I just noticed/realized that in the 2019s, the steering seems no longer adjustable. I'm still driving in C (I'm about half way through the break in), but I have started to play around with I and have set it up to put everything other than the powertrain into a more aggressive setting for the fun Alpine roads around here. Even keeping it under 4500rpm and not giving it full throttle, this car is a blast on these roads. I went back to one of the YouTube videos and indeed, the press cars didn't have a steering setting in the Individual configuration, either. There is also no longer an ESP setting. I'm guessing this is now tied to the Dynamics setting (Basic, Advanced, Pro, Master). I haven't verified this, but I assume if I set it to Master, the ESP goes into Sport Handling mode as it does in Race.

Somehow I didn't pick up on this before and none of the reviewers seems to have pointed it out, either. It's interesting that AMG did this. I've always had mixed feelings about an adjustable steering. Most of them just make the steering artificially heavy in the sporty settings but don't really do much for the driving dynamics. Somehow a heavy steering is perceived to be more sporty by some, which is something I never quite could get behind. I do like the steering adjustability in my RS5, because I opted for Audi's optional variable ratio steering. In the less sporty setting the ratio adjusts based on speed making it very direct at low speeds for easy maneuvering and more indirect at higher speeds for better straight line stability. The most sporty setting on the other hand disables the variable ratio and sets a fixed one for a more predictive steering response. The latter is great for canyon carving and on the track, but it always takes me a moment to adapt to the new steering behavior whenever I change the mode.

I've so far not missed it in the C63. AMG seems to have managed to give this car one good steering mode and did away with the "gimmick" of adding more or less weight to it depending on the mode.

 

After reading up a bit more it looks like Steering and ESP is rolled under the AMG DYNAMICS (Basic, Advanced, Pro, Master) setting. Instead of having separate Steering and ESP settings, they are now managed at a more comprehensive level based on the desired level of agility. Have to play some more with this.

It's in the context of the AMG GT, but this explains what AMG DYNAMICS does:

https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...l?oid=42956027

 

The most I have done was rev the car after a 30 min drive. I revved it to 4-4400 rpm in sport and race for a minute to make a video to show Mercedes and Raz how it isn’t as loud as it should be. I can’t wait to really play around with this beast. Like you said even keeping it under 4500 rpms you can have fun. I am always manual shifting but I am letting this beast stay in c in auto.. I am really impressed how it holds gears in auto when you wanna go. It is learning my driving style very well!!

 

This car is positively surprising me. A few observations. The suspension isn't really much stiffer in S+ than it is in C, but it gets more dynamic. I kinda like this a lot. They managed to sharpen the handling of the car in S+ w/o making the ride uncomfortable. In the higher DYNAMICS settings such as Pro, the steering doesn't get artificially heavy, but it gets more precise and more agile. I really like the AMG Drive Unit. So easy to switch drive modes and I particularly like that pushing the drive mode knob instantly activates I* to put it in fun mode. With DYNAMICS turned up to Pro, the suspension in S+, and transmission in manual it becomes a beautiful road carver without even having to take the drivetrain out of C. This car is more fun in Comfort mode than some of its competitors are in their most sportiest setting. I'm talking to you Audi .

Got to try Slippery mode today. It was raining cats and dogs on my way back tonight and visibility was terrible. Slippery calmed the car down quite a bit for the conditions. In C, the rear wheels lost grip at times. I'm impressed with the driving assist features. The assisted steering managed to help me keep the car in the lane despite the rain hammering the windshield and me not having much visibility. Also tried the automatic high beams today. They worked pretty well, but it appears the LED headlights are very bright to the point where oncoming traffic thinks my high beams are on and flash me. Visibility is awesome, but maybe the US spec alignment is a bit too high for Europeans.