First off, let me say that it was a clk63 amg and not an E. My dealer got a CLK in and so I ran by to check it out. Didn't expect to get to drive it but jumped at the chance when my salesman offered. I'll preface all this by saying I did NOT abuse the car or floor it at any point as I am sure whoever does buy it will not want to get a car that has been run wide open w/ 20 miles on it. Hopefully, others will respect the engine and break in also......

Anyway, as you know the CLK only has 1 set of AMG rear mufflers but the low grumble was fantastic. Idle sounded great, slow driving sounded great (as the salesman was parking it) and cruising on the highway w/ 'a few revs' was AWESOME!!!! The exterior was nice but not as aggressive as I thought it would look. I liked the wheels and badging. Car was black so the lines were not very visible. On to the good stuff....

The new 7spd tranny is something. I didn't realize that the CLK did not have the comfort-sport-sport2 settings until today. Unfortunately at slow speeds in traffic I could tell that the tranny wasn't sure what to do and was mildly notchy in that 1st to 2nd shift. After that it was fine. I hope that comfort mode in the E will take care of that problem. Also others have mentioned that there is an adjustment period for the tranny. I will say though that when you are ready to go, there is no hesitation what-so-ever and the engine and tranny will run. Shifts are smooth and lighting quick from a dig and there is no jerking. Seems as though the tranny was designed more for sprinting than jogging (ala M5....). Again, though I am sure w/ comfort mode and appropriate adjustment time that should be fine.

Brakes were sharp and grabby. Seemed like they needed to be broken in. Either that or I simply wasn't used to them yet. Stopped on a dime, needless to say.

I do not own an E55 (or any AMG for that matter) and my daily driver is an '03 M3 w/ SS race exhaust, 19" rims and PS2's. There was no doubt that this car was WAYYY faster, sorry to say. One reviewer of the E63 mentioned that they got in, got on the gas and then started to feel a hesitation in the engine (as he banged it off the rev limiter.....) It is that simple to get there. Took it up to 100 and it felt like I was going 65. I was simply amazed by responsiveness of the engine and the gear kickdowns. My M3 is great and prior to my test drive I was playing with some cars here and there to the dealer, but the accumulation of speed between 50 - 100 is simply amazing. The speedometer just slides effortlessly. I test drove a CLS55 a few months ago and this car felt just as quick.

Sorry for the long banter but I can officially say that I am very anxiously awaiting my E63 slated to be here mid August. So far, I can happily say in the brief testing that this engine is an absolute monster. I'm sure you E55 guys feel that way everyday, but I have now officaially been corrupted. The 7spd seems designed to run and run quickly, there is never a moments hesitation, not from a standstill or a quick freeway kickdown for more speed. A little jittery in town (but the car had 20 miles on it). Official testing should be done soon on these cars and then we can all have our numbers. By the way, car handled well, even though I didn't get to offically throw it thru the twisties. Says something to me given that I drive an M3 everyday.... We'll see how the E does. Will, ofcourse, give a more detailed write-up of the E when it gets here and I get a few miles under my belt. Happy motoring gentlemen. Things are about to get interesting......

 

Loved the gauges. I was a fan of the white faced gauges of the 55's but suprisingly liked these new ones as they were very classy and easy to read. Steering wheel is very nice, paddle shifters feel solid and not once did I accidentally touch them. Think that's it for now...... Hope everyone throws in their 2 cents on any 63 test drives....

 

Nice review; thanks for posting that.

 

....Welcome to the dark side

Seriously, glad to have you on-board.