What is it?
The Mercedes-AMG E63 S Estate might well be the car to dethrone the Audi RS6 as the quintessential modern-day super-wagon.
The Audi’s appeal lies in its handsome styling, massive grip, faultless stability and enormous straight-line performance. If the AMG can add some level of agility and on-the-limit precision to that set of attributes, it’ll swiftly unseat the Ingolstadt charger and assume the role of king of the super-estates.
The booted Merc uses the same drivetrain and underpinnings as the E63 S Saloon, which is probably, all things considered, the fastest and most dynamically competent four-door there has ever been. The engine is basically the same 4-litre twin-turbo ‘hot-vee’ V8 that powers great swathes of the AMG line-up these days - although not the dry-sump unit that’s found in the AMG GT sports car - offered here in 604bhp and 627lb ft guise. Mercedes quotes a frankly absurd 0-62mph time of 3.5sec.
The E63 is four-wheel drive now, of course, but it’ll still bonfire its rear boots in three-and-a-half seconds flat if you activate Drift mode, which simply decouples the front axle and disables the driver aids. The gearbox is a nine-speed automatic, rather than a twin-clutch, but the gearshifts are every bit as quick as you need them to be, given that this is a fast estate and not a dedicated sports car. The advantage of the E63’s transmission over a twin-clutch item is that it’s smoother in auto mode and much lighter too.
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80sXS
97 grand
Who are buying these?
Campervan
Car prices
Well most cannot afford to spend this much on a car but for those that think a Rolls, Bentley, Aston, etc too pricey this 97k Merc may fit their requirements. There are many Porsche, Range Rover, Audi, etc equivalents available for similar money once the option boxes have been ticked.
armstrm
They will mostly be on finance
I see quite a few Tesla Model S cars about now. Many of them can cost this much, but again they will probably mainly be bought on finance. The tech in teh Model S is good, but the build quality fit and finish in teh Merc will be much better.
scrap
The jittery ride and
The jittery ride and uncomfortable seats may be the only things you can criticise, but for a car like this they are fatal flaws. No one will be driving this car at the limit on the public road. But owners will want to cover big distances - and it sounds ill-suited to that role.
chandrew
MB are still subsidising the brits.
If you look at other countries £97,000 is rather cheap. The base price in Germany for example is equivalent to £125,000. Given the number of RS6 estates there must be a decent market. It's probably no more expensive than a similarly powerful Range Rover.
Ski Kid
only second hand for under £45k
will be heavy opn depreciation and not exclusive enough for that money hwwhen a basic diesel one is just over 30k with a good discount
chandrew
sorry, the German price is
sorry, the German price is £115,000 not £125,000 for the base model before options. However the message is pretty much the same. At some stage car companies are going to stop subsidising the UK market. Either their margins are enormous outside the UK or they're earning little / no / negative margin in the UK
chandrew
sorry, the German price is
sorry, the German price is £115,000 not £125,000 for the base model before options. However the message is pretty much the same. At some stage car companies are going to stop subsidising the UK market. Either their margins are enormous outside the UK or they're earning little / no / negative margin in the UK
xxxx
They're not subsidising the uk market
the price difference is down to exchange rates, look how Euro rate 18 months and do a price check
typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion
armstrm
It could be the markets doing that.
Mercedes like many companies, could have heged its currecy requirements several years in advance. It could mean that they are earning teh required amount in Euros even if the current spot rate would imply they don't.
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