dharrar

I drove an '03 S55 for 4-years, along with my '03 SL55 and '05 G55, all with the same engine and transmission and never once gave shifting a thought! Shifts were smooth and barely noticeable. With the S63, however, I am constantly aware of the low speed shifts, particularly 1 to 2 and 2 to 3, when driving around town under minimal acceleration from stop signs and lights.

When I first took delivery in June, the problem was much worse and MB and my dealer "re-flashed" the shifting program. This took the situation from one that was intolerable to much improved, but it remains annoying.

I am curious about other owners of the S63 who may have owned other S-Class Mercedes, particularly a Kompressor S55, and how they feel about low speed, low acceleration shifting as compared between the vehicles?

My expectation was that the 7-speed would be smoother then the 5-speed. It isn't. It seems that the shifting program works with engine management and the result is a somewhat jerky shift between the lower gears.

I drove other cars with the 63 engine and 7-speed in the AMG Challenge but there you are always driving agressively and therefore unaware of the low speed jerkiness.

Mmmm

I had an 03 model S55 Kompressor W220 an 05 S65 Biturbo W220, now have a 2008 model S63

I know what you are talking about, the old 5 speed was smoother in normal driving, it was easy to make it kick down one, two or three gears very quickly and smoothly, in sport or comfort modes.

The S63 in sport mode, shudders when pulling up to a stop or traffic lights, on the move it is rougher changes, most annoying is its hesitation under partial kickdowns when you don't want to floor the throttle completely the car will hesitate and often do one down change then another. Even slamming the throttle down on the move can still result in a hesitation with the S63, but the old S55 would already have been off smoothly whether partial or full kick down.

In comfort mode the shifts are smoother and very good when you are not in a hurry (driving stay 25% pace), it doesn't shudder to a halt but still can have some rough changes and does hesitate farily often with kickdown.

I have driven an CL63 and it was just the same, the gearbox isn't bad just not as good as the old 5 spd in most practical respects.

The only thing it does better is manual shifts are quicker.

Tbh the old combo of the S55 supercharger powerband and the 5 spd worked very well, the S63 engine and gearbox are far more clever but in action

WSH

Have found CL63 gearbox about as smooth/fast/smart as those of the various 5-speed boxes in AMG/MB I've previously driven, such as SL65/SL55/CL600, etc....

Though can recall that each of these cars has had rare moments when gearbox is clearly confused (perhaps the adaptive learning element of the software)....

One consideration is pattern/periodicity of one's driving style....different drivers/urban slow driving vs spirited driving/sport mode vs comfort vs manual, etc.....suspect that, like most software, latest boxes are smarter/faster in adapting to one's recent driving style than boxes of even 1-2 yrs ago....

Mmmm

Driving style is the same as it has always been, the old boxes seem to have adapted far better. I could blast round the track with the S55 or 65 and then potter round the city straight afterwards no problems at all smooth as Jaylo's well moisturised backside.

My Father in law had a 5sp E320Cdi and he also notices the differences mentioned above when driving my S63.

I do like my W211 S63, it is a noticable improvement in quite a few ways over the W220 S55 komp, but if you gave me the choice of a w211 S63 with an S55 supercharged V8 and the old 5spd box against the current engine gearbox combo well that might be a hard choice

WSH

Interesting mixed reviews from perceptive drivers....lots of moving parts....

Am a major fan of 63's ?75lbs lighter motor than 55, esp in terms of impact upon steering/chassis balance; much better steering precision/damping; more linear power delivery and better traction; and far superior brakes (esp pedal feel)....

Have found manual mode utterly worthless for faster/smoother/safer mtn twisties driving vs Sport Auto....too slow on downshifts; tach is too peripherally placed (should be a large central tach in center LCD screen in Manual mode w/digital readout of gear and speed)....and Sport Auto is damn good as it's fast/smart and interacts well w/ESP, ABS, etc....

Prob too different an overall tech/dynamic platform to really isolate differences in motors/gearboxes....vs a platform from nearly 10yrs ago, when computers were far less capable and AMG's debugging capabilities were dubious at best.....

MBZFAN55

The Sport Mode is without question the place to be as it virtually anticipates what you will do next. It is aggressive in upshifts and downshifts while it seamlessly integrates with the electronics of the car. WSH is right-on here.

Regarding the 7spd vs 5spd, this is my 2nd 7spd and there is a learning curve when moving from the 5spd to 7spd. It took a few hundred miles of driving to get comfortable with the 7spd and then a few hundred more to get the computer to match my specific driving style. Now, I love the 7spd and would not want to go back !