I've owned my W212 E63 for about 10 days now and I have to admit I am blown away. My biggest concern was that I would be let down by the power of the car. I'm coming from two TQ monsters and after reading about how wimpy the M5 is, I was really concerned about buying the 63, essentially sight unseen. I understand now what the difference between TQ and HP is. I always wondered why two cars (M5 and 55K) can have such drastic differences in numbers but achieve almost the same 0-60/etc times.

This to me is a drivers car. You actually have to take a role behind the wheel if that makes any sense. The shifts are unbelievably fast and responsive. In M mode it's a bit tedious with 7 gears but I guess I have to just get used to it. The downshifts even in S+ are insane, you get that Ferrari growl. I think this is every bit as fast as my CLS (which I thought was a complete lunatic) only because I'm at 85MPH before I even catch traction in the CLS.

All in all, I am a very satisfied customer. I realize you can't compare the two but now I see what all the P car guys are raving about when it comes to that PDK. It's insane what a pleasure it is to drive a car with a proper transmission, I can't even imagine what the rev matching PDK is like.

The best part about the car, hands down, is the sound it makes. Out of the box it sounds like a spaceship. I installed some ROW boxes and filters and I lost that sound but gained a bit more growl. Still sounds like heaven but I wish I can have the "stock" sound with the increased flow. I was planning x-pipe and cat D but I refuse to do it just because I don't want to lose any more of this fantastic noise it's making.

The only downside to the car I can see so far is the interior finishes. The dash is made of plastic and the (idrive?) wheel is redundant with the buttons on the dash. They do the same thing. There's not luxury feel to the car. The CLS had leather stitched dash, plenty of lumber, and chrome. It felt more luxury than anything I've ever driven.

With all that said, I've regained the excitement I had for AMG like when I first got the E55. I want to drive this thing every minute of the day. The shift's and the noise are worth every penny.

Nice write up.

I really enjoy my E63 also.... I know you can browse through the threads on this site and read a lot of less than positive comments about this car. Yet I have only found one issue that is maybe more unique to me based on where I live than others but I would like the comfort mode to be a little more comfortable as some streets I travel are brutal and you can feel every bump in these cars. Yet overall I find myself enjoying driving the car more than I thought I would when I purchased it. My wife has a new BMW 5 series and she loves it...yet she's afraid to drive my E because of the power so she has no idea what she's missing.

I was in the other forum page and folks were complaining about the W212 navigation system. The BMW navigation system is hot garbage!!! I admit that ours isn't the prettiest nav system to look at but at least it's easy to use.

Sweet pic

I don't mind the stiffness so much. I start the car and punch that AMG button right away.

As far as the nav, I agree it's a bit "basic". I upgraded the Sirius sat traffic thing and it sucks. If you have an iPhone on board there's basically nothing on the planet that will be as precise and easy to use as the map on the phone.

Thanks!

Nice write up, however you don't mention what year the car is ? Thanks

It is a 6.3, I would imagine it is either a 2010, or 2011.

Yea, I missed that on the fender....

With the dashboard being plastic, it is probably a 2010. Of course, you get the stitched MBTex dash and alcantara headliner for 2011 and up (what was MB thinking with 2010?!). The MBTex looks as good as leather without the hassle of maintenance.

Great write-up! I'll miss the NA 6.3 for sure in the future.