Raron

Spent this past weekend in Denver with the Mrs. We climbed Pikes Peak and did approximately 400 total miles of driving.

Below is my review of the E63 to live with:

We usually rent S550, a droptop Vette or the like. Full luxury or full open top sports car. I find that having awesome cars at home makes it very hard to get excited about trying new cars on the road - but I digress!

Muted thumping V8 was a welcomed sound and feeling on our journeys.
She actually returned great gas mileage - but don't ask me the figures
Great lively steering
Bone-jarring ride compared to my Bluetec which has 20's btw! Even in comfort the ride was much more harsh

Overall the car felt like a perfect blend of my Bluetec and Modded 997TT. I almost bought a 63 instead of my Bluetec. And I'm SOOOO glad I did not. With the 911 in garage who needs a sedan that rattles your kidneys - and your passengers too! As an only car it definitely felt fun enough to be a toy - but with room in back. So if you need a single car the recipe could work.

Renting it was good motivation for me to lower my Bluetec. Even on springs there is NO way my car cold ride as harshly.

J.M.G.

Thank you for your review. Very interesting point of view! My experience is a bit different and is based on:

>500 miles on
E63 BiTurbo 4matic S

>1000 miles on
E220 Diesel
E250 Diesel
E350 Diesel

>50000 miles on
E550 BiTurbo

In my opinion, any Diesel will have a huge impact on the E-Class driving experience. In a very negative way. It already starts with refueling (which sucks with the Diesel due to the oily refiller), goes on with the start up of the engine (which is far from silky smooth) and even during driving: The Diesel always annoys me with a tremendous turbo-lag that forces the 7g-TronicPlus to shift a lot to compensate that. Also the regeneration of the DPF downgrades driving comfort.

I totally understand that the E63 is way to much for a comfort orientated driver. However: Why wasn't the E550 with AIRMATIC an option? Totally silent. Enormous torque, even if the turbos aren't spooled up! This car is basically pulling from idle! If you compare the 350d with an 550...TWO WORLDS!

threeMBs

Great reply J.M.G. Second all you said.

Raron

I looked at 550 and also CLS. Been there and done that. All points on the slower more lethargic nature of diesel are true. Heck, we all know what powers big rigs! But I've had nearly every german sedan from 7 series, S class, XJR and also jap LS400. A diesel Benz is a modern relic. It exudes character by its very existence.

And when you're done trying to be speed racer - with or without passengers - you at some point want to experience other aspects of autodome ;-)

Years ago before my taste evolved and expanded I couldn't see the point of diesel. Who wants more noise and less ***** out acceleration. Now I see the character in them - especially a MB diesel. They aren't everywhere. And it takes an experienced and confident individual to want to go there. That doesn't mean 550 or 63 owners aren't such. They're just a smidgen less evolved ;-)

I'm just poking fun of course. But yesterday I saw an S350 Bluetec and thought - now that is a cool and timeless car. Who doesn't respect an 84 Diesel MB that is still running strong!

KarlG

Certainly a unique take and comparison on the ride and attributes and fuel efficiency of the diesel vs the E63 in comparison to published road tests and reviews