Coming from the C43, I knew exactly how much better this engine was as I followed this car pretty closely but I really wasn’t ready for the mind bending leap on the the handling side of things compared to my previous car.

And I am saying this driving on winter alpins (OEM size), so it would be fair to say, I haven’t experienced the peak yet. I have some amazing backroads near my house and the confidence this car inspires is unreal. In sports plus mode, the steering wheel is just telepathic on canyons. I had TC all the way off and I managed to catch every single oversteer moments without any sweat.

I have just tried a m4 before, I think this c63s can easily hang with it. Just curious, those of you who have driven a range of cars like these, how high would you rate this car in terms of handling?

Also I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I am kind of growing out of the my burbles and crackle phase with this car. I am second guessing deleting the second cat now. With Renntech EVM, I think I can live with this for now.

 

Yep, I keep saying this. Given that it is a 4000+ lbs car, it handles amazingly well. There are certainly better handling cars, with a more balanced weight distribution and less girth, but given what it is, I love this car in the canyons. The suspension IMO is one of the best improvements in the facelift. I think AMG has really outdone itself making it more comfortable for daily driving and more dynamic for when you get on it. The difference in handling between the modes is very apparent once you start throwing the car into the corners, but it remains compliant even in S+. Then there is the obvious RWD vs AWD compared to the C43. I've said this before, the C43 has a terrible AWD system with its fixed torque split. RWD just offers so much better driving dynamics because the front wheels only need to handle the steering and braking, while the rear wheels handle the propulsion, and the adjustability of this car is amazing. Between the 3-stage ESP and 9-stage TC plus AMG DYNAMICS controlling the torque vectoring and the locking rear differential, it really is on a different level compared to the C43.

 

Yeah you mimic my exact feelings so far about this cad.

Can you tell me what do you mean by the three level of ESP? I thought we just had the 9 step TC control?

 

The ESP has three modes. On (default), Sport Handling mode (One press of the button) and Off (press and hold the button). Once it's fully off, then you can further dial in TC with its 9-stages, but Sport Handling already relaxes TC. I usually don't go past Sport Handling mode on public roads. Also, the AMG DYNAMICS Master mode is only available if ESP is in Sport Handling mode or Off, otherwise you can only go as high as Pro. So for example with ESP On and in Race mode, AMG DYNAMICS is in Pro, but if you put ESP in Sport Handling mode or Off, then AMG DYNAMICS changes to Master. Same is the case if you set it to Master in your Individual mode. It reverts back to Pro if ESP is fully on.

 

Oh ok, that makes a lot more sense. I had TC all the way off today in S+. It was very manageable by the looks of it. Probably wouldn’t have dared if the road was not completely dry.

 

S+ is pretty good for road driving. If you put it in Race and actually use the AMG DYNAMICS Master mode, it's another notch up. Even with ESP in Sport Handling and Master mode it will go 90 degrees sideways if you don't watch out. I almost ended up in a wall this way. Don't underestimate this thing as once the boost comes on you can quickly go around and the throttle doesn't fall off as fast as with a naturally aspirated engine. So once you overdue it you just keep going around and end up doing a 360 with ESP/TC completely off. Trust me, I fully experienced this at the AMG Driving Academy during the Drifting exercise. That's why I generally leave it in ESP Sport Handling mode, to still have a safety net. I wanted to do Drift I and Drift II last year, but it all got cancelled due to COVID. Hoping it happens this year.

EDIT: One saving grace is potentially the fact that ESP will reactivate as soon as you step on the brakes. That's an AMG thing, so if you ever loose control just step on the brakes and ESP will kick in to hopefully keep things from ending badly.

 

Couldn't agree more! I came to my c63s from a c43 and the handling is significantly better. The turn in in sharper despite the big v8 out front-end, and with rwd the balance between front and rear on steering, brake and throttle inputs is very good - there is a linear relationship between turn in and the weight up front and what the rears are doing. Super progressive. I've driven the m3 and QV quite a bit as well. The QV is a better handler than the C63s. Great balance front to back, but the front end is even sharper and the chassis just responds. And the damping on the QV is otherworldly - 911 quality. The f80 m3 is up on its toes more and the front end is really sharp (sharper than the c63s), but the back is unruly - it steps out too quickly. It's not progressive like the c63s. So you don't balance the car through a corner delicately as muc
h as fight it through using quick steering corrections.

Is the c63s a handler to the levels of a alfa 4c, lotus elise, Honda s2000 or mclaren 570s - all cars I have driven hard - no, not close compared to those lighter cars. But for a sedan I would say it only falls behind the QV in the handling department.

I have driven other sedans like the e63s (on track) and the m5 (on the street) but those feel like heavy cars - you can definitely feel the weight moving around and they are not as sharp.

 

Should probably also point out that there are handling differences between the coupe and the sedan. The coupe has a wider track, especially in the rear, and the rear suspension is unique and was specifically developed for the coupe. It has solid connections to the chassis via bearings instead of rubber bushings for example. AMG itself doesn't use the sedan at the AMG Driving Academy for example, only the coupe. They do use the C43 sedan for comparison on the track, but the sedan is better at being a straight line Autobahn rocket, than a canyon carver or track car.

 

Yep, I have the c63s sedan and had the c43 sedan so were comparing those. But I drove the c63s coupe at the AMG Driving Academy and, to your point, the coupe is even sharper. Chassis rotates even better. Sedan is no slouch as a handler, but the coupe is better.

 

The Coupe is a decent handler for what it is - a 2 ton+ autobahn rocket. I was initially blown away by the handling as I I blasted through the Black Forest in Germany during European Delivery during break-in period - it felt like it was on rails.

Fast forward today (my ED was back in October 2016), and there’s really no hiding the weight of the Coupe or Sedan through the corners. There is stability and confidence at 7-8/10’s, but things get sketchy fast when you’re at 9-10/10’s.

the C63S could really benefit in the handling department with a 300 lb diet.

 

Yes, for what it is. C63s coupe is no 911 CS for example. 911s are better all out handlers, but it also doesn't have the bonkers AMG v8. Give and take. And, perferences.

 

I'm not a "speed racer" driver although I do like a spirited drive occasionally, especially when entering or exiting a freeway, traffic permitting. Although I don't push a car to the limits as far as handling, I do want a car that is capable. I ordered the C63s convertible for the enjoyment of riding with the top down. How does the the convertible stack up in the handling department as compared to the coupe and sedan? Is the rear suspension the same set up as the coupe? I do realize the weight increase along with the decrease of frame rigidity in the convertible. My previous car was a 911 so unlike Munis, I will be giving up some of that handling capability. At 63 years old, the boxes that need to be checked off in the car I drive have changed.

 

Would you say the car is a much better AMG experience that your C43?

 

I have the cabriolet which is the heaviest version of the C63 because of the extra bracing required to make the chassis as stiff as possible and I would rate the handling as decent especially for a convertible. I’ve only driven one drop top car that was better than this at being a performance car and that was a Porsche 911 Cabriolet.

 

I’ve driven C43’s around a track at speed and they feel soft, numb, and understeers into every corner so you’re constantly adjusting throttle and wheel input to get the most speed and not plow the corner.

Jump into a C63 Coupe and it’s like a razor blade in comparison. Difference being, it’s happy to send you sideways and looking the wrong way down the track with the wrong input for correcting a slide. But like the C43, both cars feel heavy as you’re holding them through corners, and not the most agile thing with quick transitions.

 

Yes, C63 feels like a serious performance car. The C43 feels like a tuned version of the regular C class. The C43 is a very good car and on public roads has plenty of performance for most people. I loved my ownership experience. But the 63 is much more of a true drivers car. And, that’s not to mention the epic v8 that also sets it apart. Like AlexZTuned said, my biggest issue in the handling department is that the front end of the C43 understeers way before the C63, which turns in at higher speeds going into a corner.

Again both great cars, but only the C63 is a true performance car.

 

That is a really good description of how it works. I probably was in pro not master. I was in S+ with TC dial in 0 and found it manageable. I would probably go to an empty parking lot to try out what it does in master. I am pretty good with catching slides, so super curious to see if I will go 90 deg sideways in master.

 

I used to be one of the people who would defend the C43 being closer to the c63 than the c300. But the more I am driving this car the more I am kinda being proven wrong. I dunno if there is a bias developing cause this is my current car though.

One thing though as much as I love the V8's natural sound, I do prefer the C43 with performance exhaust for having a laugh. I really miss that upshift bang that would wake up an entire neighbourhood. The facelift c63s's stock exhaust noise is definitely really mature, but I do miss that boyish nonsensical pops and bangs time to time.

In terms of handling, no questions, the c63 can run circles around the c43. That is the aspect that is hands down the 63 annihilates the 43 in. No understeer and super predictable steering that inspires and amount of confidence I never got with the 43.

 

very glad to hear Keep it on the road man!

 

To be clear, when I almost ended up in a wall I was deliberately trying to drift and hold the drift, but it was a somewhat cold day and I underestimated the grip of the tires. Same at the AMG Driving Academy, where we were learning to drift the cars on a wet surface. Catching a slide is somewhat different and I agree, the C63 is very progressive and lets you know when the tires are about to loose grip. Even more so with the PS4S. I found the PSS actually somewhat lacking in this regard. Now that I'm very confident with it, I drive it in Race mode in the canyons with ESP in Sport Handling mode, so AMG DYNAMICS in Master. I never find that ESP is intervening beyond my capabilities and TC allows enough slip of the rear tires to make most of the tire's traction, but should something go wrong, I still have somewhat of a safety net. Basically, the thinking is to relax ESP/TC do the point where it's no longer interfering with your abilities, but not further.

I think that's a mistake that many C43 owners make who've never experienced the 63 models. To build the 63 models, AMG essentially deconstructs the regular MB model its based on and then rebuilds the car from the ground up with a more rigid chassis etc. and the engine is a true AMG development and built by AMG. For the 43 models they essentially bolt on performance improvements and tune an existing engine. At least up until now. Especially the C43 is a transition model. The newer 43 and 53 models are more AMG products than the C43. Especially looking forward it appears the C43 and C63 are both gonna get the hand built 4-cylinder engine, but the C43 will only have mild hybrid while the C63 will get full hybrid, so the performance difference is gonna be in the electric motor. Question will be how different the future chassis will be.