THE world of the high-performance executive saloon is a delicately balanced one.
On the one hand, each of the vehicles on which these hugely powerful, top-of the range derivatives are based has established itself, in its own right, as luxurious, highly sophisticated, executive status symbols for their respective brands, capable of dispatching both traffic jams and long distance runs with consummate ease.
And yet, featured in the armoury of each of the traditional rivals in this segment is a version of these otherwise civilised vehicles that is capable of mixing it with certain members of the supercar fraternity.
The AMG division of Mercedes-Benz is tasked with ensuring that the Stuttgart contender is up to the task and has worked at giving the latest E-Class the right credentials.
Of course, one of the biggest challenges for designers and engineers alike in creating these über saloons is to find the right compromise between all-out performance, including brutish looks, while maintaining the elegance and sophistication that buyers in this segment expect.
In this regard, the latest Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG has received subtle yet effective styling tweaks, adequately distinguishing it from the “lesser” models in the range, yet not detracting too much from the original design brief of the newest E-Class.
Even the traditional positioning of the company’s three-pointed star atop of the grille has been maintained on this sledgehammer version.
Instantly recognsable, aside from the revised – lower and wider – front fenders, incorporating piercing LED daytimerunning lights, are standard 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in low-profi le rubber and, as we have become accustomed to in the latest AMG models, shiny quad tailpipes protruding from below the wide rear bumper.
Similarly, the interior of the new E63 AMG gives away little in terms of the performance potential of the new car.
Splashes of chrome, notably from the paddles mounted to the steering wheel and the pedals in the footwell, are small clues, highlighting an otherwise standard, comprehensive facia design.
Additional bolstering on the seating is yet another hint but it is in the area traditionally allocated to the gear selector that the whole package comes together. A relatively small lever selects Drive, Park or Reverse and is flanked by a row of shiny dials and buttons for the driver’s pleasure.
Four transmission modes are selectable, – comfort, sport, sport+ and manual (where the paddles come into play). For the brave, skilled, foolish or all three, traction control can be switched out in two stages and the AMG Ride Control offers adaptive electronic damping that can be set between Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes.
Personal settings can be stored and easily accessed by pressing an “AMG” button that completes the neat arrangement. In true Jekyll and Hyde style the E63 has two very distinctive moods. In everyday conditions the best E-Class qualities shine through as the very compliant, silky-smooth ride combines with light steering and near seamless transmission to provide good comfort and effortless progress.
Indeed, the E63’s gentle side is so convincing that the transformation to grumpy doesn’t seem as natural a progression as in some of its rivals.
That’s not to say that an angry E63 AMG isn’t extremely capable, though. With 386 kW of power on hand at 6 800 r/min and a massive 630 N.m of maximum torque waiting at 5 200 r/min, the 6,2-litre V8 engine under the bonnet provides just the right tonic for the transformation.
With the surface of our test strip offering a tad too much grip to optimally make use of the E63’s Race Start mode, we were still able to achieve a best 0-100 km/h time of 5,02 seconds. On the move, the near two-ton saloon gathers speed with absolute ease, with consummate overtaking acceleration times testifying to the massive power on offer.
Throwing a car the size and weight of an E-Class into a tight corner may not seem to be the most natural exercise but here, once again, AMG engineers have ensured that the E63 is not simply a straight line performer.
Steel springs up front, combined with a 56 mm wider track, and a self-levelling air suspension at the rear, provide precise control from apex to apex. With so much rear-wheel power on offer, a level head and steady right foot are prerequisites for a smooth corner exit but the reward for this is seatback-shoving acceleration towards the next braking point.
Massive 360 mm ventilated, crossdrilled, discs all-round are able to bring the E63 AMG to a standstill from 100 km/h in just 2,89 seconds (average of 10 stops).
TEST SUMMARY
All the competitors in this relatively small category have one character trait in common, and it is the split personality that sees them transform from classy sophistication to growling beast.
How readily this metamorphosis takes place and in which personality each car feels most comfortable, varies from make to make.
Our experience with the BMW M5, for example, tells us that it is angry more often than relaxed, whereas the Audi RS6 and Jaguar XFR feel quite at home in either guise.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class range, as capable and sophisticated as it is, delivers great comfort and relaxed motoring and this quality has been so successfully translated into the new E63 AMG that the character switch to supercar slayer can feel a slightly unnatural one at times.
Once completed though, the E63 AMG is a potent point and press machine whose dynamics defy its bulk.