Primal574

Been itching for a switch of my DD, which is a 2013 S4 and hands down the best DD I have had (335i a close 2nd).

For a while I was dead set on picking up a 2013-14 cayenne turbo but lately feel like It's way too 'grown' up and I dont need all that space with no kids, and feel like the 'suv bug' will wear out very quickly with it. Not a fan of macan styling.

Im getting tired of Audis as wife has an A6, so RS7 is out of the question. The other contender is an M5, which is a great car but I prefer E's styling over that. So that leads me to the 2014-2015 E63s.

I'm very hesitant to let the S4 go though because it's been bulletproof reliable for several years, and performs great under any/all conditions while still deliving great driving fun. Those of you who went from the S4, are you happy with the E63s ? Anything you miss from the Audi that you wished the mercedes had? Or Vice versa? I like the ride and the overall 'smoothness' that the Audi provides, say vs a e90/92 m3 that feels like its on the 'edge'.

Most of my commute is on freeway - is the car smooth / sedate / quiet over long distances? No issues taking it on road trips / cross country?

Through my brief search I also saw a number of threads regarding 'reliability' issues. Even though the dealer is close, I would rather not be there every other month. Are the reliability issues 'forum' overblown or do majority of the current E63s all have bugs and gremlins that need to be ironed out?

I have test driven a number of E's previously, but not the newer V8 E63 (next on the to do list)! Please share any feedback to make my decision easier.

ragtopwalt

These are two totally different cars. I still own the S4 and believe my wife would hurt me in my sleep should I sell it. Comparison below:
The physical size of the E makes it feel less nimble than the S. It is just a much larger car, but Mercedes could do a better job managing the size particularly with throttle response and overall transmission smoothness(there is a very noticeable lag in the throttle immediatly after stopping, the downshift into 3rd is very harsh in sport or sport+, and will only use first gear in those 2 settings.). Overall in sprints to 30 or 40 mph the Audi is more satisfying. In winter weather both cars are very good with winter tires. The Audi is do good they should issue a Darwon award for anyone who loses control - given the use of winter rubber.
As for driving comfort the Mercedes shines. While I find the Audi seats comfortable, there are none better then what is in the Mercedes. I can sit in them all day. The ride is firm but never harsh, and can be set to your preference. Sport and sport plus do lower the ride height in the rear. If you choose European delivery (I took both cars that way) the limiter on the Benz E63S is 186 MPH to 155 in the Audi. While I did hit the limiter in the Audi, I couldn't in the Benz for self preservation reasons in traffic. However I did see an honest 175.
The navigation system is slightly more intuitive in the Audi, and I hate that the seats/steering wheel/ mirrors don't reset via the Fob as in the Audi.
I would suggest some real seat time (1 hour minimum) in various conditions prior to making a decision, if you can.
Hope this helps,
Walt

raudiace4

I had a 2012 S4 and I miss that car.
The E63 is nicer, faster, and more comfy but the S4 was just more fun to drive.
You can't really compare the two, but if you give higher priority to a toss-able, nimbler car then keep the S4. I ran into a ton of reliability/breakdown issues with the S4 right after 50K miles, and just could not deal with it anymore. Otherwise I'd still have that car.

CliffJumper

I used to have a 2009 (E90) M3 Sedan w/ 6MT which I absolutely loved. I unfortunately sold it when I thought we didn't have room for more than one car and I absolutely regret it.

I picked up a 2015 S4 w/ DSG earlier this year, which in my opinion is a perfectly adequate car. I think it does many things well, however, I feel it lacks character or "edge" as someone above mentioned. One of the reasons I'm looking for a new E63 is simply because at least the sound of the engine adds a bit of character to a daily drive. Also, I cooked the brakes of my S4 after one canyon run, which I do regularly in a number of cars. I could probably take care of that with new fluid and pads, but I was definitely a bit disappointed it couldn't handle it stock, like my other cars could.

CliffJumper

If I didn't want the additional practicality of the E63 as well, I'd definitely replace the S4 with a C63, which keeps the tossability of the S4 along with the character of an AMG.

TheOtherEric

We sold our '10 S4 to get our '14 E63. The S4 was great due to its nice engine and it was a manual -- IMHO, the auto S4 is a horribly bland, boring car. Funny though, the E63 works great as an auto.

The E63 is far more fun and exciting than the S4. The S4 ride quality was better, but not by far. I dislike the ride quality of the E63, and really don't enjoy long highway trips. Leaves me with a sore back. But the S4 left my *** sore... lol... so pick your poison.

Primal574

All great responses from everyone thank you (for bringing out the good and the bad). My S4 is the DSG and I love that transmission for daily duties. I do enjoy the nimbleness in the S4 - which makes me hesitant to go to anything larger, but feel like E has not gotten oversized yet like the S6 / RS7 audis or even the m5.

Majority of my cruising in the car IS freeway so I would want it to be a better highway cruiser then the S4. I'm surprised by the mention that 'ride quality' is worse in the 63 then the S4 over longer trips! I thought by a larger wheelbase / car size / Mercedes (brand) - I would get a much smoother freeway cruiser at that.

My brother just picked up the C63 and it felt smaller and tighter inside to me then the S4 - and S4 is as small as I would ever wantt to go hence C63 is out.

I should also add that I do have a weekend toy (gallardo) - so would not minding adding a bit more comfort and room to my daily (hence the decision to move away from the S4). Anybody also cross shop with the M5 and Cayenne turbo (sort of in a different category but I always like them) and what ultimately led you to pick the 63?

Astolfo

The S4 is way more reliable....my 2015 with 3k has been at the dealer 6-8 times? and still having issues. Yesterday the car locked me out, the key was not detected, the physical key opened the car, but would not start the car as it said it was not detected.


Completely disappointed about the quality of the MB. But it might be the odd one... but given the cars in service at the MB dealer the wait time to get an appointment (here in Seattle not Missoula MT) it leads me to believe that a lot of MBs have a lot of issues....


At Audi or Porsche I get appointments in the same week or day if I can manage to bring the car the same day.

Primal574

Yes thats (reliability) is def a concern of mine as well. Over 2.5 years, over 30K miles I have put on my S4 (car is closing in to 50k miles), never been to dealer outside of regular service. Same with a 2014 A6 we have had for a year. Quite a change from Audis of early 2000s.

Astolfo

I have a few Italian cars too and I swear they are not this buggy, or cheaply constructed.


Hell I have a first year Cayenne Turbo S (with a few mods from 9ff) it has almost a 150K really HARD driving miles and solid as a rock, not only pulling my sailboat but at the racetrack... just service all my Audis the only reason to go to the dealer were for service and a couple of coils and software updates even if I did not complain about a problem.
Much unlike MB, that I have to complain and then they fix it.
MB is a waste of time and $ IMHO... I am really sorry I bought this car

HPMan

Sorry to hear about your troubles. My 2014 has been rock solid, although I've only put on about 15,000 miles. My only trouble has been the creaky pano roof, which the dealer promptly rectified.

raudiace4

I think you're overreacting a bit here. You could have a Lemon, and you should look into lemon laws in your state.

Astolfo

maybe, can you now convince the dealer about this....

gaspam

ive had many S4's and they were super unreliable..... BUT they were b5 s4's and they were all stage 3 :P

TheOtherEric

But I do think the E63 is slightly better for highway driving. Perhaps you'll be satisfied with the seats, since it's pretty personal. But the E63 ride quality is still mediocre; it's very choppy and just unrefined. Anything less than 3 hr drives and the E63 is a great choice.

cyclezib

I went from a 2015 S4 to a 2012 E63 Estate. I do miss quatro. But that's not an issue with the newer models. I agree, when starting from a stop it has an occasional lag.

I've had E63 has zero reliability issues. You are well aware of the lack of durability of the S4's transmission. I believe the E63 is bullet proof. The transmission on the E63 is durable, but shift are not always smooth. It is a characteristic that you get used to. It isn't a paramount make or break decision maker.

Handling in corners versus a stock S4 is similar. I had KW HAS on my S4. With these, the S4 is more stable. But you can install these on the Mercedes too.

Because my E63 is a rear wheel drive, it is much more technical to drive than a S4. You need to learn handling the rear drifting. It becomes fun.

The quality of the build and interior is substantially better. That said, the MMI is not as sophisticated. You also cannot customize the electronics the way you can recode an Audi. Again, that not a big deal.

Highway driving is better than the S4. You can actually feel the steering and there is zero vague wandering in the lanes.

I can get about 21 mpg on the highway. But around town and driving hard, mpg is much lower than the S4.

The MB is so much faster than the S4 that it really isn't fair to compare the two cars.

Would I buy an Audi again, probably not. I was firmly committed to Audi, and had 3 S4s in a row. I switched to MB because Audi refuses to bring into the US sport Avants.






QUOTE=Primal574;6636009]Been itching for a switch of my DD, which is a 2013 S4 and hands down the best DD I have had (335i a close 2nd).

For a while I was dead set on picking up a 2013-14 cayenne turbo but lately feel like It's way too 'grown' up and I dont need all that space with no kids, and feel like the 'suv bug' will wear out very quickly with it. Not a fan of macan styling.

Im getting tired of Audis as wife has an A6, so RS7 is out of the question. The other contender is an M5, which is a great car but I prefer E's styling over that. So that leads me to the 2014-2015 E63s.

I'm very hesitant to let the S4 go though because it's been bulletproof reliable for several years, and performs great under any/all conditions while still deliving great driving fun. Those of you who went from the S4, are you happy with the E63s ? Anything you miss from the Audi that you wished the mercedes had? Or Vice versa? I like the ride and the overall 'smoothness' that the Audi provides, say vs a e90/92 m3 that feels like its on the 'edge'.

Most of my commute is on freeway - is the car smooth / sedate / quiet over long distances? No issues taking it on road trips / cross country?

Through my brief search I also saw a number of threads regarding 'reliability' issues. Even though the dealer is close, I would rather not be there every other month. Are the reliability issues 'forum' overblown or do majority of the current E63s all have bugs and gremlins that need to be ironed out?

I have test driven a number of E's previously, but not the newer V8 E63 (next on the to do list)! Please share any feedback to make my decision easier.[/QUOTE]

TheOtherEric

LOL - that sure sounds familiar. We went S4, then A4, then another S4, then quit Audi because they wouldn't give us an Avant, be it RS4, S4, S6, or RS6. We would have happily taken any of those.

tarsands

Me 3

Johnny Rad

There's SO much to like about the RS6. Then again, we do get a hotted-up AMG E wagon... so you win some, lose some.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I rented a brand new 2016 (?) Audi A4 2.0T from Silvercar over the Thanksgiving weekend and was reminded just how much I was impressed with the 2015 (?) S4 that I test drove before getting my E. I'd never go with Audi's small displacement turbo 4 over their supercharged 6 in the S, but the int continues to impress me. I like the aesthetics and found most materials looked and/or felt "high quality." The buttons for the MMI, HVAC, etc felt "just right" with an appropriate amount of heft, tactile feedback, etc. There are some spots where it doesn't compare favorably to my E, but remember the Audi is a less expensive car.

I'd like to check out a current-gen S6 with its twin-turbo V8 one day...

megasaurus

if my E63 could take a dump, it would be an audi

csquared

Just got a brand new 2016 Audi A6 3.0T a couple weeks ago and already have a 2011 E550 4Matic.

They made several improvements to the A6 for 2016. The Audi A6 now has similar performance to Audi S4 due to upgraded engine. It is slightly faster than the E550 but the E550 sounds better and is more torquey than Audi's V6. My Audi is fully loaded with S-line, LED headlights, HUD, sport suspension, black optics, 20" rims, etc.

Ride: W212 E550 rides better than the Audi due to air suspension. The W212 platform feels much more solid than the A6. In corners, the E550 feels much more planted because you can drop the car lower than the Audi even though the Audi is dropped 20mm from sport suspension.

Steering: I feel the E550 is a lot fun to drive than the A6 due to better steering. The biggest downfall in all Audi's is steering feel. It is way too light and does not load up in corners. MB has way better steering than Audi. In my E550, you feel the texture of the road and tiny bumps through the steering wheel. The steering in the MB is more responsive and reactive than the Audi. It's not perfect because it gets a bit too heavy at very high speeds, yet I prefer MB's steering system to the Audi.

Handling: Although the E550 shouldn't handle better than the A6, but it feels it could due to better steering feel. In the Audi, there is way more understeer in corners than MB. There's a bit more body roll in the A6 than the E550. It's hard to corner confidently in the Audi due to the light steering. The turning radius is much smaller in the MB vs the Audi.

Transmission: MB transmission is smoother but slower than the Audi. Audi's transmission is not jerky but you feel the shifts more than in the MB.

Looks Audi made the A6 more aggressive and sporty with the facelift and black LED headlights and tinted taillights. Hard decision, but I prefer the Audi's overall appearance to the W212. But the W212 looks more expensive and grander, especially in the front.

In conclusion, Audi has improved a lot in the new A6, but in terms of driving involvement the E550 beats it. V8 always trumps supercharged V6. The E550 is the better car overall despite the aging tech and interior.

raudiace4

This thread is asking about those going from an S4 to E63. Not A6 and E550. The A6 and S4 are two totally different driving experiences, handling, ride, comfort, stability, DSG vs. automatic etc.... Also you can't compare a E550 to an 3.0T A6, you need to compare it to an S6. 3.0T A6 = E350.

Fairbird

I just went from 2015 S6 st3 to 2014 E63S , I loved the 4.0TT , it was quick reliable and economical 25/6 mph highway , MB surprised me a lot , I spend hour in the benz and hour driving , all I can say for now MB more fun to drive , 100% sure I can make it go faster than S6 , should be fun , not sorry I'm getting E63S