Is the AMG Performance Exhaust functional or purely ear candy?

It certainly does have a nice throaty growl to it when turned on, but does it give the car anything in the way of extra HP or the like?

 

Just ear candy : )

 

As I suspected. I'm looking to purchase a C43 Wagon and was wondering if the AMG Drivers Package is worth the $2400 CDN.

I think not, to me anyway. If I was 20yrs old, maybe.

 

Hmmm you made me curious. How come you are looking at the C43 then? Why not E450? The E450 wagon is no slouch but without the excitement of the performance exhaust and it is heavier and it rolls in corners. The ride is so much softer too. If you want more power you can always consider the E53.
I think a lot of people here buy the C43 because of the sound, just my thoughts anyways...

 

The AMG driver's package have some other goodies as well not just the exhaust, like drive unit, the "performance" steering wheel with the red stripe at 12 o'clock, 19 inch wheels (although they are prone to bending and cracking), track pace and top speed increase to 250 km/hr

 

"If I were 20 years old maybe?" Well I am 65 and I actually enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would.. I leave it on most of the time, unless my wife's in the car.. agree on the e450 wagon however..

 

Actually, we are also looking at en E450 Wagon, but a new one is $92K vs $80K for a new C43 with the AMG Drivers Package, 77K without.

We've given our local dealer the task to try and find a good CPO version of each, but are keeping our options open.

 

Please don't take this wrong, I am not trying to sound like a jerk.

Yes, I am aware of the other goodies. And I agree about the 19 inch wheels. Those are all what I consider 'nice to haves' but not necessary, in my way of thinking. Since I am never going near a track with the car, increasing the top speed to 250km, well, not much chance of me ever getting anywhere near that speed.

Regards.....Pete

 

This line of thought has crossed my mind in the past frequently. We've had similar discussions in the Audi forums with the S models. Over there the must have option for many is the optional sport differential and you often here people saying things like why buy an S4 or S5 and not get the sport differential. Might as well just buy an A5 or A6. To some extent I'm still thinking along those lines, because I'm fully committed to the performance models, hence why I drive a C63 and not a C43, but I've come to understand that cars like the C43 have one foot on the performance brand side and the other foot still in the regular model brand and you can option it to be more of the one or the other. So somebody who wants a little bit of AMG, but not too much can forgo things like the PE or the AMG Drive Unit and what not and get more of a regular Benz with a bit of AMG flavor, or they can swing more to the AMG side and add things like the PE, Performance Seats, AMG Drive Unit etc. And if they want to go even further, then there is the C63 and even further the C63S.

 

I got the driver's package and I wouldn't spec it any other way. The steering wheel with the drive units is a must have once you see it, use it and feel it. The PE is also a must have, my kids love it more than I do as they always say "Dad put the car in Sport +". Just saying.

The C63 coupe is my dream car but rear wheel drive steer me towards the C43 coupe. The wide body of C63 is just a head turner, still drooling when I see one but my C43 is just an amazing car with the Driver's package (C63 inside).

 

I agree with pretty much everything you said there, except the most significant factor for me in going from a C63 to a C43, instead of another C63, was the 4MATIC. Wasn't in love with the idea of losing some raw power, but I live in a climate that saw over a foot of snow in the month of February (which isn't a ton compared to some areas, but it's a lot compared to Florida, Texas (*2021 excluded), California, Arizona, etc. ).

After doing 5 years of seasonal tire/wheel swaps with the C63 and having to drive like a grandma with a skinny square winter setup, I was ready to drive something I could launch hard in all 4 seasons. It wasn't a huge hassle to "winterize" the W204, and powerful RWD cars are very competent with the right boots, but it's been nice to skip those steps the past few years.

I guess there's an argument to be made that 4MATIC isn't just a practicality compromise, but a performance one too. But as the technology improves, and as the cars become heavier anyway, I think that becomes less true.

 

Yes, 4Matic and AWD in general is another thing that makes the C43 more of a "normal" car. It makes it easier to drive in any conditions w/o the driver needing a lot of skills. However, there's also a fallacy there. AWD doesn't preclude you from putting on proper winter shoes, because AWD doesn't help you stop. There's no point in AWD helping you get off the ground if you don't have good enough tires to stop in an emergency or make evasive maneuvers. Plenty of folks have ended up in curbs or worse with all-season tires, because of underestimating how bad they really are in the snow, although tires are getting better and there are some all-season tires now that have a three-peak mountain snowflake rating.

The reality is that AWD really only is a benefit up to about 30 mph in adverse conditions. Outside of that and for stopping it's dead weight at best and a false sense of security at worst. I've read one study that concluded in the real world the benefits of AWD are used only 1% of the time, or in other words for every 10,000 miles it's only a benefit for a 100 miles. That kinda puts the added complexity, weight etc. in question. Unfortunately, the perception among many customers is that they "need" AWD, so AMG is making all future models 4Matic. It's really a shame to be honest. Yes, I live in CA, and we have about 300 dry days on average every year and yes, when the roads are wet I have to take it somewhat easy and if we drive up to the mountains in the winter we have to take a different car, but I buy my cars for the majority of days and not the occasional few days where I might have to leave it in the garage, because the conditions aren't right.

Just curious where you live, how often are the roads actually not cleared when you drive in the winter? My previous car was an Audi RS5, so quattro and it certainly made it easier to put down the power even here in our dry climate, but it also robbed a lot of live out of the car. While I enjoyed my two Audis I had, eventually I just had to admit that AWD has more disadvantages than it has advantages, but everybody's situation is different and not everybody has the luxury of waiting out bad weather or has another car in the garage they can drive on those days. I do have to say, though as opposed to the 4Matic in the C43 and quattro, the new 4Matic+ puts 100% of the power/torque to the rear in normal driving and only engages the front wheels if the traction situation demands it. So you kinda get the best of both worlds. It's almost purely RWD when it's dry out, but it gives you the extra traction when roads are slippery. One of the things that really started to bother me with the Audis is the effect AWD has on steering. It just messes with the steering and causes understeer, because the front tires have to do two things at the same time. There's always a hint of torque steer, too.

 

AWD definitely doesn't preclude one from also adding proper winter tires, but in my experience, they're not a necessity for city driving in a well-sorted AWD car with an excellently-engineered set of all-season tires. And that's what I've enjoyed about the C43's performance thus far. It's just easy to live with as-is; any and all tinkering (including seasonal) is optional. That 30-mph range you refer to ends up covering a vast majority of city driving in inclement conditions (to and from the store, for example), and most people slow down anyway when caught in a snowstorm or a heavy thunderstorm that limits visibility to less than 100 feet.

But I do agree that, generally, once the car is in motion, especially above a certain speed threshold, it becomes more about the rubber than the drivetrain.

I live in Indiana. And when we get severe thunderstorms (which can occur weekly any time from April to the end of September), it rains hard. Throwing all theoretical and technical discussions out the window for a moment, and taking into account my experience living with a variety of vehicles in those those conditions (including with max performance summer tires on a RWD car and above-average all-season tires on an AWD car), the AWD option is generally more confidence-inspiring, irrespective of driver skill level. Is it an absolute necessity? Not 100% of the time in those conditions, but I'm just going off of pure experience and what I've felt in terms of how I can drive the car in those conditions.

With respect to the roads in the winter, the plowing where I live is generally very good. But independent contractors are responsible for neighborhoods and back roads, and both these neighborhoods and back roads can have hills. Furthermore, it all depends on the timing of the snow. If it hits during the morning or evening rush hour, there's nothing the plow/salt trucks can really do, because there's too much traffic. Everyone's crawling and constantly starting and stopping, which is where I've noticed that the AWD is a noticeable advantage.

Especially when you're inching toward a stoplight at the top of a tall hill with a decently steep approach angle. I have a hill/stoplight combo like this not too far from my home, and during the polar vortex winter a few years ago, I was white-knuckling it up the hill in my C63 with Dunlop Winter Maxx (which were a dedicated ice/snow tire). I had to strike the perfect balance between carrying speed and managing subtle throttle inputs. In my C43 with the crappy stock all-season Conti RFTs, I took the hill at just under the speed limit.

In sum, I definitely hear where you're coming from re: buying the car for the majority of days you encounter, but with the unpredictable weather we get here, you have to be ready for anything at any time in a given season, which means you can't get caught out on the wrong tire at the wrong time. There were winters with the C63 where we barely got any snow, and heavy-duty winter tires felt like a waste. There were others where my dash's ESP light doubled as an onboard Christmas tree.

If I lived in CA, it would be RWD all day long. 300+ days of nice weather (as you mentioned), plus some of the best driving roads in the entire country! One thing is for sure, despite how good the AWD engineering gets, there is no substitute for the front-end responsiveness of a well-sorted, balanced RWD car with precise steering.

 

I think getting the package with the performance exhaust would make it easier to resell the car later on if that is the route you'd be going. I know that most people who look into buying a C43 would prefer to have the perf exhaust

 

I know you aren't sounding like that xD. Don't worry. I also understand that some people want to have the agility and performance of the C43 yet don't want the sound. I heard the sound is stealthier when valves are closed compared to non-PE, but I am not sure if my memory served me right.
Hmmm not sure why the E450 you were looking at were at such premium, is it because you are looking at the facelift? The pfl should be cheaper than the C43 even.
Edit: nevermind you said you were looking at CPOs... I understand the E450 is an E class therefore more premium but I do not expect such premium. At least comparing to pfl C43 it used to be very similar to pfl E450 in terms of pricing. I guess cuz of COVID, everything is more expensive now.

 

I agree with what you said. The two cars are just tuned differently no matter what. The regular Benz models just have some styling and things, although the performance of the E450 is on par, it is just not touched by AMG, the characteristics of the two vehicles is just different. One is about luxury with having the ability to get from A to B faster without the feeling of being faster while AMG is on a different level. That being said AMGs (both mass produced and hand-built ones) can be just as comfortable hence being the best of both worlds.