Hello All, A lady recently ran a red light and totaled my 2009 S550 on the driver side. I had a narrow escape and other drivers were surprised to see me walk out unhurt, another reason to love MB. Anyways, unexpectedly I am in the market for a new MB and decided to go for E63. There are a few new unsold 2011 at very good discounts and 2012's are at a small discount as well. I am not looking forward to the new single headlight E class in 2013 so need to pick up one of these.

If I can save $10K between a new 2011 and 2012 for the same spec, what would you prefer. Also I am in dilemma if 6.2L is better than the 5.5L bi-turbo. I don't care about higher gas mileage in 2012 - any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

 

coming from a s550 you will be impressed with the 2011 e63 so why not ? A little cheaper and you still get the warranty .

did you look at a new 2012 s550 with the TT ??? they lease great and are quick !

 

I'm not much of a forced induction guy, I'd go for the 2011.

 

I do 20K miles a year in the Bay Area so lease is out.
I was thinking the same - not a big fan of forced induction - new S550 is turbo too.
I am getting new 2011 S550 or E63 for same price - tough call.

 

If u only get 10 k off a new 2011 then go for a 2012

If u get like 20 k off then go 2011

I don't know what they offer

I was in similar dilemma, first wanted a 2010/11 used or possible new.

After reading this forum, and influence from certain members you can see what I ended up with

Either way you'll have more than enough power

 

Do the 2012...

TT...nough said...

 

I am having the same dilemma between 11 or 12. I had a c63 2010 and loved the N/A engine, though TT engines can be tuned easier. I think the price will be the big factor at the end. Curious how much discout you are getting on the 11. So far i am getting around 20,000 off MSRP. I did not look for discount on 12 but assuming 12,000 less than MSRP is reasonable. Around 8% off MSRP from dealer and 4000 conquest money from MB.With 11 limited choices for color and packages. imo 11 should be at least 25,000 off to be worth it as the 13 is around the corner

 

what dealership you working with? I know Beschoff in SJ has an amazing lined up of AMG cars and you can grind them. I think Dodi is the guy who is in charge of the AMG side -

 

I'd go with the 12 for depreciation purposes. The '11 is going to end up like the 02 CL55's vs the blown 03's. You couldn't give away an 02. Cash for clunkers wouldn't take one it was so bad.

 

if you want to mod and make the car faster go with the '12.if you just want a stock fast car go with the '11.

 

i called couple of dealers mostly around dc/baltimore area but so far they are not where i want them to be

 

Yeah, intersection is usually a very dangerous place. That side crash test video of the current S class on youtube is very impressive--even the door glass did not shatter. I was also considering between a S550 or E63, but I went with the latter since E63 is more useful (rear folding seats) and W212 has well-established crash testing data on NHTSA, IIHS, and NCAP around the world.

I also prefer N/A if possible. If you insist on keeping your car past the warranty period, an N/A would be preferable. The TT is a relatively new engine so there is always a question of reliability. Moreover, the turbo are all the way inside the engine. That means if one of them ever fail, the entire engine needs to be pulled out of the bay for repair. On the other hand, if you plan to keep it only a few years, then you can also consider the TT, which is of course more tuneable but you will run into warranty issue if the engine blows up from the tuning.

I'm sure you will be able to negotiable more discount for a '11 vs a '12. Either way, you will get adequate amount of power and intoxicating exhaust note.

 

M156 is the better engine.
If you find an 11 with the options you want, you will have a solid car you can keep for a long time.

 

Based on what?

 

More displacement, higher redline, more power and torque without turbos.
Arguably better reliability at full throttle and long term.
Turbos dont make an engine better they are just an accesory to add hp and torque to engines that are not fast enough without them.
The real deal would have been a TT 6.2.

The end result M157 is nice but I rank it below the M156 in terms of craftsmanship, and achieving amazing power without resorting to turbos.

 

Yeah... Your right

Knew I should have the other way

 

Its just spliting hairs.
The M157 is bad ***.

 

I had both and prefer the tt mainly on power delvery and gas mileage,

Plus, 2012 have so pretty good deals. I got 10k off sticker with conquest

Plus, why would you want something old when buying a new car, that's why the 2011 ar sitting on the lot still. Nobody wants them

 

I was being sarcastic

Both are great engines.

 

I had a 2010 E63 and now have a 2012 with the performance pack. They do feel and sound a little different. The 2010 sounded better; there's no denying it. The 2012 has a nice exhaust note, but it just doesn't have quite the same visceral quality as my 2010. The 2012 is bone jarringly quick. The updated displays are nice. I find the start-stop function annoying. I have to say, however, that I find myself missing the 2010. It just felt and sounded perfect. The 2012 brings some added power and speed, but it feels like something got left out of the equation. Wish I could describe it more accurately, but I guess I would say there is something artificial about the feeling of driving the 2012, whereas the 2010 had a feeling of purity and perfection. Either way the cars are awesome, but I think MB/AMG shouldn't have messed with something that didn't need fixing.

 

It's will be a major debate over the M156 vs M157. Even though I have a preferance for N/A, I think both are great engines. However, one might be better than the other in certain application.

Some known facts about the two are:
-M156 N/A 6.2L was the only engine developed entirely within AMG.
-M157 is based on the M278 found in the regular Mercedes-Benz S-Class and CL-Class. In turn, M278 is based on M273 (introduced in 2006), which is derived from M272 (introdued in 2004). The non TT version of M157 is the M152 (found in SLK55), which gains additional 33hp and 7lb-ft tq.
-M157 is ideal for powering full-size sedans such as the S-Class.
-M156 has slightly more precise throttle response is ideal for smaller, sportier models such as the C-Class.
-M157's increased torque allows shifting into a taller gear sooner, keeping engine revs and fuel consumption to a minimum.

Obviously, the only way to increased hp and tq at a lower displacement is to use induction. Ideally, I would like something like the engine AMG provides to Pagani--displacement of 7.3L to achieve similar hp and tq.

Speaking of exhaust note, I saw an AMG M157 engine video that details how the engineers use electronically controlled flaps/gates at the exhaust system to improve the exhaust note. Thus it means the unmodified M157 note is actually not as exciting as they would like. Despite that, it's still better than the speaker produced sound of the new M5.

Couple of days ago on the way home from O'Hare, I had to floor it on the highway in S+ at 70+mph to pass a car next to me that was about to change into my lane without seeing me. Coincidentally, it happened right under an underpass and the sound in the cabin was loud enough that it woke up my wife. I can only imagine what the sound is like from the outside to all those cars near me at the time.

As I had mentioned, it doesn't matter that I like N/A over induction since there is no choice in the future if I stay with E-class. That means I'm not getting the M152 in the SLK55.

 

pyro, i think its the steering which makes it kinda empty

at slow street speeds its great, amazes me how loose and easy it can be, at higher speeds it needs to be tighter, but i guess thats how the cars nowadays are going ( Porsche)


in terms of engine, lets just go do some drag strips runs, stock vs stock and see which one wins, there must be something on YouTube

 

Go with the 2012 w212, totally different car (Much better).

 

Wait, really?

 

I got a sick deal on my 2010 last summer. I could have waited for the 2012 but decided this was one car i was gonna leave bone stock and not modify except for rims and tires. With that in mind i chose the 6.2 motor over the 5.5tt for many of the reasons stated above. If you plan to stay stock go for the 6.2 with your discount and save some cash. If you plan on modding it and going for bigger hp numbers than def pony up and get the 5.5, it will be cheaper for you in the long run. It's very expensive and with minor gains to extract mroe hp out of the 6.2 motor. Both versions are super quick and overall a joy to drive.