2018 S63 Comprehensive Review
 

Hello all,

First, let me apologize for the really L O N G post. I wanted to do a comprehensive review of my initial observations of this amazing vehicle for anyone who’s interested.

I recently took delivery of a 2018 S63 Lunar Blue/White-black interior. I was coming off a 2015 s550 lease and probably spent more than 4 months trying to figure out what I would transition to. I loved the s550. It was an excellent car. Looked amazing and was a pure joy to drive (if just a little boring). The tame s550 drive didn't bother me much because I always kept a second “fun” car during the s550’s time. But this time around, I wanted to get one car that did it all and also needed to get a car for my son (ended up with a Volvo).

A few months ahead of the lease return, I focused on the replacement car. First, I decided on a new S450. The drive was excellent and I didn’t notice a major power difference during the test drive vs. my s550. I really liked the drive of the 450 (it felt lighter on its feet). I could order it to spec (which I did and loaded it up). Matte white with the white/black interior and the full executive rear package. The sticker came in at 136K which was 10K more than my s550 sticker (and way more than I wanted to spend). All was right in the world. But then I thought, my son is driving now. I’m getting him an SUV. Do I really need a 4 door sedan? With all these thoughts spinning around in my head, I happened by the local Aston Martin dealership to drive the DB11 V12. In hindsight, this was a mistake. One test drive in the DB11 I was completely blown away. I had to have it. My experience with the dealer network, however, was not what I expected (except for one dealer in Chicago that was really responsive). After some back and forth I made and offer (demo car with 2K miles and nearly 60K off the sticker). We were close on price, so I sent the credit app. To my surprise, they couldn’t get me approved for financing on terms that made any sense. I was pretty irritated and decided to abandon the DB11 and wait for the 450 to arrive.

The 450 was on order from a local dealership where I go the 550 (about 30 miles from my house), but they couldn’t get me an exact date on when it would arrive. I called Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach CA which is 5 mins from my house. Told them I wanted to drive an s560 (you know just to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake by getting the 450). While on the phone, I also asked if they had any of the refreshed 2018 s63s. In fact, they had one and they’d be happy to show it to me. When I showed up at the dealership (on a Saturday), they had the lunar blue s63 parked upfront. I didn’t even end up driving the 560 (although I’d like to see how it compares to the 63, 550 and 460). The lunar blue is just so good in person I was sold before I got inside. If you want something different (but not orange or yellow different) that still looks sporty and classy, you should take a look at this lunar blue.

We grabbed the keys and took the s63 for a drive. I consider the s63 in 2015 when I got the 550 but the previous version drove so aggressively even in the comfort mode that I decided against it. The 2018 on the other hand is pure perfection. I’ll go into detail below, but the general overview is: in comfort mode it drives just a tad bit more aggressively than my 550 in Sport (it’s honestly amazing). In Sport mode its aggressive but still very comfortable and SMOOTH. In Sport Plus --- the car is mind blowing. The sound, the speed, the engine……..hard to explain other than to say it is purely shocking and amazing. I have never seen a car with the kind of range between Comfort and Sport Plus. The exhaust sound is like an exotic.

I came back the following day (Sunday) and told them I wanted the car and I had to get it done that day. Their customer service was excellent. They took my application, gave me a price on the car and told me they’d get it done. I left to meet a friend for lunch. 10 mins later I received a text saying finance was all approved and I could come back any time to pick it up. So easy. I purchased this one because the leases on the 63 are really awful. All good though because my plan is to keep this just a tad longer than I usually do.

Now on to the good stuff. I’ve tried to break this down in categories. This is with about 3500 miles driven (with the first 2K miles applying pretty strict break-in parameters).

Physical Changes:

I love the subtle changes they made to the exterior. The big air dams in the front, the lights etc. They all look very clean and updated in person. I think the exterior of the car now looks more sporty (in general) across all the models. The one down side is that debris does get into those air dams. The other day I pulled large piece of Styrofoam that lodged in there.

The interior (physical) changes are very minor (other than the Tech). The buttons which resided in between the two LCD screens are now relocated. This is a subtle but very nice change. The screens now look like one large screen without a break. Otherwise, the interior is very similar to my 2015 550. There is one change for the worse. My car came with the wireless charger in the center armrest (in the front). All that storage space under the arm rest is now gone. Instead, I have a wireless charger under the armrest which is totally useless. In order to use it, you have to open the rest and put the phone inside (and then close the arm rest). This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the Apple CarPlay wasn’t a total mess (more on this later). So now you have much less storage and useless wireless charger. Not sure if this an option or standard on the 63s. If it’s an option, I suggest you avoid it.

The Tech:

Lots of ground to cover here. I’m sure I’ll miss some things here. But will add on later as well.

The new interface (for the screen with the speedo and tach) is wonderful. You can pick from different themes and then make further adjustments on what information is displayed. I know someone else posted some actually pics of different set ups. I’ll always want more here, but overall the degree of adjustability is really good. It all works and looks great. I like the traditional set up with speedo and tach vs the other more modern themes (which are really nice as well).

Apple CarPlay

The Apple CarPlay is on the other hand is awful. It almost always crashes my phone or totally hangs. It’s just useless. My guess is that the dealer is getting this complaint from others. I haven’t taken it in to get checked and I’m not optimist that they can do anything but will give it a try. On the other hand, the regular MB Bluetooth works well without any issues. The bigger issue on the CarPlay is that doesn’t integrate well with the cars other tech. I think this is probably the case with all cars. It’s not smooth switching between CarPlay and, for example, the car’s native radio. It should be set up a split screen (so you can have CarPlay on one side and the Car’s native functions on another). When using Apple’s navigation, you can only see it on the main display. You can’t project it to the HUD or have it display in the configurable driver display (where the speedo and other items reside). I’m starting to use the MB Navi more and more and it’s not too bad.

Driver Assistance/Autopilot:

I was really expecting a huge improvement here based on the reviews I read by various publications and the test drive in a 450 some months ago. The 450 seemed better in this respect (although I didn’t spend much time behind the wheel). I’m thinking that the system may need some adjustment. The system works perfectly at times and it’s at its best in freeway driving (open road conditions). When I’m driving back from Los Angeles late in the evening (the only time you can get some open road conditions here in So Cal), it does a great job of following the road and staying in the lane with a little of help. It’s also not reliant on following the car in front of you (so you don’t have worry about the car switching lanes because the guy in front of you decided to change lanes).

Stop and go traffic on the other hand is the same jerky unpleasant experience. Sometimes the car accelerates quickly and then brakes hard. This make for a very unpleasant ride for everyone and especially passengers. The automatic lane change function is cool but not something I like to use much. It’s just a lot easier to take over and make the lane change in the traditional way. Again, it only works well in very light traffic. I almost think I’m missing something here and that I haven’t spent enough time to understand how the system really works. I had the previous version on my 550 and used it all the time despite is limitations. Overall, the system still has a lot of room to grow. Based on my experience so far, it’s not the earth shattering movement I was expecting. As a point of comparison, the 2018 Volvo I got for my son has its own version of autopilot and in my opinion the Volvo system is leaps and bounds better than MB or even Tesla. The Volvo system works perfectly in open road conditions and is much better in stop and go. It’s honestly the best I’ve driven so far.

Lane Departure System

I drive with the MB lane departure warning off because I don’t appreciate the violent response/shaking and auto-braking when it starts to kick in. Again, the Volvo is light years ahead on this as well. The Volvo system is an active lane departure system. When it senses you are veering out of the lane, it very subtly nudges you back to center (even when you’re not using the autopilot). The Volvo also forces you to use you blinker to change lanes because it will assume you’re veering out of the lane unless you engage the blinker. This is hard to explain, but I suggest everyone go and drive a new Volvo. It’s really that good. Now, I completely understand why MB doesn’t do this with their lane departure system. The active system in the Volvo removes a major component of the driver involvement (i.e., keeping the car centered) and I don’t think it would be appropriate in something like an s63 (but I wouldn’t complain if it was an option that you could turn on and off).

Rear Entertainment and Executive Package:

I haven’t spent a lot of time messing around with this yet. However, what I have seen is really cool. First, you can plug your phone into either screen (hard wire) from rear center console in between the rear seats. That lets you stream your music through your individual side via the wireless headsets. You can also control the A/C for the entire car, the Navi and everything else from the back. You either take control of the main display upfront (via the remote controls) or you do it from your local screen (again using the remote control). It is really cool overall. The only part I’m not crazy about is the old school remote control interface. The screens are not touch and for those of you who have been in the back of the new BMW 7, there’s no dedicated mini-tablet in the back that lets you control everything. BMW really did a great a job on their dedicated tablet in the back (but that’s about the only place they have MB beat here). I’ve owned (and loved) BMWs for many years and seriously considered the M760 or 750. In the end, it really wasn’t a hard decision. The MB’s were just so much better overall and design of the MB vs. the BMW isn’t even close. I’ve heard that there’s an MB smartphone app (not the Mercedes Me App) that allows you to run the interior systems from your phone but have not been able to find anything. I hope they roll something like this out.

The rear seats are amazing. Both rear seats have the massage function now. The passenger side seat does an incredible recline with awesome footrests (one on the back of the seat in front of you and then another that folds out from the actual rear seat like a recliner). The rear seat comfort is better than anything else I looked at including the Bentley Flying Spur. Way better. Inside the rear center console are 2 foldout trays which are perfect to work on a laptop if you have the good fortune of sitting back there. I tend to get car sick very easily and the S is one of the only cars I’ve ever been comfortable sitting in the back in (of course with the right person driving).

This car also came equipped with the rear cooler. I really haven’t used it yet and I don’t think I’ll have much use for it. For some reason, people love seeing the cooler and go nuts over it. But it zaps a lot of space from the trunk (and I’m thinking about removing it for that reason alone). I want to say you lose 20% to 25% of usable space in the trunk because of the cooler. Plus, the rear cup holders have the heating/cooling option. You just drop your drink in the cup holder and push the button to have it keep your drink cold or hot (making the full cooler hard to justify).

Mercedes Me App

The App basically lets you remote start the car, lock and unlock, find its location on a map and send addresses directly to the Car’s Navi. It has some other functions but all of which are pretty useless. The Volvo App by comparison lets you do all that but you can also see how much gas the car has (including range and average MPG), status of the doors (i.e., locked or unlocked) and also sends you a message if the doors are unlocked after a certain period of time in case you forgot to lock them and any maintenance issues that need attention. MB needs to step of the game here and make this app a little more useful (at least at the Volvo level). It would be really nice if you could remote start and then set the interior temp, for example.

The Engine/Transmission/Drive Modes:

Hard to say anything here except Brilliant. The Engine is so amazing. Coming from the larger s550 4.7L to the smaller 4.0 s63, I didn’t know what to expect. When I test drove the v6 460 a few months I honestly felt it was as good (if not better) than my 550. I haven’t driven the 4.0 560 but I have to assume it’s pretty wonderful. In the s63 variant, the engine is just flawless. I think the best way to explain is by going over the drive modes:

Comfort:

This is one of the only vehicles I’ve owned that I drive (nearly 50% of the time) in the comfort mode. In C, the car performs like my 550 when it was in Sport. No too aggressive but not anemic in any way. It’s truly the perfect car for difficult drives (LA traffic). The suspension in C is still on the firm side but not at all uncomfortable on LA’s awful pothole filled roads and freeways. The fuel economy (I know no one cares about this) is in the 16 MPG range. In C the engine does a couple of interesting things. First, it shuts down half the engine and runs on 4 cylinders when your cruising (both on the freeway and in city driving) if you’re not on the accelerator). While I normally would be offended by this type of fucntion in a performance car, I actually love it. I can get close to 300 miles on a tank of gas which means the overall fuel economy is similar to my s550 (assuming I don’t do too much Sport Plus driving). I’ll say this, the folks at MB have seriously done an amazing job with this function. It’s impossible to tell when the car is in 4 mode vs 8 mode unless you look at the indicator on the display. Also, the car switches back and forth between these modes so quickly and smoothly that you never notice any lag (or frankly anything that would tip you off that it shut down or turn on half of the cylinders).

Second, it has a glide mode which idles the engine when you take your foot off the accelerator when you’re driving at speeds. I can’t imagine that this really does anything more than improve fuel economy by a tiny margin, but I guess it’s the wave of the future or maybe helps in the EPA regulations. It never really stays on for more a quick second because it disengages as soon as you tap the gas (and I think when you brake as well). I don’t really care either way for this function (but at least it’s not annoying like the stop/start function). One side note, in order to get the full functionality of the v8/v4 and Glide Mode savings, you have to be in C and leave the stop/start engaged. If you disable start/stop those 2 functions disable as well.

The 9-speed transmission in C mode is really wonderful as well. Again, in C mode it really feels like a 550 in Sport mode. Very smooth and you never feel like it’s lacking in response when you need to move quickly.

Sport:

I apologize to all the middle children in advance. But Sport mode feels like the middle child here. It’s wonderful, no question. It’s certainly better than C but not even close to the mind-blowing experience of Sport Plus. Engine and transmission response are quicker, and the suspension tightens up more than just a bit. This mode is still very comfortable and your passengers won’t complain about the ride in any way. If Comfort Mode wasn’t so damn good and the Sport Plus wasn’t so absolutely mind-blowing I’d be telling you that the Sport Mode is pure brilliance. Lots of power and more aggressive transmission (but still super smooth). It is a little bumpy on bad roads. Overall, excellent for city driving. But the other modes are just too good.

Sport Plus:

It’s mind blowing. Words cannot describe how wonderful it is, but I’ll try. It’s part Ferrari 488, part 911 and part something so special there are no parallels. The Sport exhaust paired with the Sport Plus engine makes the most amazing sounds. It’s on pair with a toned down non-turbo Ferrari California (no joke). The transmission in Auto mode shifts so aggressively up and down you’ll be shocked (in a very good way). It down shifts to 1st gear when you roll to a stop. The car comes alive in S+. The exhaust pops, burbles and crackles (and does some other things I can’t explain). It only sounds this amazing when the engine is in Sport Plus (which defaults the Sport Exhaust on). If you turn on the Sport exhaust in the other modes (which you do with a button), it certainly sounds good but does not give you the crazy beautiful sounds that come in S+.

You can’t drive in S+ with the transmission in Auto if you have passengers on board. It’s just too aggressive despite all the fun you’ll have (and the downshifts from 2 to 1 at stops are a bit jarring). But you can easily drive in S+ Manual if you’re carting around passengers and make it feel it smoother.

Individual:

The car now has an individual setting. This lets you custom configure the car. I have it set to: Engine S+, Sport Exhaust On, Transmission Manual and Suspension Comfort (yes, Comfort). I enjoy the drive in this configuration the most. Let me say one more thing here about the suspension. In comfort the car’s handling is still very tight with very little roll. S and S+ are amazing as well but I never feel that the suspension in C is too soft for cornering.

Manual Transmission Mode:

I can’t recall if my S550 had a manual mode (memory fading quicker with age). I don’t think it did. As you can deduce by the name, this puts the transmission in full manual mode. It won’t shift for you (except to down **** if you slow way down and stay in a high gear) so you need to watch the redline. Here’s the problem: the acceleration is so fast and is pretty quick to hit the redline that you need to watch the tach (or the many other signals it gives you to shift on the screen) or you’ll hit the redline fast and often. When you get close to the redline it does a pretty good job of flashing warnings all over the screen. It’s not shy about sending that message. In the manual mode, it’s truly a joy to drive. In S+ mode I almost always drive it in manual (because the down shifts from 2 to 1 at the rolling stops are a little jarring). I usually leave it in 2nd as I roll to a stop and then let it drop to 1st on its own after the car has stopped. Much smoother that way. And it’s just too much fun in M mode.

Transmission:

The only addition I have here is that I’ve experience some rough shifts and roughness at idle. In auto mode it banged into a gear (very violently) as I was coming up my driveway into the garage at a very low speed. I pulled into the driveway and stopped. Then started to accelerate very slightly and BANG. It wasn’t good.

In manual mode S+ I’ve had some (more than a few times) very rough shifts from 4 to 3. When off the gas pedal with the car in 4th and decelerating it’s had a few hard down-shifts (harder than it should) into 3. The speeds were appropriate (meaning I wasn’t moving too fast for 3rd).

On a few occasions, the car has started shaking when I was stopped at a light. Could be an idle issue.

I’m going to take the car in this week to have it checked out. The car is so good overall that I hope the transmission issues can be dealt with by software issues.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c9043c012d.jpg

Otherwise, the 9-speed transmission is executed really well and very nicely matched to the engine.



Despite pointing out some of its flaws, it’s off the charts good. I can’t imagine anyone not being totally enamored by this car. I hope this didn’t put anyone to sleep. I’ll try to post some more pics here as well.



-bobby

Wow. Thanks for a comprehensive write up. I too purchased my 2017 S63 sedan from FJ Mercedes of Newport. There are actually 5 2018 S63 sedans at their Ontario Mercedes store.

I test drove the 2018 and while updates are noticeable, i went with the 2017 model because they are the last year of the 5.5 Biturbo or M157 engine and being bigger displacement the exhaust sounded more aggressive to me. That being said you have a beautiful car that is huge in space, heavy with lots of amenities that is a rocket. You cant go wrong.

Here is a shot of my car.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...afb21cae73.jpg

Have fun with her and if you haven't already. Ask FJ Mercedes set up an appointment for you to go in and have an new car delivery guy show you all of the fun things that comes with your car.

I would like to add a few cool features that I found to be very useful.

1: You can open and close the trunk by:
A: On the driver's side door panel where you pull to open the trunk, you also close the trunk by pushing the lever in instead of out ( pull ).
B: You can also open and close the trunk by simulating a kick motion underneath the center rear bumper. You don't need to actually kick your rear bumper to open and closing the trunk.

2: Brake hold feature. When at a red light, you can active the brake hold feature by a quick double pumping the brake and it'll hold the car and once your ready to go, just press the gas and the go will go and detective the hold feature.

3: Window, sunroof, sun shade open and close feature. From the drive's side door handle, use your keyfob pointing close to the door handle and press and HOLD the lock button to close all of the windows, sunroof and sun shades. Press and hold the unlock button to open all of the windows, sunroof and sun shade.

Lets keep this going if anyone has anything to add.

Enjoy.

• Comprehensive review? Sure was. I enjoyed every single detail and hung on to every single word. You can read all the reviews of this car online and in magazines from professional reviewers and car salesmen but to get an honest unbiased review like yours, it's rare to see it so detailed. It was just watching a soap opera - the drama, the sadness, the hilarity, the sweetness, the power.

I love my car too, despite it's many flaws. So you have the black wheels too? Do you love the black wheels on your car or wish they were another color/type? They look great with the blue, very aggressive and rare. You pretty much never see those black 10 spoke wheels (same as mine), on a blue 2018 S63. It really sets it apart.

Do you love your steering wheels? Do you have the all leather or the ultrasuede/leather one? I'm probably going to bite the bullet and get an all leather one for $2200 plus install at some point.

Cheers and congrats. We are so similar in so many ways, car-wise. And, interesting to hear about the new Volvo's. Boy have they stepped up their game.

S63AMG888,

White on the S63 looks amazing.Very sharp!! I do agree - the 5.5 is an amazing engine. It is a much more aggressive drive, no doubt. I was really on the fence and wanted to get the S63 last year. Hope you're enjoying it!!

Horseford,

I do have the X. I really think it might be a software issue or an issue with the unit. Glad to hear yours works well. I called the dealer and made an appointment to have it checked out.

I didn't realize that the rear seat package was the culprit on my front center console. I do miss having that extra seat in the back, but I love the rear seat package. Everyone loves being back there.

I'll update with some more items over the weekend.

Steve,

Thanks for the kind words. After I finished it (and realized how long it was), I was worried I'd get banned from the forum!! I've never been a fan of black wheels. I had two other cars that grey/silver wheels that I loved (more subtle than black). But when I saw the black wheel on the Blue S-- I couldn't imagine having it any other way. It does give the car a unique look,

The Steering wheel is awesome. Mine is leather and the inserts are a perforated leather (I'm not crazy about the look of the perforated portion). I'll snap a pic and post this weekend. I would have perferred the leather/suede option or all leather. I might follow your lead and change mine out as well.

The new Volvos really are impressive. The (drive) technology is really that good.

I thought the 2018 S63 only came in the suede/leather or perforated all leather wheel? I don't think there's any other option at all. Can you post pics of your wheel when you can? And do you know if there's an all leather wheel that's not perforated? I'm 99.999% sure there isn't but I could easily be wrong. I know for my car it HAS to be a heated steering wheel they told me so it matches what I have and won't throw codes, and the only option was the all leather perforated one. You don't like this one? The feel of it or the look? I really have to drive a car with one on it...

Thank you. You as well. Enjoy.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f0d8d18ca3.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...2596f58294.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...6b77a3d566.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...ecbe3719e5.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...eea0e508b2.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...05d42f6c4e.jpg
Steve,

A few pics of the steering wheel (and a couple other random shots as well). Recently saw an s63 in the same color as yours. It looks good in the pics but incredible in person.

What color is the exterior?

Lunar Blue.

High
 

I was reading if you put your car in DYNO mode that the brakes would not clean off water on rotor when wipers are on, so i think when your wipers come on your brakes press lightly to clear water off. not sure but thats what i read

Just hitting about 17500+ miles.

Tires replaced Pilot Sport 3 with Pilot Sport 4s - very nice.

Brake light just came on.

Anyone else getting into these wear items at this mileage?

The brakes are going to be expensive and the light popped on in under 1 year...any advice?

Thank you!

The PS4S are awesome tires, smoother and quieter than the Continental my S63 came with. You really put some miles on a 2018 S63 which is good. My 2017 has about 12,800 miles and a set of 4 tire upgrades. Brakes are still about 50%.

It really depends on your driving style are the roads you travel on. For example, the roads here in Socal are horrible and if always racing from one light to another then the I would say you actually got GREAT wear on the pads and tires. How are your rotors ? Get the aftermarket rotors and pads. Better performance, less money and LESS brake dust. Can’t go wrong with them. That’s what I’ll be doing when it’s time.

I'm in socal too...stop and go driving often.

Just wondering if I can get longer life out of the aftermarket rotors...not really sure if they are bad, but eveyone is saying you do the pads and rotors together...hard to believe you couldn't just do a set of pads at least once - even if they wear faster.

Thanks!

Take a look at this steering wheel.

https://www.ebay.com/i/292981205246?...&ul_noapp=true

Very nice color combo. Looks like you got every option possible! Congrats!

Nonsense about having to change the rotors after your first set of pads are due unless you track the S63. Especially on a 2018 with less than 20,000 miles. You can no doubt change pads only unless your rotors are warped.

I am going for the girodisc when time comes. You can replace the rotor rings and not the entire rotor when it’s time, looks awesome, cheaper and better stopping power with Rado brake pads and LESS brake dust ( about 50% or more ). Hope this helps.

https://www.girodisc.com/Rotors_c_1246.html

Appreciate the advice. On second opinion the rotors did not need to be replaced. Dealer replaced front and rear pads only at a price comparable to my indie shop. I will likely go with Girodisc rotors when needed, and go with the low dust pads as well. Hopefully, that will be another 18000+ miles. Thank you!