Driven: Mercedes E63 AMG Estate

The award for 'Mental Estate of The Year' goes to...

The love of a good wagon is central to the PH philosophy on life, so you won't be surprised to hear a few of us were overtaken by the urge to spend the rest of our lives with the E63 AMG Estate that M-B dropped off for our indulgence the other week.

It wasn't a complicated romance, as the E63 Estate's charms are pretty obvious. To wit a Mercedes-Benz badge on the nose, a whacking great V8 under the bonnet, and a load space that will accommodate motley retrievers, wine cases or priceless antiquities in the sort of quantities you'd struggle to shake a stick at.

But love, as ever, doesn't come cheap. And in the grand tradition of the abruptly curtailed romance, we didn't discover the full cost until after our parting when Mercedes emailed over a detailed spec sheet with the £85,100 asking price appended boldly to its bottom. It was, in that period of cool reflection that follows any red-hot whirlwind romance, enough to invoke a quick intake of breath through tightly clenched teeth.

You don't have to stump-up quite the full £85k to experience the joys of ownership though, as without the bells and whistles added to the M-B demo car the pleasure starts at £74,400. For which (still not inconsiderable sum) you get a large, 'traditional' estate body with a bit of AMG go-faster fettling around the sills and arches, AMG's venerable 6208cc V8 motor making 525hp at 6,800rpm and 465lb ft at 5,200rpm, a Speedshift MCT 7-speed sports auto gear box, and most importantly an entire warehouse full of raw, giggle-inducing 'stomp'.

The figures reveal a 0-62mph time of 4.6secs, and an ECU limited maximum of 155mph which are admittedly increasingly common coinage in the world of performance motoring. It's still a thrill to experience such potency though, especially when generated by a gloriously vocal V8 installed in the engine bay of a (relatively) barge-like and sleeper-esque family load lugger. (Or have these uber-estates been around long-enough that we're kidding ourselves about the 'sleeper' thing?)

Interestingly, the E63 plays the luxurious cruiser role equally as well as the rip-snorting 'strasse-teufel', and with the car switched to Comfort mode there's only a faint V8 woofle to remind you of its mad potential. The suspension is compliant but controlled, the steering light and direct, and the gear-changes almost laconic, allowing you to settle back, relax and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of a luxuriously-appointed cabin.

Twist the dial round to Sport+, and it all gets suddenly more hardcore. The suspension firms up, the throttle response quickens and plunging your right foot into the carpet unleashes the full AMG sound (and motion) effect, which builds like a cathedral organ crescendo and - as with many of the most colourful experiences life has to offer - is likely to tempt those of a susceptible nature swiftly into the realms of illegality/immorality. (And quite possibly into the realms of financial as well as moral impoverishment, with MPGs in the low teens easily achievable.)

Still, if you're thinking of coughing-up £75k for a car you can pass off to the other half as a family run-about, you'll probably care even less about the cost of running the beast than we did. Chances are you'll be too busy grinning.

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Johnspex

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