hyperion667

very nice

Vic55

Remember before that when this board was first founded? I had a 2001 W210 E55.

otakki

I suspect it wouldn't be long before a Lambo or a McLaren works a way into that stable.

ced357

Looks fantastic! Please share your thoughts on the FF, my wife wants to trade our SLS for one and I'm seriously considering it

Thericker

Stunning Vic!!! Good Lord, please, please, put them nose to nose & snap a quick few easy iphn pix of BOTH Ferrari's together.... Such an awesome addition to the 458

xxGenericSNxx

@vic55
I find the FF to be maybe the only wagon more badass than the current E63. Although completely different animals how would you compare the two?

hyperion667

been asking for side by side shots for years.......to no avail.....


but we do know: Vic 'does not take pictures'........of any of his cars for some reason.....
maybe he'll prove me wrong now......maybe not.......
you'd think such a car buff would be glad to share with us....

any time someone gets a new non Benz around here, they're always proud and excited to share lots of pix........not so in this case.......

Vic55

I love it early on- the AWD system is not intrusive at all and the 651 horses really play well. The V12 exhaust note is amazing- so intoxicating that I rarely use the cheap radio. The interior is very supple (leather) but some the electronics are dated. But I didnt buy it for the amenities. The car just pulls and pulls well in the 150-170's rather easily. It is harder to launch even with AWD than my RS7 was and I can probably only pull mid 3 second zero to 60 runs. The steering is spot on- zero understeer and the Olin dampeners are the absolute best in the business IMHO. Its a great daily driver for me.

Whats up brother- let me see- for you LOL

I had a 2012 E63 wagon for a short run (6 months tops) and I enjoyed it but I just couldnt deal with the suspension. I really deplore the airmatic in the rear as its just so mushy. The car was really big and it just grew wrong on me early on so I got the C63 Black Series. I dont really think the FF is a wagon from a spacing standpoint. The trunk is smaller and the rear seats, while functional, are not spacious. I think its more of a shooting brake style of car (is that different than a wagon?). Its clearly faster than a stock E63 Wagon (mine was tuned) and the FF outhandles it and out "sounds" it IMHO as well. I always found the E63 steering to be slightly numb but that might have the softward back in 2012. But then again the FF (mine) new was circa 360k msrp so pricing is key and my E63 was 95k (msrp 109k).

Stock vs stock I would think the zero to 60 run would be even. The Benz had great rwd grip with the weight bias and the FF AWD system rarely intervenes in Sport mode. From a roll its no contest as the 651hp car just pulls and the F1 DCT is more effective than the MCT. Pricing out of the equation the FF is the better car and with pricing its a toss up for some but for me I love the prancing horse.

You are quite dramatic (joke dont get mad). I didnt know there was protocol established for having nice cars and posting pics all the time. Maybe you should visit other forums like Porsche, Ferrari, Audi etc because that is where I post my pics and this section of the Boards is rather slow. Go over to M5post and visit the "versus" section- maybe you will understand better after a visit there. I dont own a Benz anymore (except for the rarely drive C63 BS) so I dont post as much but I like to provide tangible thoughts on my other cars and answer real questions like the ones I did above. Here is one right before the detailer gets going.

hyperion667

of course no offense....haha, it's just I've always wanted to see all those baddie's sitting together in nothing but glory......true, I could go and venture beyond the forums here....
my world is small.....I can see why the BS takes backseat when there are all the other fun ones to drive.......do any of the recent Benz catch your eye? amg gt maybe?
and thanx for the cool picture of those rides

Vic55

I am considering the S Coupe (63) but I feel Ill fall out of love with it rather quickly because its a large GT car and right now I really only own sports cars. But the looks are polarizing to me and I can do a simple tune and get huge gains along with the AWD platfoirm. One could argue the FF is a GT car and I would agree but it puts up some amazing track times for a 4k lb plus torpedo looking machine. The BS sits at another house along with the R8 so they get limited to zero love right now.

hyperion667

I only have one house


the coupe is nice, sat in one, started it up a few times....but it wasn't an AMG......
interior is really good as is the body

otakki

MB should really consider switching from airmatic to magnetic ride control. The latest, 3rd generation, of that is 40% faster than the before and can go from full firm to to full soft and vice versa in a travel distance of around 3 inches. That's is just insane.

Thericker

Soooo SICK!!!! LUVVVVIIIIITTTTTT!!!! I need to get a ride in 1 of the F-cars 1 of these days..

Vic55

Thanks for pointing this out- both F cars have the MRC as does the Audi. The MRC, IMHO, is the best suspension OEM setup out there for these cars. The ride is so planted and firm in turns and at speed yet very very compliant over rough patches and undulations. Couple this with an amazing chassis and its "handling win"!

Vic55

Im sure we will meet up--- there just arent anymore meets for Benzes it appears. The good ole days going down to SD and Irvine have died out.

xxGenericSNxx

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll have to go and try out an FF sometime! BTW were you at Hing Wa Lee the other day? Saw a pic of a white FF that looked like yours on Instagram.

Vic55

No that wasnt me but some amazing cars hit that place... I do need a new watch

boostiality

Vic can you give your 2 cents on how the RS7 compared to your latest E/CLS experience? I'm coming from a cls55 so going to a w218 would seem natural but the RS7 keeps pulling on all the right places. TIA

PeterUbers

Sweet garage Vic

I want to test drive an rs7 one of these day

Vic55

Its hard to remember my latest E/CLS experience as I have had close 10 plus cars since. But I will try: The RS7 has mind blowing dig acceleration. Add the ECU mod (which I did) its just lights out from a dig AND a roll. Its super fast and I would argue that its faster than even my 458. But the steering and handling can leave something to be desired. I had a steel spring equipped car so it had less body roll than the air models but it still is a fat pig at close to 4500 lbs. The Quattro steering effect can be numb and the understeer is heavy. I countered this buy going with aftermarket sway bars increasing the thickness by 6mm. This made the car much more tossable and pulled out some of the understeer. I really started to enjoy the car more at this point since speed is but one part of the equation. The CLS (The last E non wagon I had was a 2010 so I wont bring that up) had a very stiff suspension with the PP shocks but it was still fluffy in higher speed bends and this was attributed to the rear airmatic. I always felt the steering was not so connected but there was less understeer than the stock RS7. I actually kept the car for 1 year (11-12) before I dumped it for the M5. The CLS was a looker with the HRE wheels, sounded excellent (equal to the RS7 or slightly better), and was a great car but I wanted to try something new. Both the RS7 and the CLS had the resonators pulled which opened up the throatiness of the exhaust and the RS7 had a lot of bark and pop feedback which I liked. I tuned my CLS and would argue the RS7 would trap slightly higher in the quarter and clearly beat the CLS from a dig with its AWD system. But like the CLS, the RS7 ran its tour of duty and I got the FF. There is nothing quite like the V12 song it sings. I was cruising downtown Pasadena yesterday and the wail of the car as it bounces of the buildings was just incredible.


You will love the street driveability of the car- its a fun stoplight car and freeway GT cruiser no doubt. The looks are a bit "hate it or love it" but I was able to break up the weird sloping of the back by adding a spoiler on the deck lid. There are a few sitting used on lots around the US so you should have no issues getting a tester. Make sure you put the car in dynamic mode and when you put the car in D (drive) pull it back one more time to engage D-S (drive sport) which really changes the behavior of the shift points, throttle response, and overall aggressiveness of the car.

boostiality

Thank you for the review, it looks like the RS7 is in my horizon. I actually prefer it's polarizing looks versus the CLS which IMO has gotten too soft visually.

Mr. Happy

I tried the RS7 last year and although I like the interior a lot, I found it was fast but even less involving than the CLS. The one I tried was stock so maybe a tune would help as suggested by Vic. Make sure you try it first! I kind of agree with what Evo says about the RS7 (but I only tried it once)...see below. In the paid subscription of May 2015, you can actually read the full comparo of 6 super sedans (RS7, Panamera GTS, M5 30 Jahre, Jaguar XFR-S, Vauxhall something and E63 S).

http://www.evo.co.uk/audi/rs7/15540/...-which-is-best

ozy

OP, great review on the '15 cls 63. thank you.

jpohl402

Thanks for the write-up, Jim!
Very informative.

kinjal

I just took delivery of my 2015 CLS63 AMG-S, and think alot of the review is spot on. The power is beastly. As soon as you hit the start button, you can feel the engine throughout the car. Once you hit the gas pedal, your stomach elevates and you cant breathe. The torque simply takes your breath away.

The shifting is great because there are multiple drive modes. In Sport plus, I thought it outperforms my outgoing Porsche PDK auto transmission.

The exterior changes are dramatic. I had considered getting a used 2014, but once you see the 2015, the 2014 looks more dated (while still amazing obviously). The CLS has a muscular body to begin with, and the AMG touches and fenders make it look menacing. I got the upgraded mesh wheels, which are super classy.

I love the interior. I know everyone has there thoughts on the new screen. I didnt like it when I saw it in the non-AMG CLS. In the CLS63 however, i think it flow perfectly. The central gear selector and AMG buttons that you get on the CLS63 opposed to the regular CLS, balance out the cabin and the screen looks great.

All in all, very satisfied. I dont think there is another 4 door out there that has the class, power, and beastly looks all wrapped up into one package like this! i testes the panamera turbo, rs7, m6 as well. Here are some pics.. first one is on delivery... second two are post tint.