nrgy

After a couple short delays I finally picked up the C63. The weather was great today so I had a chance to get a couple hours in, and as expected the car is awesome. The overall presence of this car is in your face, and the two hood buldges are very noticeable in person and while you are driving. You won't forget you are in an AMG with those two flared nostrils in your line of sight. There really isn't an angle I don't like. The brakes are huge, along with the fenders, exhaust tips, etc. The one thing that looks small on the car are the 18" wheels, although I do like them. But I really think 19" wheels with a lip will improve the overall look and stance that much more, painted all black to my taste, of course.

I have to say this car was attracting a lot of attention as well, which surprised me a little bit considering the car is silver, which is a color I never thought had much pop. But I must say the C63 looks great in Iridium Silver, and definatley does POP. I was debating between Iridium, Palladium, and Black. I really don't think you could go wrong with any of those colors. I think no matter what color I chose, I would have thought to myself that maybe I'd be better off with the "other" color. But I'm very happy with my choice, and think the Iridium highlights all the special AMG touches added to the car. That was my main reason for not going with black, as I thought this color would hide the lines of the car. I have no doubt it would look mean in black though.

Interior - cons
I have to admit with some others that the dash does look a little plasticy during the daytime. The overall quality/feel of the material is fine imo, I just think they need to change the texture. If they made it more smooth I think there would be far fewer complaints. Not really a big deal to me though, but I can see where the critics are coming from. Also I would liked to have seen the leather on the doors to be more supple, like on the E55, and a seude headliner like on the E55, as I too think this gives the interior a richer look/feel, but again I'm nitpicking. The last "not really a complaint more of an observation" are the seat backs. I think these would look crazy if they were in carbon fiber, and totally change the look of the interior. I seem to remember a black series car with carbon fiber seat backs...anyone have a picture of that car?

Interior - pros
The seats are awesome as everyone else has said. The same seats from the black series with 3 buttons for lumbar and side bolster adjustmets. They are like bucket seats, so you do have to use a little finesse getting in.

The steering wheel is very nice and thick. The paddles have a very nice feel to them as well. They don't click or clank like metal on metal when you shift, but feel more like buttons. I actually would have preferred a metal click feel haha.

The sound system from what I can tell sounds good for a factory installed system. I didn't really play with it too much though. All in all, I think the interior is perfectly acceptable for a $60,000+ car.

Transmission
For the most part I left the car in Sport mode. I will probably leave the car in sport for most of my driving, as I just think the car responds better when you let it do the shifting. I really havn't had enough time to play around with it yet though, so this may change. I did try out manual mode for a bit and I will say the shifts are much faster than the E55. They seem to respond almost instantly and the downshifts are nice and smooth. The E55 on the other hand can take up to 2 seconds before it will shift, so it seems.

Sound
Hohoho...ah yes, the sound. If you've listned to those Youtube videos, then you pretty much know what to expect. When you first start the car it barks and then settles into a nice quiet idle. Blip the throttle past 4k and it sounds like a caged Jaguar. The car is actually fairly quiet crusing around, but once you get on it this banshee will scream. When you are slowly crusing around, instead of hearing the exhaust, you will hear a nice whine coming from the engine. Almost sounds like a supercharger. Believe everything you've heard about the exhaust note on the C63

Ride
You know I was very skeptical when I kept hearing about the harsh ride. I have a modified Audi that is lowered on 19" low profile tires, and I have put about 50,000m on a Boxster that is fairly rough on bumpy rodes. I didn't expect the C63 to be as rough as either of those cars, but is as harsh or harsher. The ride on the C63 is stiff and you will feel the bumps. Everytime I see a rough patch I grimace, afraid of hurting the car and hearing a loud thud. Compared to the E55 which is buttery smooth, the C63's suspension is hardcore. But personally, I bought this car for its performance, and knew that a harsh ride was possible, so this doesn't really bother me. In fact, it won't sway me from putting on coilovers and 19" wheels. I don't think the harsh ride should scare a buyer away though personally. I think it is bearable, and even when you hit a bump the car doesn't make a loud thud like I keep anticipating, but the suspension is stiff so you will feel it.

Handling
Steering is very tight and responsive, little body roll and flat through the corners just from the few on/off ramps I went on. For a Benz, I really don't see how anyone can complain about the handling of this car. It may not quite match the M3's handling abilities according to what I've read, but holy moly for public roads how can one complain? The E55 for example, definatley feels heavy through the turns and on-ramps, but the C63 is on another level. With that being said, I still need time to explore this aspect of performance.

Power
As you probably can guess, I've taken it fairly easy on the engine. I have laid into it a few times though and can tell you the car feels like a rocket. Very responsive in the lower rpms, and even at higher gears. It is really hard to judge based on seat of the pants (and considering I havn't taken it to redline yet) but I think this will put up a good fight against the E55. Hopefully I can find out soon. I did have a guy in a Saab convertible come out of know where and blow by me. I think he may have just been trying to provoke me to open her up and here the car in full song...well...I obliged.

Fuel
Ahh, I didn't believe it when I read that Car & Driver article where they averaged 10mpg in their test. Unfortunatley, in my first 100 miles, this is exactly what I've been averaging, and I've been driving fairly moderatley. No doubt the mileage will improve once the engine breaks in, but still, prepare to burn through gas. Luckily this is not my daily driver though, which I get 26-27 mpg.

Well, that is my review for now. I look forward to driving it some more. I can't seem to get rid of that stupid grin on my face when driving though

andy_meng1024

Nice review. Congrats on the nice ride.

mrdci

Great review but the 10 MPG. OMG. I was thinking about driving to my parents who live about 400miles away but at $4 a gallon thats $320. How many miles before fill up because some of the drive there are no gas stations for 40-50 miles.

2009c63soon

Thanks for taking the time to post a good, detailed review - much appreciated!!

Timeless

Thanks for sharing your pics and review.

1st amg

Guys like yourself on this forum is what I have to look forward to in the morning as I turn on my computer.....living the owners experience through you as I sit here and patiently wait for mine to be built(july) and shipped over to canada(sept)!! Great pics, car looks awesome, keep us posted on your break in period and there after as you dip into the throttle and approach redline.

RJR

I am sure it will get a lot better than 10 MPG on the hwy. I know what you mean though. I am currently driving a Corvette and I can get almost 30 MPG on the highway cruising.

zibby43

Wow, excellent review. Thank you.

Stradale

Great review! And 10 MPG FTMFW!! lol I agree on your color choice, I feel a lighter color shows off the lines better, no more black cars for me after the last 3-4 being black.

Ak63

Very nice review. Congrats on the new ride.

Silver IS the fastest color after all.

lasurdo77

I`am a recent member to this forum and found your review to be the most articulate and informative to date! I`am expecting my c63 to be delivered in 10 days and look foward to reading the many posts on the c63 as I await delivery.
Yours is by far, the best yet!
Thank you.

Saverino

+1 except...what do you mean by silver is the fastest color of all?

Ak63

Because I like silver car and my car is silver too!

amg07

If you take it easy you will get the 19 or 20 on the highway. Same way for around town - you can get 12-15. But when you open her up, that is when the averages go away.

Also driving in C mode helps a bit, if you are not in an aggressive mode. And with the torque this thing has, it doesn't matter much what mode you drive in (C, S, M) when you step on it, it is gone!

mrtesting

Thank you for the review! and AWESOME AWESOME pictures! So Top Gearish!

lasurdo77

I`am a recent member to this forum and found your review to be the most articulate and informative to date! I`am expecting my c63 to be delivered in 10 days and look foward to reading the many posts on the c63 as I await delivery.
Yours is by far, the best yet!
Thank you.

tanktube67

Congrats! nice beast.

ase2dais

thks for sharing your personal review, you've pretty much covered areas most of us on fence are wondering about

dremorg

CONGRATS! GREAT REVIEW! ENJOY!

kimiFan

congrats! Great review, thanks for taking the time to write it. Your review has made me a little more excited about my delivery, now I'm starting to get the itch! Can't wait to see what you ultimately decide on for wheels? Would love to see pic's when you eventually get it done. Just being selfish though, since it will probably help me decide which way to go with my on wheel decision. thanks again, & enjoy the beast!!!!

EUROTEK//AMG

Congrats! moar pics please!

nrgy

Thanks for all the compliments, much appreciated! And I'm glad you guys enjoyed the review and found it helpful. I finally got to try out my DSLR camera and use some of my Photoshop techniques For those of you expecting your C63 soon or are planning to own one someday, it will be worth the wait.

I will keep you guys posted on the fuel consumption as well. That 10 mpg was pretty much all city driving. I did do a stretch of highway for about 20 miles where I averaged 12.2 mpg, but I believe this was taking into consideration the prior driving session and averaging the two. I'm really hoping I can at least get 16 mpg on highway. The manual says the car has a 17.4g tank with 3.7g reserve, so apprx. a 21 gal tank. Currently, according to the the car's computer, I can go apprx. 111 miles before next fill-up, and the fuel gauge reads just a hair over half tank. Did I mention this isn't my daily driver lol.

If you guys have any specific questions just let me know and I'll try and answer them for you! Thanks again for the positive feedback.

kimiFan

Hey nrgy, where are you from in the PNW, just curious I live in Vancouver Can. Haven't seen any here yet. I don't think anybody's taken delivery in Van yet, I could be wrong but I don't think so. What wheels are you thinking of getting? or did you say before the 360 multi's in all black or was that somebody else?

Mu9enx

beautiful car, and great review! have fun, and boy do i hope your MPG goes up!

MikeRPA

Bro this is an AMG you don't have to take it easy on the engine , the less you baby it from the beginning the faster then it will be , ask any of the amg owners here , or anyone who has fast imports like that , this car was meant to be ripped apart from the beginning.