Mercedes-AMG C63 S sedan
Australia's Best Driver's Car
9th

Mercedes-AMG’s C 63 S super-sedan arrived at ABDC 2016 with the weight of high expectations on its pumped-up shoulders. But the combination of too-firm suspension and light-switch power delivery dealt it a blow in judging which no amount of horsepower was unable to redress. This might be a super fast and furious mid-size muscle car, but that doesn’t mean it ticks all the driver’s car boxes…
Brutally powerful and wickedly quick, the latest Mercedes-AMG C 63 S is more sledge-hammer than scalpel. And that’s the opinion not just of this writer, but the whole Australia’s Best Driver’s Car judging team.
In fact, the car that promised so much when motoring.com.au drove it on the smooth confines of the Mt Panorama and Portimao race circuits at its local and world launches was, overall, a disappointment in Tasmania.
A throttle pedal that felt full of notches and a power delivery that was more light-switch than rheostat, combined with overly firm circuit-orientated suspension to make the AMG intimidating and at times almost unpredictable on Tasmania’s challenging road surfaces.
On the track the Benz was supercar-fast but kept even us racers absolutely on our toes. Wheel spin is only ever a flex of the foot away.
On the road the brittle suspension response, lack of compliance and power-down grip, and sharp but uncommunicative steering, made it challenging to drive quickly with any feeling of surety – even when the route was well known, well surfaced and dry.
“Just doesn’t have the grip – its limits are found too easily and it’s forever into the stability control,” Luke Youlden commented.
“Rides like a dray, even in Comfort mode. It skips over bumps. Lacks the compliance and progressive at limit handling of other sedans here,” Pettendy stated.
The 375kW/700Nm twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 is one of the world’s best engines and dominates the C 63 S. Indeed, the heart of the car is almost the whole story – and it shouldn’t be. To be a great driver’s car there needs to be connection and communication, and the C 63 S doesn’t deliver this.
“Feels very big in tight going, but lovely on sweepers,” Greg Leech pronounced.
“Easily knocked off line by bumps in all [suspension] modes,” Ken Gratton noted.
There was plenty of praise for the updated AMG automatic transmission – I believe it’s the best engineered part of the car. Along with the Jaguar F-TYPE, the C 63 S proves dual-clutch gearboxes aren’t the be-all and end-all of sporty self-shifters.
>>More photos of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S at motoring.com.au
And the ABDC judging team also gave a thumbs-up to other aspects of the car’s packaging. We loved the seats and most of the other judges liked the driver’s cockpit and its fat-rimmed small-diameter steering wheel. From my own point of view, I’d need to spend more time in the C’s cabin to get entirely happy with the ergonomics. It’s still busy and some controls almost seem hidden. Not ideal…
But the majority of comments kept coming back to the mismatch between the car’s smooth-road (dare we say racetrack?) orientation and the contrasting suspension needs for fast, fun progress on the wild roads of the Apple Isle.
“Sad to say… the least impressive car I have driven [on this test],” Bruce Newton wrote.
“OMG, the pace of this car is mind-blowing… But I never felt complete trust,” Nadine Armstrong stated.
“Like a stockbroker on cocaine… Always feels on the edge but smells of money,” Chris Fincham joked.
Priced from $154,510, only the Porsche and Jaguar are more expensive in this company. There’s plenty of kit for the money and from an appearance standpoint all but one or two of the testers gave the interior and exterior design and appearance thumbs up.
But this C 63 S didn’t exhibit the vault-like build quality most of us expect from Mercedes and Affalterbach. In fact, the opposite -- eight of the 13 testers made notes about rattles, squeaks and groan in the C 63 S cabin.
Although these were definitely exaggerated by the aggressive suspension settings of the C 63 S, we learned after testing that the car we used for ABDC had led a particularly hard life from day one.
Almost everyone also commented on the raucous road noise and wind noise from driver’s side external mirror. Mercedes-Benz Australia points the finger in part at tyre choice. The Michelins fitted to our C 63 S, although the best choice from a performance point of view, are also the nosiest of the three tyres homologated for the car, the company said.
The motoring.com.au crew will take the complaints on notice and keep an eye (or should that be ear) out on future C-Class tests.
After picking the awesome A 45 AMG as my favourite car in 2015, I was so looking forward to driving the C 63 S at this year’s ABDC. The reality fell far short of my expectations.
The building blocks are there, but it seems to me like AMG signed off this car after only testing it on racetracks and autobahns. That just doesn’t cut it on Aussie roads, let alone the more challenging parts of my home state.

 

I don't think the suspension is too firm at all. I think it's perfect.

The biggest 2 issues with this car are:

1. Throttle response due to the Turbo setup. I think AMG should've added a small electric motor to give an instant torque boost.

2. The lack of steering feel due to EPS. The steering is just horrible.

AMG isn't listening... So I'll keep dreaming and saving for a true exotic.

PS: I love the fact that this car is a RWD. Being so tail happy is what makes it so special to my eyes.

 

This review is on the sedan and not the new coupe, correct?

 

So you bought C amg as an exotic? I drive it to work every day and need 4 doors for my kids. Car is a practical sedan with performance that can match some of those exotic cars. Latest M cars, my former golf r all have that electric steering and same feel to it so I've gotten used to it. It servers its purpose well, one thing I agree is the noise in the cabin from rattles and squeaks that start developing.

 

http://www.carsales.com.au/editorial...n-video-102315

thats the related review video

 

Please understand. First world cars are not appropriate for third world countries/ roads. MB should have tuned the suspension properly for the said countries.

 

No.

I bought this car because that's all I can afford, not because I'm in love with it.

I said I'll keep saving until I can get a car that I'll be truly in love with such as a true NA exotic.

 

Seems they made it a point to mention that this particular C63S test car had been through some pretty rough abuse.

Conclusion: This car might be a bit too firm for your daily commute in Tasmania.

Now test the Coupe!

 

theres a video of the coupe too today unrelated to the ABDC article

http://www.carsales.com.au/editorial...-review-102366

 

Ouch..
All you could afford? I feel bad for you j/k.
Strangely I'm in love with this car so far and hope its stays this way as I'm tired of loosing money by trading cars every 1-2 years.
You should check the new Stingray Grand Sport, same as Z06 but with NA engine. Can't beat that for the price.

 

Guilty
You better do it soon as NA cars are just about gone and all new ones will be boosted.
I have about 5000 miles on mine and about the only real gripes for me is the too small tire size and I would like comfort to be slightly softer as when others are with me they don't like it as firm as I do.
Maybe they had a car with a throttle mapping problem as I don't feel I have a problem feeding in power smoothly. I did 3 days at COTA and this car is just behind the GTS and I love mine.
All the competition has some gripes but after driving them all I thought this is best of the bunch.
I read the motor trend article and Lieberman said he thought this car was the most confidence building of the bunch.

 

It's funny that you say that. I almost pulled the trigger on a Z06. Could've gotten it for cheaper than my car. My friends talked me out of it mainly because it's only a 2 seaters + the way I drive will draw too much attention in a Z06. I actually rented a Stingray for about a week when I first moved to SoCal and managed to get pulled over 3 times (warnings only). The Grand Sport looks like a cool toy but I'm aiming for something more italian.

Having a C63 + another Italian toy would be very very nice.

You're right the tire size is a bit annoying but it doesn't bother me that much since I'm not exactly looking for a good grip... I like it when it slides everywhere. I actually always drive with ESP Off. Had to replace my rear set a 2.5k miles Smaller tires are cheaper to replace. The only real issue is that the car looks a bit anemic. I like big butts and you can only get that with wider tires.

When I was shopping for a car, I couldn't really find anything that seats 4 people that I truly liked so I just settled for the C63. An S63 coupe would've been also very nice

 

Haha - love this...and so true! Gotta say I love everything about my C63S - have no gripes at all -even the fact it doesn't have wider tires (but am still a huge fan of big butts!). Steering feels good, throttle response is good, and yes, the suspension is stiff, but that is exactly what I expected - and honestly, I don't think it is that stiff. If you're comparing it to other cars in its class then I think it ranks towards the top, if not at the top. Just my two cents...

 

http://www.carsales.com.au/editorial...-review-102366

Here is the review for the coupe

 

You have a 1730kg car that needs to do blistering times on the track, inevitably the suspension tuning is not going to cater to bumps on the beautiful but often dangerous twisty roads of Tasmania. As a driver on those roads you are constantly negotiating through hilly country and you are constantly nervous about bumps in the road that could cause a loss of traction when you have a big drop-off on the side of the road. So while the C63 may not have shined in that environment, it is so rarely used in that scenario that it doesn't matter in the least. This is a city car, a grand tourer on major highways and a car that can be taken to the track. It does all those things brilliantly.

 

Ouch...

Australia is not a third World Country and is also the biggest per capita AMG customer in the World, however you'll find less than adequate roads I'm sure in every Country even in the U.S and Europe - so maybe MB/AMG should take notice of such feedback

Yes it's about the W205 not C205 and there have already been numerous reviews and customer feedback reports saying the coupe rides much better in comfort mode than the sedan, we'll have to wait for official feedback on the coupe

 

When a review starts with "It wasn't long ago that Mercedes only built cars your grandmother drove" it immediately loses all credibility lol. I don't care what they have to say next.

 

I wouldn't get too excited about the review. It is just a review by one group. If you like the car who cares what others think. I had a 2013 W204 and loved it until I got seduced by a new 991S.
Are we a third world country? Guess that is something others decide after they have visited us. Mind you Johnny Depp thinks so after the mess with his dogs.
Stay safe.

 

Hahahaha lol re: Mr Depp what an idiot over that incident

Person who wrote that post above re: 3rd World Country must be living in his/her own private little bubble jk.

Back on topic though I agree with the rest of the above as well, it is an individual opinion and speaking of which that is the first Aussie review really pointing out how harsh the ride is in comfort mode of all other Aussie reviews I've read some have hinted this point also but not to that extent - hopefully it has been well addressed on the new upcoming coupes and follows through to later production W205 sedans

 

I bought an E400 as a fill in car until the face lift C63S is released. It is only a personal opinion but I like the C63 better than the 991S and that is saying something as it is a great car itself.

 

Australia is not a third world country. We buy more AMGs per capita than anywhere else most years I believe. And that's despite luxury cars costing twice as much or more than in the US, allowing for the exchange rate. In my own profession we earn substantially more here too.

 

I still love mine!!! I learned a long time ago that the only review I need to pay attention to; Is my review!!!

 

Amen brotha! If you look hard enough, you can find flaws in everything and anything. I'd rather focus on all of the good stuff - and am thankful i have the ability to even afford this beautiful car I drive everyday!

 

These guys didn't like the car that much...big deal. I don't think any car has only received positive reviews. Someone is always going to find something they don't like.

Most of the complaints were specific to their preferences and the condition of the car. Personally, I think opinions on ride are a lot like styling opinions, ask 10 different people and you will get 10 different answers. I've never been to Australia, but I know its not a 3rd world country. Saying that only makes yourself look bad. The roads they tested may have been rough, for all we know they went on some of the more remote roads to have enough room to really open up the throttle. I live in the US and some of our roads are horrendous, every country has ****ty roads in one area or another.

The throttle thing, I've generally heard good things about the throttle response on these engines. But again, some people have a harder time adjusting to turbo engines. High temperatures and fuel can also make a difference. I'm glad these things aren't hybrid though. I think the turbo just adds character.

The rest of the complaints are probably due to the particular car they had having been beat up. Either way, who cares its just one review out of the hundreds (thousands?) that will be done on these cars.

 

You are 100% right,