My review of the 2016 AMG GTS
#1
My review of the 2016 AMG GTS
I’ve owned the amg for about 1 year and have put over 5k miles on it including a few track days.
The good: The car is fast. Really fast. The amg was able to accelerate and pull like a muscle car. And on top of that once the car starts the pull, the sound that it creates. Holy crap, the amg stock exhaust sounds incredible. When you stomp on it it’s an invigorating burbling noise that does not disappoint.
It’s also absolutely a looker. It’s got a menacing look and from my perspective there’s not a lot of other cars that look better.
Looks aside, on the track is truly where you see the amg shine. It belongs at the track. The acceleration, the handling, and the exhaust make for an unforgettable experience on track.
The bad: Turbo lag. With the exception of using launch control, the car always took a second to think before it put the power down from a standstill. I understand that it may be due to the dual clutch, but nonetheless, there was lag. I considered tuning it but tuners let me know a tune wouldn’t really resolve this issue.
Suspension stiffness. Even on comfort setting, it’s a harsh ride. The 2018 GTCs I heard have softer suspension but the GTS was uncomfortable. I eventually got used to it, but the fiancée never wanted to set foot in the car. The car also had tons of squeaks. All sports car squeak right? Again, I kinda got used to it.
Infotainment. I don’t know what Mercedes’ was thinking but the infotainment was cumbersome and clumsy. I basically set my Bluetooth and left it alone.
The ugly: the day after I got the car I got a check engine light. I’ll spare you the details but it was caused by the valves of the exhaust sticking. A VERY common problem in AMGs. The car came with a CPO warranty and Mercedes’ did not want cover this repair. I even escalated it to MB USA and they declined to help. I had to get a brand new exhaust on my dime. Total BS.
At the end of the day, I wanted a weekend car that was an experience. Something fun. I found myself driving the amg to work more than on a weekend cruise. A part of that was due to being an automatic, but, I realized that having 500+hp isn’t fun for me. You can’t use it in the streets. You’re basically in go to jail speeds real quick. I really missed rowing gears. This week, I decided to trade it for a manual 2021 lotus Evora GT. Let’s see how different this experience is
The good: The car is fast. Really fast. The amg was able to accelerate and pull like a muscle car. And on top of that once the car starts the pull, the sound that it creates. Holy crap, the amg stock exhaust sounds incredible. When you stomp on it it’s an invigorating burbling noise that does not disappoint.
It’s also absolutely a looker. It’s got a menacing look and from my perspective there’s not a lot of other cars that look better.
Looks aside, on the track is truly where you see the amg shine. It belongs at the track. The acceleration, the handling, and the exhaust make for an unforgettable experience on track.
The bad: Turbo lag. With the exception of using launch control, the car always took a second to think before it put the power down from a standstill. I understand that it may be due to the dual clutch, but nonetheless, there was lag. I considered tuning it but tuners let me know a tune wouldn’t really resolve this issue.
Suspension stiffness. Even on comfort setting, it’s a harsh ride. The 2018 GTCs I heard have softer suspension but the GTS was uncomfortable. I eventually got used to it, but the fiancée never wanted to set foot in the car. The car also had tons of squeaks. All sports car squeak right? Again, I kinda got used to it.
Infotainment. I don’t know what Mercedes’ was thinking but the infotainment was cumbersome and clumsy. I basically set my Bluetooth and left it alone.
The ugly: the day after I got the car I got a check engine light. I’ll spare you the details but it was caused by the valves of the exhaust sticking. A VERY common problem in AMGs. The car came with a CPO warranty and Mercedes’ did not want cover this repair. I even escalated it to MB USA and they declined to help. I had to get a brand new exhaust on my dime. Total BS.
At the end of the day, I wanted a weekend car that was an experience. Something fun. I found myself driving the amg to work more than on a weekend cruise. A part of that was due to being an automatic, but, I realized that having 500+hp isn’t fun for me. You can’t use it in the streets. You’re basically in go to jail speeds real quick. I really missed rowing gears. This week, I decided to trade it for a manual 2021 lotus Evora GT. Let’s see how different this experience is
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Go Dawgs (08-04-2022)
#5
Lotus Evora GT...yes! I cross-shopped my AMG GT S with Evora 400s, but I never managed to find an Evora 400 for a test drive. So I went with the AMG. I'm so curious to hear your impressions of the Evora GT when you get it. Please share!
#7
Same here, I've not once ever experienced turbo lag in any of the GT cars I've driven.
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sevenhead (08-05-2022)
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#8
Strange. Perhaps it’s not technically “turbo lag” but rather the split second the dual clutch transmission brake kicks in. Regardless, I always felt felt the a half second delay when I stepped on the throttle. Either from a standstill or in motion.
#9
Combine that acceleration with a manual transmission and I personally don’t need any more power in the street.
#10
I've driven the Lotus Evora and agree it's light, nimble and communicative. A fun car for twisties or track. Zero to 60 might be quicker, but the acceleration curve tends to flatten-out over 60 whereas the GT is only beginning to hit its stride. The GT pulls like a late model 911 turbo from 60 to 140.
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Go Dawgs (08-04-2022)
#11
The 212 biturbo guys that had come from Kompressor 55’s to turbo 63’s miss the low end grunt of the supercharger. I find myself accelerating quickly in my 55 cars, but not speeding. Not so much in the porsches.
#12
I echo what others have said that the 4l V8 virtually has no turbo lag. Not just in the GT, but across the board. It's been a while since I drove a GT S, but most recently drove the GT BS, and personally I have a '19 C63S. There's no lag in either of them. Can't be compared to Porsche Turbos. Porsches are different. Especially the Turbo uses bigger turbos for top end power (more inertia, so they don't spool up as fast) and the flat engine requires the turbos to be on the outside with much longer piping than the Hot-V design. Ever seen a Porsche Turbo engine outside of the car? It's a massively wide thing with the turbos hanging off to the side. Look at the V8 for comparison. Very compact and short piping as well as small and fast spooling turbos. I come from NA engines as well, and the AMG V8 is one of the few turbo engines that doesn't annoy me because of lag.
Last edited by superswiss; 08-04-2022 at 08:16 PM.
The following 5 users liked this post by superswiss:
reignz (08-05-2022),
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ZephyrAMG (08-05-2022)
#14
Porsche uses variable vane turbine technology. Or they did. My background in the turbo world is WRX (tons of lag, better after removing the up pipe cat) 2011 VW GTI w/DSG which has a close coupled turbo, no discernable lag and felt even better with a safe tune. And now my 2018 GT R which has no lag. When peak torque comes to the party at 1900 rpm you have to be driving silly like lugging the engine in manual mode to convince yourself there is lag.
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superswiss (08-05-2022)
#16
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Joined: Nov 2009
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2010 Irridium Silver MB C63 AMG Sedan
Confused as to how you can say the Mercedes has a cumbersome infotainment system....especially compared to a Lotus? It's one of the easiest and straightforward systems, with all the info you need at your fingertips and easy to navigate. Plus with that cramped interior and cheap build components, in the Lotus, I would say that your complaint of a fraction of a second "perceived" turbo lag doesn't even weigh in the overall picture...but enjoy your Toyota kit car.
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Surge (08-06-2022)
#17
Confused as to how you can say the Mercedes has a cumbersome infotainment system....especially compared to a Lotus? It's one of the easiest and straightforward systems, with all the info you need at your fingertips and easy to navigate. Plus with that cramped interior and cheap build components, in the Lotus, I would say that your complaint of a fraction of a second "perceived" turbo lag doesn't even weigh in the overall picture...but enjoy your Toyota kit car.
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cheekz4dayz (08-21-2022)
#18
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2010 Irridium Silver MB C63 AMG Sedan
I really don’t understand how people in these forums can be so butt hurt over how I MYSELF felt about the car. You are entitled to your own opinion but no need to bash the choices others make when they don’t align with your own view. You’re making it seem like I offended you personally.. these are cars…. not your children for gods sake. Relax dude.
#19
I really don’t understand how people in these forums can be so butt hurt over how I MYSELF felt about the car. You are entitled to your own opinion but no need to bash the choices others make when they don’t align with your own view. You’re making it seem like I offended you personally.. these are cars…. not your children for gods sake. Relax dude.
#20
Confused as to how you can say the Mercedes has a cumbersome infotainment system....especially compared to a Lotus? It's one of the easiest and straightforward systems, with all the info you need at your fingertips and easy to navigate. Plus with that cramped interior and cheap build components, in the Lotus, I would say that your complaint of a fraction of a second "perceived" turbo lag doesn't even weigh in the overall picture...but enjoy your Toyota kit car.
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ZephyrAMG (08-06-2022)
#23
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Joined: Jun 2014
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From: New York, NY
W463 G550 / C190 GTC //prev: W204 C63 507 / R170
#24
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,896
Likes: 412
From: New York, NY
W463 G550 / C190 GTC //prev: W204 C63 507 / R170
I really don’t understand how people in these forums can be so butt hurt over how I MYSELF felt about the car. You are entitled to your own opinion but no need to bash the choices others make when they don’t align with your own view. You’re making it seem like I offended you personally.. these are cars…. not your children for gods sake. Relax dude.
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ZephyrAMG (08-06-2022)
#25
I have a few Lotus including the Evora. I can see why. Though AMG and Lotus are still very different cars and have unique philosophies. At the end of the day, the car is just a brush that helps the driver paint the curves of a track/canyon. It is subjective how one wants to interpret the curves. There really isn't a right or wrong, better or worse etc.
Reliability wise, they have been great actually. Usual maintenances go the long way. I see the anomalies as quirks that I need to comprehend, fix it and deal with them in the future. Though I am a lot less forgiving if similar "quirks" happen in German makes.
Still Brit cars are always subjected to prejudice in the car world and among car enthusiasts. A stigma, I am afraid, will still stick around for decades more.
Reliability wise, they have been great actually. Usual maintenances go the long way. I see the anomalies as quirks that I need to comprehend, fix it and deal with them in the future. Though I am a lot less forgiving if similar "quirks" happen in German makes.
Still Brit cars are always subjected to prejudice in the car world and among car enthusiasts. A stigma, I am afraid, will still stick around for decades more.
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MrMicko (08-07-2022)