The Adelaide Hills play a key role in
the Classic Adelaide event – thanks to a road system that mirrors
the flowing contours of the rugged terrain. A classic, Monaco-like
location to launch the latest Mercedes-Benz AMG E 63. On our road
test the E 63 ensured the hills were alive with the sound of raucous
music that rivals – if not surpasses – the note emitted from a V8
Supercar .
The all-new E 63 is a super car in it's
own right – 0-100 km/h in a sizzling 4.5 seconds – speaks for
itself. AMG is the performance division of Mercedes-Benz and the new
E 63 comes to Australia after the European mid-year launch.
Mechanically, the car borrows heavily from the SL 63 AMG
high-performance roadster.
Both share the 6.3 litre naturally
aspirated V8 – producing 386 kW (525 hp) and torque of 630 Nm –
and the AMG Speedshift 7-speed sports transmission has also been
donated by the sleek SL 63. The E-Class is Mercedes' most popular
model accounting for almost a half of all Mercedes sales in Australia
and the E 63 is at the top of the E-Class tree.
Fuel consumption and emissions
have been reduced by around 15 per cent on the out-going E 63.
Combined economy is now 12.7 litres/100 km down from 15.2 litres/100
km on combined cycle. Not that if you have $234,900 – plus on roads
- to fork out on a car is the economy is going to be much of an issue
in the purchase decision.
Despite it's fearsome performance –
and extraordinary road holding and braking dynamics – the E 63 can
be as tame as the family dog and comes with a plethora of safety gear
including no less than 11 airbags. The car has significant
improvements over the `old' E 63 including easy-to-operate setting
system over the transmission, suspension and Electronic Stability
Control that cover everything from city cruising to race track drive
days.
Mercedes-Benz claim improvements in
standard new equipment represent $28,100 in extra value and the
Manufacturers List Price had dropped by $4056 below the outgoing
model. The new equipment is impressive, even by AMG's lofty standards
– and will appeal to drivers who intend to steer the car to its
potential – at the same time using the vehicle as a daily driver.
The new transmission is a gem. It
dispenses with a torque converter and replaces the system with a wet
start-up clutch. It has four drive modes with double-declutching and
race-start functions with a direct connection to the powertrain. In M
mode the gear shift borders on the amazing with changes taking place
in 100 milliseconds under full engine load.
The driver selects the Mode using a
rotating dial situated in the centre console which has illuminated
settings for C, S, S+ and M. C is for `controlled efficiency' or
economical driving, S for Sport, S+ for even sportier changes, and M
for manual settings. Not having the luxury of a race track we
confined our testing to C, S and S+. In S mode the gear changes are
20 per cent quicker while in S+ mode the changes are 40 per cent
faster.
In S, S+ and M modes the engine
management system partially suppresses the
cylinders, interrupting ignition and
injection under full load to enable the faster gearshifts. As we
found the combined effect of this is driver heaven. And it's not just
the upshifts that deliver the thrills. Kickdown allows you to move
from seventh straight down to fourth or from fifth to second. This
facility is active when any of the three sportier modes are
selected. The benefits of this are not just on the race track but in
real-world situations, particularly on wet roads or even ice.
However, in M mode, when upshifting the
transmission delivers full control to the driver. The current gear is
shown on the instrument cluster display and the driver is altered for
the need to upshift just before the engine reaches the red line. The
driver has the choice of using either the gear lever or steering
wheel paddles.
Under the rotator are three buttons for
additional functions. The first is the ESP button, the second a
suspension control and thirdly a `store' button for the driver's
preferred settings. The ESP button has three settings that reduce the
degree of ESP intervention, with the final setting being an `ESP off'
for use by experienced drivers under race track conditions.
The next button down controls the
suspension damping with three settings: Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus
with the selected mode shown in the instrument cluster. The E 63
features an all steel front suspension combined with all-air
suspension at the rear. Also the AMG E-Class differs from it's
siblings with a newly-developed three link front suspension which
has a 56 wider track than the E500. This also means the front
mudguards have been extended outwards giving the car a wider, more
aggressive look from the front. Speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion
steering is also new and with a ratio of 14:1 is 22 per cent more
direct than the stand E-Class models.
The hand-built engine delivers 8 kW
more than the old engine with 386 kW . Like many high performance
Mercedes in normal driving mode the E 63 takes off in second gear
...not that the average driver would notice. The engine revs out to
7200 rpm, but maximum torque of 630 Nm is achieved at 5200 rpm. With
these sorts of figures the engine is simply relentless.
The beauty of the various modes offered
E 63 is the driver usability. They are uncomplicated in offerings and
simple to use. For the owner they would become second-nature in no
time. With the settings reflected by signals in the instrument
cluster it enables the driver to concentrate on actually using the
car to its potential, particularly in race-track situations. Make no
mistake this is a vehicle for drivers who want the best of both
worlds – a family or daily driver with race track cred. We have no
doubt also some enthusiasts will purchase the E 63 as a weekend car.
Visually, the E 63 is imposing without
the sporting `out-there' appearance of the SL 63 AMG. The E-Class is
a family saloon – launched earlier this year - and the E 63 is
AMG's take on what is normally a fairly conservative saloon. What
strikes you first are the distinctive 19 inch AMG alloy wheels
sitting under the 17mm wider flared guards. Australians are the fifth
largest buyers of AMG cars - the US and Germany lead the pack – and
Mercedes-Benz Australia was able to tailor a package directly with
AMG for this market, including the 19 inch wheels - hosting 255/35
front tyres - an inch bigger than offered standard in Europe.
Just behind this is the `6.3 AMG'
lettering leaving observers in no doubt as to the car's heritage.
This, by the way, is the fifth series-production generation of the
AMG enhanced E-Class. The front apron is an integral part of the E63
styling with a central air intake and two large side apertures
ensuring plenty of cooling for hot days on the track. The side air
vents expel hot air from the oil coolers. Down back four exhaust ends
– designed to blend into the E 63's lines – indicate the car is
set up for business.
Inside it's just about all soft Nappa
leather including the dashboard. The roof lining, pillars and sun
visors are all in Alcantara. The overall effect is soft and inviting.
This contrasts with the E63's hard-edge technology in the form of
the functional switches, levers and buttons.
For the hard-core AMG enthusiast, the
story does not end there. The car can be further dynamically enhanced
by a factory performance package. This includes AMG ride control with
a performance suspension and stiffer set-up, AMG rear axle locking
differential with 40 per cent locking action, AMG performance
steering wheel. Optional extras include red brake calipers, AMG
exterior Carbon package, AMG interior Carbon package and illuminated
AMG door entry sills. Early in 2010 Mercedes will also offer an
all-new AMG ceramic composite brake package for around the $20,000
mark.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Our road test took us through a variety
of everyday road conditions from Adelaide's suburbs, on the highway
to Handorf and lastly into Adelaide's hills with their narrow,
winding bush bitumen. We left the car in standard mode for city
driving which revealed no bad habits as a result of the
high-performance components. Unfortunately, the highway speed limit
of 110 km/h revealed very little that we didn't already know: it is
extremely fast – 4.5 seconds – to 100 km/h and has an exhaust
note that must rate near – if not on top - in this luxury sports
saloon segment.
The E-Class is not a small vehicle and
the E 63's handling ability on tight, twisting, uneven roads is
impressive at the least. It turns in beautifully with minimum
steering effort and retains poise even under heavy acceleration out
of sharp, fast bends. At times it feels like it's on rails. What we
did not like was the Satellite Navigation System, which we only used
as we got lost. The system is user-unfriendly with minimal use of
road names – using numbers in many cases – and when we keyed in
Mount Lofty told us we were more than 1400 km from our destination.
There were several problems of a similar nature. The good news about
this aspect is that it proves the E 63 is not flawless. By gee it's
close though.
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