I had a chance to sit in a black w212 E63 yesterday at MB of Oakland. Being a former 2005 E55 owner (that I loved) and once thinking that the w212 E63 would be my natural follow vehicle on I was particularly interested. (However I do not like the lack of low down torque in the 63 compared with the turbo-charged engines so I eventually opted for a V12 TT instead which has more of a similar "55 feel")

I have to say that for a $95,000 car (what it was listed at) it sure did not feel like it. There was always something special about the E55 in its time compared with its competitors and the new E63 felt like... well a bigger C-Class... Reviews say that the interior is well put together, but my overwhelming impression was cheapness. There is no alcantara headliner, the leather felt and looked very inferior (certainly compared with the soft exclusive leather in the S and CL) the interior door lining is plasticky... the whole dash central console is busy and inelegant, the black maple wood inserts look cheap and even creaked when I applied pressure, the pull up door lock/latches are made of the most appalling looking plastic, the mounting of the side seat controls flexed far too much, even the center arm rest is the same as the C-Class. The shift lever and additional suspension/transmission options were the only thing that looked an improvement. I got the impression from the salesman that it is being targeted at a slightly different (less demanding audience) than the older E-Class AMG's.

This was an early model off the line to be sure and perhaps there will be Designo or other options to improve the interior but I was pretty disappointed on my first encounter. Of course I have not driven it which is what you are really paying for so these casual first impressions may be off base. Perhaps it is because it is the same old S63 engine and not the TT V8 we all hoped for or I have been spoiled by my current S600, but for just under $100K I was expecting something that felt a bit more special. The car just did not exude that "buzz" that I got from the w211 even before I drove it.

Not trying to be negative and these are casual impressions. I really had high hopes for this car but I am just not getting it.

Chris

 

I agree and I am still thinking of getting one but there are more lows than highs for a car of that dollar amount.

I saw the car first hand in White with black and looked awesome but what killed me was the back side of the car like taillamps and then the interior looks nice but some of the material used looks cheap at the same time, so it a tough desicion to make.

 

Good write up. Almost all cars this side of a Phantom will feel cheap compared to a W221 S600. Lack of alcantara headlining is something MB did on the CLK black series too....cost cutting bean counters seem to run things nowadays but at 100k it's unacceptable

 

P34 package should fix much of what bothers you... not sure if U.S. market cars will have it as an option, however. Anyone know? If so, how much is it supposed to list for?

 

Generally agree, cjf

But let's admit E55 ?10 yrs ago also costed about $100K (inflation-adjusted), for a lot less perf/safety

Agree, 63's lack of tq (glaring on fwys like SF Peninsula's rather unique but highly relevant 280) is unacceptable (but $200K 997GT2 and $400K 599 also feel tq-wimpy on 280)

Real question is reliability of MCT box, given abysmal hx in SL63 030

63's plastic interior is very C300 mockable (that massive, worthless analog clock always amuses me, sort of like on CLK63Blk), but not unlike plasticky interior of $150K+ S/CL63

AMG should offer a proper leather interior option for $5-10K (600/65 leather/Alcantara can't cost much on a mass AMG scale)

But given what a laughable POS is the $175K+ PanamTT (track times, dubious PDK reliability, uncertain PCCB perf in wet braking, mockable daily-useability/safety/elegance of a hatchback w/primitive safety tech), the $100K '10 E63 is a damn respectable car