If you read my sig block you can see I’m a serial Audi RS owner and have had three RS6’s in various guises. What I’m not though is a fanboy to a particular marque-a great car is a great car. I’ll warn the RS fanboys to maybe turn the virtual page here though-the E63 brings some incredible firepower to the party and you may not enjoy this review.
This is only my second AMG and the first -A45-was pretty much a disaster and to me it became a hateful little thing that promised much but came up really short in most areas. I always wanted a ‘proper’ AMG and this is right up there as The Daddy.
Mine is a 2019 ‘s’ estate in black with a few options ticked-most of them are pretty well specc’d out of the box with surround view cameras, pano roof etc-ignore all the guff about ‘massive spec’ you can see on Auto Trader etc, they come with most options like pano roof, 360 cameras etc already as stock. Mine is the ‘Premium Plus’ pack with comfort seats, + head up display (hard to find but essential imo), adaptive cruise, night optics pack, lane assist ++. All in all about £100k when new and bought from MB last year for £67k with 19,300 on the clock. The only extras I’ve had done to it are to black out the surrounds and badging and also retro fit the ‘AMG Drive Unit’ (came in the 2020 model) buttons on the steering wheel which is a brilliant function.
Lots have been written about these cars-same as the RS6, M5 etc. All of them are in their own ways brilliant cars. Some of them you have to tinker with a bit to get the best out of them (the A45 needed pedal boxes and a tune just to get it to perform as it should have done stock) and I wanted something that was out of the box savage and needed nothing doing. The one area Audi always lacked was in the noise department (I had to put a non res Milltek on my B9 RS5 as the ‘sports exhaust’ was pitiful). The E63s pre OPF (2020/2021 onwards) is mighty-not as biblical as the older models but it’s up there and on a charge is outrageous.
First some tech comparisons:
Audi C7 RS6 PE:
• 597 bhp 553 lb ft torque
• 0-62 mph 3.7 secs
• 1950 kgs weight
• 4979 mm length/2086 mm width
• 75 litre tank
• Boot space 565 litres/1680 litres seats down
Mercedes Benz E63s AMG Estate W213
• 604 bhp 627 lb ft torque
• 0-62mph 3.5 secs
• 2070 kgs weight
• 5000 mm length/2065 mm width
• 80 litre tank
• Boot space 640 litres/1820 litres seats down
Lets get the bad bits (if you can call them that) out of the way:
• Looks. Depending which way you view it this can also be a good thing. From the front its all flared arches and AMG double bar grille but from the back it’s the same as any other E Class apart from the quad pipes and badging. RS6 knocks it out of the park looks wise for passive aggressive stance and there’s no mistaking it for a lower model. Our resident C7 fan Tadass very nicely called mine a ‘hearse’! Having said that for Q Car status a debadged and blacked out pipes can realty blend in and be a seriously nasty surprise for other fast cars (more on that below).
• Comfort. It’s just not a comfortable car as the RS6 is. They are all on air suspension and you can raise and lower the car up to about 50 mph and it does improve things a bit but the chassis and damping is just too hard. It’s not a horror show but its no long distance cruiser-no matter what the PR blurb says!
• Economy. I know-you cant expect a 600+ bhp car to offer much but these things drink. It’s got in cylinder deactivation which seems to only kick in sometimes (C7 RS6 seemed to be easier) but your average is still going to be about 20-24 mpg. On a motorway bimble I managed 31 mpg but I was really trying. It just seemed to be easier in the C7. Fuel tank is 80 odd litres-it’s the larger one which you’ll definitely need!
• Tech. Mine is the older ‘Comand’ system, the new ‘MBUX’ is better and more straightforward. No touchscreen and so you have to use the wheel for Apple Car Play (which seems to freeze a lot) but the functions on the screens are clear enough-it’s just really overly techy I find. In the ‘Race’ function you can access dozens of race track plans from around the globe-why would anyone need that? For me having owned Audi/AMG/M Cars among others, the operating systems in order of ease of use are 1. BMW 2. Audi (with the virtual cockpit being peerless) and 3. MB. Merc is too complex I find but that may be just me.
• Gear lever is on a stalk which is a Merc ‘thing’. You get used to it but selecting reverse is a bit dim witted and you have to make sure foot is on the brake or it’s in neutral and you treat everyone to a V8 roar whilst static which makes you look like a tool!
• Heated seats turn themselves off after a while which is REALLY annoying. It decides you’ve had enough warmth and turn off and cannot be turned back on no matter what. Odd. Maybe there’s a function deep in the menu but it winds me up in the cold no end.
• The interior is a bit busy and also ‘blingy’. The HUD doesn’t give as much info as my cheap 2012 BMW diesel 5 series which is baffling – you have about 6 display settings to go through so again its all very overly complex.
• On full lock the tyres ‘scrub’ at slow speeds which make a sound like grinding brakes. Worse in the cold and a little ‘quirk’ and nothing can be done apparently. No damage its just noise and not nice to hear.
• Residual value. This is where Audi really holds strong and you only have to look at current used car prices to see that the RS6 really does hold its own price wise. A younger 2019/2020 M5/E63s is the same price (or less) than a discontinued 2017 RS6 PE which is crazy. The M and AMG are by far better drivers cars but the reality shows RS really hold their value.
The Good Bits
• Power. Fanboys look away now as this is by far the most savage and aggressive car I’ve ever owned. Stock power seems to be ‘guidelines’ as many run more than advertised. I had mine put on rollers to see what it was really doing and its running at least 620 bhp and 660 lb ft at the wheels. Some run closer to 700 bhp and this is all 100% stock. On a charge it is absolutely ballistic and quite simply wipes the floor with most other cars. It still scares me which is a good thing.
I did a few launches and with a ¾ full fuel tank using the onboard timer I got 0-62 in 3.39 (in 167 ft) with 0-30 in 1.46 secs. Not bad and I reckon with less fuel and more practice I’d be looking at 3.1/3.2 to 60. I couldn’t get to 100 mph but another owner on a forum put his up and he did 0-100 mph in 6.73 secs in 580 feet. These are tuned car figures and completely stock from a 2 ton estate car. They run the ¼ mile in around 11.2 secs and for those who suffered the Car Wow Drag Races when the C8 RS6 came out will remember the AMG and M humiliating the RS which was sad to see but the reality.
The RS6 is seriously quick but the E63s is next level savage and having had two C7’s now the AMG is by a clear margin the more exciting car. If you want something to stick its hands down the front of your pants and have a rummage-E63S all day long am afraid. The best analogy I can think of is from the end of the film ‘Logan’ where Wolverine drinks all the ‘go juice’ in one sitting and then smashes at hurricane speed through the forest wiping the floor with everything in his path-that’s the E63s in Sport +/Race Mode with the soundtrack to match. It’s that mental. Plus they are hand built engines with an individual build plaque which is a nice touch. There have been plenty of crushed egos on other performance cars along the way who no doubt had a proper ‘WTF’ moment whilst getting blown away. Having the AMG Drive Unit means its simple to switch between modes, before that you had to go for the switches in the centre console for that plus suspension and exhaust switch.
• Handling. Its not a cruiser or a GT but with the stiffer damping and suspension this thing can really hustle and handling is close to an M Car (my old M3 Comp was the best handling car I ever owned). You can attack B roads and make more progress and have more fun than an RS6 on the same road by a big margin. The car moves around under you and feels very ‘animalistic’ (hope that makes sense) and you definitely feel involved and not just a passenger like you do in other fast cars. Not sure how they did it but it’s a great handling car and a real ’drivers car’ and frankly a bit of a posh hooligan. The cliché is ‘handles like a smaller car’ but that definitely applies here. The M5 will be better still but 100% not as exciting nor as bombastic. It AWD with the ability to completely decouple the rear axle and make it 2 wheel drive. That would make it do doughnuts and power slides and probably something I’ll never do but its nice to know its there I guess. To be frank no Audi RS I ever owned handled as well as a BMW M car nor the E63S.
Some comparisons for C7/C8 and the AMG:
https://youtu.be/MiGlJqgPE9c
https://youtu.be/m8MQTE5uOoU
https://youtu.be/PdA6dqeL7OI
Other high notes are the brakes, the adaptive LED lights, the newer steering wheel and AMG Drive Unit also really simplify things. Oh and you get a genuine IWC clock in the car (they got rid of it for the 2021 model which is a real shame). If you’re a watch fan (and even better if you have an IWC) then it’s a really nice touch. The 360 cameras are all HD and you get a really clear picture.
So all in all a massively impressive car. One of those cars that on the test drive you know within 2 mins or less of driving that you have to buy it. That’s only happened with this and the M3 for me. It’s a legendary car and possibly the last of the E63 V8’s sadly. The new C63s ‘E Performance’ is a 2 litre 4 cylinder that with electrification can push 680 bhp but weighs over 2.1 tons which just blunts the performance. Plus speakers in the exhaust pipes is very telling. The USP for AMG has always been power and noise and that’s being watered down now and many people are not happy so long live the V8!
So to compare to the RS6:
• To do a long drive in comfort and with great power in a legendary car that looks brilliant = RS6
• To have a car that’s deeply exciting but not as comfortable on a long drive but massively rewarding = E63s AMG
I’ve had it over a year now and tend to move my cars on but the ‘what’s next?’ question is a tough one! Shortlist is R8, AMG GT, M8, Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo etc but finding a car that’s as exciting as the AMG is going to be tough. There’s also the fact that where I live you don’t get many opportunities to really make progress so I could well just get a very nice fast (but not outrageous) car-4 x 4’s are the way ahead out in East Anglia as the roads are small and falling apart.
Anyway that’s my input and opinions on the AMG-best powerful Drivers car yet for me.
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