both here - this gen of C-Class is a munter! You can’t move for Coupes where I live and familiarity hasn’t made them one jot better looking.

High Roller

110 posts

172 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Nit picking I know... but that steering wheel is ghastly. Looks like a 1980s stereo

stuckmojo

2,955 posts

187 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Nice car but I like the old version better. 6.2 N/A and all.

This new AMG grille they put on everything to copy the GT/GTS doesn't work for me. It looks bad even on a square car like the new G wagen.

jon-yprpe

381 posts

87 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I picked my C63 coupe up at the end of June. I got a mega discount becuase of the facelift, and I really don’t like the new pan-americana grill - it looks fantastic on the GT, but doesn’t work on the C63.

But the C63 puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. I actually find I drive more slowly (that may be the weather) and treat it as a GT cruiser. It sounds sublime, the noise can be muted via the sports exhaust when it gets too much (it doesn’t tho) the interior is top-notch and it can either be completely relaxing to drive or ‘st yourself’ scary.

Demerits are that the gearbox is a bit slow, and that the exhaust boxes don’t actually join to the tailpipes.

But it is so, so much more enjoyable that my old F80 M3.

2 GKC

1,884 posts

104 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Really don't like those matt paint jobs.
Interior looks a mess to me too

G13NVL

2,732 posts

83 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Aes87 said:
Man what were they thinking with the grille ?

Mercs were so much better 15 years ago. Now they are irritating and too loud - the next-door neighbour's 6.2L C63 wakes me up at 6am every single morning because it is too loud on startup, and then too soft once it settles to an idle. Which makes it kind of whimpy and pathetic. If you're going to have a loud car, make it loud all the time, but don't be an irritating tt and wake up the whole freaking street every day

Edited by Aes87 on Wednesday 25th July 05:51
Tbh I find this a flaw with mine. It has a loud ‘bark’ on cold startup and has a loud almost old American v8 idle for about 10 seconds then goes quiet, lovely during the day but not at 2:30am when I’m going to work makes me cringe abit every time but luckily my neighbour is ok with it. Can have the start up bark mapped out if so wish.

Ed Straker

221 posts

142 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I don't think this one looks aggressive enough.
I was hoping they'd do a Black Series for the old one.
And I think the new widescreen dash in the A class should be in everything.....
This one looks out of date already.

ManOpener

12,467 posts

168 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I quite like the basic shape of these but the details of the styling are a mess IMO. It does, however, have very, very nice wheels- Mercedes and Alfa seem to be the only mainstream manufacturers consistently turning out performance cars with wheels that don't look fking awful.

I've got no idea what's going on with that steering wheel. It looks like a part-finished prototype they haven't skinned with anything yet.

tgclowes

198 posts

115 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I love it! Glad I waited before committing to the older model (albeit at a very big discount!) as the one was always let down by the interior.

Steering wheel doesn't look ideal, but I've held one in the new S63 and at least it feels great which is more the point I would think.

It took me a long time to warm to the new W205 shape (after two W204 C63s) but I'm now fully on board with it.

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
Mmm, chintzy.

mfp4073

1,940 posts

173 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
That truly is one ugly looking car, what the hell were they thinking?...oh wait a minute... they weren't .

Eviltad

1,320 posts

178 months

Wednesday 25th July 2018
quotequote all
I like it.