Comparing the Nissan GT-R with the C63
 

I finally had a chance to drive a GT-R this weekend (2009 model). I was impressed! From a performance standpoint, it does pretty much everything the C63 does, except better. Faster, and more grip. And I hear that the 2012 model is significantly improved.

The areas where the C63 is superior are having more personality, more usable back seat, more refinement, and of course lower cost. The GT-R does have somewhat of a video game feel, and arguably it's too easy to drive fast, so it impedes development of driving skill, but it's still a fun car.

My overall conclusion is that the GT-R is impressive, and most guys who like the C63 will also like the GT-R. I can see replacing my C63 with a GT-R one day.

Sounds like a typical Yelp review. LOL. Hope you had fun!

I would still take C63 over GTR on any given day. GTR sounds **** compared to little c

Nice review---- coming from an owner and an owner of the 63 engine your points based on a limited amount of driving are pretty spot on.

The 2012 is an improvement over the 2009-2011 years and the 2013 is gonna be even better than the 2012- it should be in the 10's stock.

Clearly you haven't heard a GT-R with an aftermarket exhaust.

+1 and i am assuming he hasn't driven one yet

I prefer the C63 over the GT-R as well, and yes, I've driven several.

The OP is spot on though, the GT-R destroys the C63 in performance, and it's so easy to drive. I've seen guys with little track experience set FTD's on the roadcourse after 3 hours. It's ridiculous.

To me, that's boring. It's all subjective, everyone's looking for something different when it comes to cars.

Thats the WHOLE POINT. It sounds badass straight from Stuggart when you buy it from the dealer. You don't have to rice it out just to hear some beefy goodness...

When the computer does the driving for you .... turning it off is a different story. A friend of mine had a GT-R, went to the track, after 2 laps turned off all the driving aids and ...... had a BIG off in a fast right hander.

I've never driven the GT-R with VDC off. They weren't my cars, and the owners didn't let me turn it off for fear of losing their warranty. Not sure of the details of WHY you'd lose warranty driving with it off though.

Because Nissan doesn't wand to be held liable for you wrapping yourself around something. The car gives you it's best performance with all of it's electrical nannies on.

As much of a benz fan as I am, black series included, there is not a single benz that comes anywhere close to matching a GTR at the track. See the latest video that top gear put out of the 2013 GTR cornering speed compared to a GT3 and F528.

We should be happy enough if the C63 has enough tire installed by the factory to easily best an M3!

That's one thing I hope MB solves for the next gen C63 or whatever it's going to be called. 255's are anemic.

As much as I love the C63, I would trade it in for a GT-R.

AMG's are well known for the sound they produce, but I have heard alot of great sounding GT-R's.

This one in particular sounds amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih1A5xWVNyc

I was seriously shopping for a used GT-R a few months ago. I was looking all over the country. I did test drive one on a fun back road and I really loved the power and the transmission's seemless shifting. The car is scary fast.

I needed more interior room than the car offered. I was literally sitting in the back seat measuring leg room so that I can determine if my mother-in-law could fit. Ah, the joys of marriage... I found that she could fit, but anyone over 5'9" would have to duck their heads a little because the rear glass is really low.

I felt very confined in the driver's seat. But, I love the GT-R and I could easily make it work for me as a daily driver. That said, the car's transmission felt jerky for around-town driving. But, that's the trade-off for it's super performance otherwise.

I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having run-flats, which are heavy, due to the lack of a spare.

What ultimately led me to not purchase one were the following reasons:

1) Most of the GT-R's that I looked at, including their available service history were not maintained to my liking. I found that the norm in the used car market was to see examples that had gone between 5,000 and 11,000 miles between oil changes.

2) Owners that I spoke to were reluctant to get the service done at the recommended intervals. New tires and brakes? Forget about it: "those are just recommendations from Nissan to make you spend more money," were common remarks from sellers. Also, if you are looking at a 15,000+ miles GT-R, you have to be prepared for new brakes and tires which will cost you over 4K. That's a chunk to factor in. And if you want a GT-R that has more miles than that, you're potentially buying a car that was beat on for some time.

3) Nissan dealerships are uncomfortable selling these "high" price vehicles. They guard their GT-R stashes like they are crack and they deal in them like they are the end-all-be-all, because to them, they are just that. They are the flagship model and often I felt they were uncomfortable dealing with them because they didn't know much about the model. The Nissan dealerships shell out big money (for their normal operations) and become almost emotionally attached to the used GT-R's that they are selling.

4) Well-maintained GT-R's command a premium because the sellers know their cars are special compared with the used and abused GT-R's that are out there.

5) Many MY09's had transmission replacements. Many MY09 transmission were fine, but enough of them failed that it becomes a huge risk when buying used with an expiring warranty.

6) Because of the tsunami in Japan, the used GT-R market became even more intense and it was really not a buyers' market.

My head is still spinning! :D

There's no comparison really. I'll take the GT-R every day of the week. I have no need for the practicality of my E-Class (99% of the time it's just me and the gf in the car). The GT-R is big enough to fit my golf clubs in the trunk. In fact I've already made my mind up.. I want to buy the updated GT-R now.. BUT with the details of the March '12 updated version I can't decide whether to buy now or hold off for another 4 months for the new one.

PS: I think the exhaust sounds great (even stock). Anyone who says it sounds **** probably hasn't heard one in person (Youtube does nothing for the exhaust sound)

I also really like the sound stock and they just get better when you up the boost and put on aftermarket exhaust. I also love the way they look.

Which is your favorite, exhaust-wise: C63 (stock) vs GT-R (aftermarket exhaust)?

I really don't understand the point of comparing these two particular cars?? They offer completely different driving experiences and are in two different performance categories. Visually they have nothing in common as most of the C63's out there are sedans. Both are great at what they do but they were not targeted at the same market segment.

HKS exhaust is beautiful! I'm ordering mine in Ivory Pearl.. the dealer already has a brand new one sitting on the lot. Don't know if I can hold off until March!!

That's all very true, but what's a C63-owner supposed to compare his car to? I think it's too limiting to think only M3 and RS5, although that's the target group.

When it comes down to it, most C63 owners understand that our cars are not the best canyon carvers and they're too heavy to achieve supercar-level-straight-line-performance, but our cars are kind of tweeners in that they do handle pretty well and they are unusualy quick in the straight line.

I think when you have an M156 in your car, it puts you in a unique circumstance of being able to hang with a lot of cars.

Nice! Sounds awesome. :y

The GTR literally defies the laws of physics thanks mostly to computer intervention.....much like modern era fighters with unflyable control surfaces that will drop out of the air if the redundant computer systems were removed.