Mercedes-AMG C63 S coupe long-term review

• Introduction: German Steel
• Month 2: Power Pact
• Month 3: The C63 Life
• Month 4: Heavy Hitter
• Month 5: Track Animal
• Month 6: The Last Blast

Introduction: German Steel

For the last three issues of MOTOR, a Red Hot Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been lurking in the MOTOR Garage hastening the end of the world’s premium unleaded supplies at a rate of approximately 16L/100km on a normal day. And now, we fully intended to do what any environmentally responsible publication would do to balance things out and that’s to put on the new all-electric Nissan Leaf as our next long-termer.

Except, there was a terrible error and we called Mercedes-AMG instead and requested a twin-turbo V8 C63 S Coupe for four months and they said yes. So, there.

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Yes, the C63 S Coupe you see here will just have to tide us over until said small electric runabout arrives. Which could be a very long time, is what we told Mercedes anyway.

But in all seriousness, your eyes don’t deceive you: for the next five issues we will be granting you vicarious access to possibly the world’s best all-round muscle car. We’ll delve deep into the things that stoke the fires of lust for us and the things that (would) make us wonder if we’ve spent our $184,200 incorrectly. If we should’ve just gone for the Mustang/jet-ski combo after all.

Certainly, we’re already liking Brilliant Blue Metallic 1PA-9KM on paper. The 12 vertical slats in the front nose identify it as the latest updated version of Merc’s mighty muscle car, the biggest change of which was a softening of suspension for better liveability.

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There’s also a new nine-speed wet-clutch auto (previously seven-speed); updated interior gubbins including a slimmer 10.5-inch central infotainment display and a new, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster; and the latest generation AMG steering wheel which has two itty bitty LCD screens of its own (and no less than 21 controls). And one of those is AMG’s nine-stage traction control, trickled down from the GT3 race car, via the AMG GT R, and adjustable in the C63 S via a rotary dial on the steering wheel. There’s also the new Track Pace in-car app.

Power is unchanged, but short of sneaking in an all-wheel drive system (boo, don’t do that) it wasn’t really short on grunt, to be perfectly honest.

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And one unchanged item – and long may it live – is the engine, the beating heart and almost entire personality of the C63 S. Eight cylinders are gloriously arranged in the holy ‘vee’ configuration (feel free to pause for a quick Hail Mary) cradling two precious turbochargers which do all sorts of magical things to the 4.0-litre displacement. Outputs of 375kW/700Nm reach an electronically locking rear differential sending power, of course, to the rear wheels only.

The whole shebang is packaged within a muscular, and not exactly petite, coupe body with bulging wheelarches and bonnet ridges, an angry front bumper flaring at the outer openings like the cheeks of a rampaging rhino; there are quad exhausts and a little lip spoiler, too.

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I think this is one of the best-looking new performance cars you can buy. From the front three quarter especially, goodness gracious, it looks so good.

And in this spec, too! Optional ceramic brakes, AMG Performance front seats (which became optional with the update), the 19-inch front/20-inch rear split five-spoke forged wheels in black with machined lip, and highly regarded Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. Dream spec? Close, for me.

We have much to explore over the next four issues. Is the C63 S Coupe just a dream jigger? For practicality, looks, luxury and V8 rear-drive performance, do your really need anything else?

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Did they fix the ride quality? Could one put up with the notoriously jerky transmission? Will the COMAND hand controller drive us to homicide? How long will the rear tyres last?

And did they actually bugger the handling with the softer suspension? At 1725kg there’s lots to control, after all.

May we find out all these things, and more. And may the Leaf remain on the shelf at Harvey Norman.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Things we're keen on
1 - The exhaust button
2 - Cold rear tyres
3 - Shop windows

Things we're scared of
1 - Weighs a bit
2 - The fuel bill
3 - The tyre life

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Update 1: Power Pact

Two cars beat with the same heart, but different blood

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If the AMG C63 S Coupe and Aston Martin Vantage were friends, it might be in the C63’s best interest to not go out on the town together. “The Aston is like the pictures she puts on her dating profile,” observed one field-playing, perpetually single MOTOR staffer, “and the C63 is what she looks like in real life.” Ouch.

Indeed, it’s a curious thing to see these two cars parked beside each other, as they are today at the top of a foggy Mount Donna Buang, one of the best driving roads near-ish to Melbourne (and a place loved by quacks filling up enormous water cans from a fresh water spring there, but that’s a story for another time). In very similar shades of electric navy blue, from the rear the C63 S Coupe looks a bit tall, hunched like it has a sore back and awkwardly bulgy when parked directly beside the evocatively styled, pure-bred British sportscar.

The Vantage also looks pretty good topless

That might say more about the Aston’s seductive styling than it does the AMG’s, itself a car oozing enormous look-back-after-locking appeal. But for all the styling talk, the reason we have these two cars together today is actually what’s under the bonnet.

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Engines are notoriously expensive, difficult and time-consuming things to develop, and so Daimler – which owns Mercedes – cut a deal to own five per cent of Aston Martin in exchange for providing AMG powerplants, as well as electronics and Mercedes infotainment.

As such, both two-door rear-drivers here pack the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo M177 AMG V8, outputting 375kW, but 700Nm in the C63 versus the Vantage’s slightly lowlier 685Nm, to protect, presumably, its different ZF eight-speed transmission.

Buried among some familiar Mercedes switchgear, the Vantage’s circular crystal start button cranks the V8 up with what sounds to be a different, faster starter motor but settles to a familiar and recognisable idle to that of its C-Class comrade.

But the similarities don’t extend a whole lot further than that. While the C63 has a more brutish, bassy tailpipe burble, the Aston, heard from the driver’s seat, growls and snarls loudly from behind the dash with a certain class and sophistication, even if it does sound a bit, well, fake.

A creamier powertrain character in the Aston is also thanks to the aforementioned ZF ’box, mounted in the rear of the Vantage for better weight distribution. It’s miles smoother and more refined than the nine-speed MCT wet-clutch in the C63.

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Whereas the ZF is seamless in its low-speed operation, the C63’s transmission lets you know what it’s thinking, sometimes with a clunk. It feels a lot tighter and asks more patience – a trade-off, as when both ’boxes are in their raciest modes it is the AMG’s that’s the quicker-shifting and more responsive. But certainly the C63 would be a better all-round car for fitment of something more like the ZF ’box, even if some responsiveness was sacrificed (the ZF is hardly too slow when using the paddleshifters).

While the transmission and sound design attempt to completely cloak the Vantage’s V8 in a different character to that of the C63’s, put your foot down and the jig is up: the Vantage’s power and torque curves, and overall delivery, are unsurprisingly identical to that of the C63 S, pulling hard from low in the revs after a short delay as the turbos spool up. Put the Vantage in Sport Plus and the exhaust note becomes quite a bit more AMG again too.

Prefer three pedals? The Vantage can deliver

It’s in the handling stakes the cars are most different. The C63 feels heavier, taller and narrower; the Vantage sits you lower and more towards the rear wheels. The Vantage has more grip in the wet thanks to its Pirelli P-Zero tyres, but with its solid-mounted rear end it’s the C63 S that’s the friendlier, easier, more communicative and confidence-inspiring car to drive.

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What lessons could the far pricier Vantage teach its distantly related German cousin? Transmission aside, the relatively raw and focused C63 S could learn a thing or two about refinement from its British friend. The Vantage is the much nicer car.

Beyond C63, it’s also the better proposition to the similarly priced (and engined) AMG GT, the Vantage having the far more sorted chassis.

The Vantage also shades the C63 for that difficult to quantify X-factor, but you’d hope a purpose-designed, $299,950 sportscar would do that. For that outlay, you could buy the C63 S, an A45 S to bribe the significant other and a cheeky second-hand Toyota 86 for some club motorsport fun.

Not that we’re dreaming of such things, as the C63 S Coupe is proving plenty of car for us for now. It’s surprisingly huge fun at urban speeds. Slippery-when-cold Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres combine cheekily with a lovely tight diff and lenient Sport ESP mode for a lot of safe, low-speed fun. The big Merc also easily sounds best at low engine speeds, with a loud and lovely V8 burble. And it’s attracting a lot more stares from pedestrians than we were expecting given this car has been out a little while.

That is unless of course it’s parked next to an Aston Martin Vantage.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Things we're loving
1 - Easy to drive
2 - Effortless power
3 - Thoughtful touches

Things we're ruing
1 - Thuddy suspension
2 - Jerky auto
3 - Infotainment

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Update 2: The C63 Life

Three months in, daily usability put to the test

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Not all relationship milestones are worth celebrating. There’s the first time you realise your new star-crossed lover may have sleep apnoea; or makes the bold move to use the toilet in front of you. There are worse things again, at which time the first date will feel to have occurred in a year BCE.

Car ownership is similar. After the utter thrill of deciding what you’re going to get, ordering it, waiting, taking delivery and those first giddy few weeks, the novelty inevitably starts to wane. You see it without its make-up on, another side emerging.

Three months into my ‘ownership’, I’m starting to see all sides of our Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe long-termer. And as mystery items start to accumulate beneath the seats like in all the cars I’ve ‘owned’, and the tyre sidewalls transition from a wet-look gloss to a shade of matte charcoal-almost-brown, I like what I’m seeing. For the most part.

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There are plenty of pleasantries to discover daily driving this 375kW twin-turbo brute. It starts with all the obvious modern conveniences such as keyless entry and a seat that will electrically move back and forward to aid ingress/egress, especially with those long, heavy doors. (Actually the seat thing annoys me but you can turn it off.) Once seated, a little robotic arm hands you the seatbelt while the car gently mists perfume through the air-conditioning as if it’s trying to say something. There are heated seats (and cooled, an option), though no heated steering wheel.

Inside you’ll find a spacious and thoughtfully designed interior. Making up for a uselessly cramped glovebox is a shoebox-sized centre console with handy barn-door lid. The cup holders, sitting at the base of the centre stack, are a tad cosy, but cleverly partly clip out for ease of mopping up if you happen to have, well, a bit of an acco.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, which is a relief as it takes an age to get used to the standard COMAND infotainment that never feels quite the best solution.

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Unavoidably irritating, though, in a low-key way, is the lack of a simple tactile play/pause button anywhere (despite some button double-ups). Said playback controls exist within the infotainment, but the main centrescreen is inexplicably not of the touch variety (despite being within easy reach), so you have to use the steering-wheel thumb pad, which is at least a better option than the fiddly central hand controller. Golly, we’re hard to please, aren’t we?

But wait, there’s more... the large boot opens and closes electronically (an underrated thing when you get used to it), but oddly there is no external boot button whatsoever (that I, nor several other people, could find). The distance-to-empty figure also disappears and leaves you to it with about 30km remaining. Fortunately urban range from the 66L tank is a decent 400-450km.

For all that, though, the daily use positives outweigh the negatives. Easily. Great seating position, nice-feeling controls, effortless power.

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The chin almost never scrapes, even on the most foreboding-looking driveways. The parking cameras are truly unreal; there’s a view offering a perfect picture of the wheels relative to the kerb, meaning those gorgeous forged jobbies should never have to meet one. The automatic park brake is intuitive to the point you forget it exists. There’s a handy elastic storage net on the transmission tunnel in the passenger footwell that’s perfect for, say, a bunch of bananas. Particularly if you intend on some hard cornering coming back from Coles.

And you might, because the C63 S has the benefit of being a very fun car even at low urban speeds. V8 burble and fairly compact dimensions for a large car, but also the Cup 2 tyres are delightfully frisky when cold. Especially when combined with slackened ESP and that electronically locking diff...

That’s what a hoon would say. Not me. Relationship going well. I’m just trying not to fart in front of it.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Things we're loving
1 - Easy to drive
2 - Effortless power
3 - Thoughtful touches

Things we're ruing
1 - Thuddy suspension
2 - Jerky auto
3 - Infotainment

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Month 4: Heavy hitter

Softer C63 loses some agility; also, we weighed it

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One of the chief complaints of the original 2015 C205 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe was it was a bit too firmly sprung. While the burly, twin-turbo V8 rear-driver resisted body-roll to an impressive degree, it made you aware of its handling pedigree at all times, even in traffic, by way of feeling like the dampers were stuck in Sport mode.

For the C63 S facelift released in 2018, whether meekly or begrudgingly, AMG engineers sought to change their uber-coupe’s ride/handling balance. Front spring rates were reduced 10 per cent, rears 20 per cent and the rear anti-roll bar also softened compared to the previous model.

We've got the coupe, but we've driven the sedan

These changes have helped turn the C63 into a much more comfortable car relative to the pre-facelift model, even if it’s still a tad harsh by the standards of rivals, especially the very grand touring-focused Audi RS5 Coupe.

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With ride quality pleasingly no longer really a front-of-mind thing, this month we wanted to turn our focus to how the suspension softening has affected the handling. And the immediate verdict is: detrimentally.

That’s not to say the C63 S is a poorly handling car; very much the opposite is true. But as you pedal the big coupe up a twisty road, braking, accelerating and loading up the suspension through corners, you are quite a lot more aware of its mass.

It doesn’t lessen any cravings to take the C63 out for a burn just for the sake of it, and it’s still a deranged-fast and satisfying car, but it does mean you have to be a bit more aware and patient with your inputs when hustling.

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The adaptive damper button goes some way to resolving this. Sport mode introduces a modicum more control without compromising compliance, but still doesn’t quite eradicate a wish that the C63 was about 150-200kg lighter (I’m personally quite fond of lighter cars too, I have to say). Naturally the next step is to reach for Sport Plus dampers only to find the pendulum swinging too far the other way, the shocks firming like tensed calf muscles and threatening to bounce you off the road. They’re really only suitable for smooth racetracks only.

While being more aware of its weight, once you accept the C63 requires a bit more of a deft touch and some patience as you get stuck in, the enjoyment is still there. You get into a nice rhythm of accelerating, braking, tipping in and feeling the weight gently bind the suspension, slowly unwinding the steering and repeating. But yes, the C63 S Coupe lacks the tautness and lightness of, say, a BMW M4.

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Press on for possibly a little too long and things start getting hot under the collar – another thing that would be helped with less weight – but it’s the front tyres you need to be caring for. The front carbon ceramics dispel huge amounts heat and send front tyre temperatures through the ceiling. And while increasing understeer and ABS is all the indication you really need, any doubt is removed by the handy tyre temperature gauge in the instrument binnacle providing a live read of temps and pressures (pictured above).

We were curious exactly how much a 2019 C63 S Coupe weighed, so we weighed it. AMG claims the C63 S Coupe is 1725kg DIN (90 per cent full tank of fuel). It’s not clear whether AMG’s DIN figure is with steel or carbon brakes, or on what wheels. Carbon brakes save 8kg overall compared to standard steel items; while the ‘ultralight’ forged 19/20-inch staggered wheels save 5.3kg in total. AMG says these wheels are even lighter than carbon wheels of the same size.

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Ours had a full tank of fuel and full wiper washer bottle (had to mention that) and was empty of any of our own paraphernalia. It weighed 1835.5kg.

Weighing our Peugeot 308 GTi hot hatch

Weight was split 999kg front, 836.5kg rear (or 54/46 front-to-rear). Interestingly, weight on the left front tyre was 485kg but 514kg on the right, 29kg less. Motorsport veteran Ray Ciao who weighed the car guessed this was because it was built foremost for left-hand drive, engineers trying to balance the weight of the driver. It might also partly explain why the right front tyre gets hot and upset a bit sooner than the left, even when equally taxed.

Next issue all four tyres are very much taxed as we put the C63 S through its paces at a Winton Motor Raceway track day.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Yes please:

1. Underrated steering
2. Amazing seats
3. Rear-end feel

No thanks:

1. Yes, it’s a bit heavy
2. Tyres get a bit hot
3. Still a bit firm

Month 5: Track Animal

C63 S proves its track mettle at Winton

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Unlike a certain Bavarian rival, the C63 has never really been known as a track day car. A bit too big, soft and heavy, it’s been the cruiser keener on vaporising rear tyres than getting down lap times. But with every new iteration, Mercedes-AMG seems hell-bent on changing this perception.

With its motorsport-inspired solid-mounted rear end and new Nine-Stage Traction Control (as seen on the AMG GT R road car and GT3 racer), the C63 S has never felt more ready for track use out of the box. A new onboard lap-time and data-logging app, Track Pace, hammers the point home. And taking all that as encouragement, we thought we’d put the track promise to the test at a Winton Raceway Test & Tune day.

For starters, if you’re going to track your C63 S, fitting Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s will do wonders for helping conceal the car’s weight, but also in offering superb feel and friendlier wear characteristics. AMG offers them as a $1200 option but it’s much more economical to buy them yourself and stash the standard UHP tyres for later.

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As we took to Winton’s 3.0km layout, there was no doubting you should get the 402mm optional six-pot ceramic front brakes. The reasonable $7900 ask is money well spent, the pedal feeling good for about six hard laps. Kinda what you want when barrelling towards Turn One at 195km/h in 1725kg of big, bad Merc. Although we did help the brakes by not throwing mechanical sympathy completely out the window.

And that is indeed a prominent theme when tracking the C63 S Coupe. The Sport Plus damper mode might be too stiff for the road but it’s ideal for a smoother circuit, keeping the C63 S’s body controlled and tight despite the newly softer spring rates. But still it’s with tyre and brake preservation in mind that you hurtle out of pitlane in a car like this – and, again owing to the weight, the on-track limit is not as difficult to reach as you perhaps would have thought, even with the Cup 2s.

That’s not to say, of course, that the C63 S is not spades of fun on a track. It’s stonkingly fast (with no let-up in the power even after repeated laps in fairly warm weather), snarls a loud V8 note easily heard through a helmet, the highly strung paddle-shift auto also stepping up its game for response in a fantastic way. There’s a clear-enough connection to all four tyres through both the steering and the seat; and a good overall balance with plenty of adjustability. It’s also fast enough that at a busy track day you’ll be carving up traffic like an LMP1 car at La Sarthe.

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The nine-stage traction, controlled by a steering wheel rotary dial and activated by turning off the ESC, is also a giggle – and actually helpful. In its most conservative setting (nine), you can flatten the accelerator mid-corner and the computer will only apply the maximum possible throttle to the exit. Wind the TC back and predictably you get more and more slip. It can be helpful to leave the traction to a computer while you focus on other things, but eventually you’ll want to take over. It’s not intended to be a drift mode either but it can sort of be used as such; no ESC meaning in theory it could be possible to spin the car, too.

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The Track Pace app is also really cool. Drive a lap for it to record the track over GPS and then it’ll start logging your times on the centre 10.5-inch display, showing best and worst and even a delta time (just to throw you off on a good lap). According to the app, yours truly (no pro) managed a careful 1:37.86, a lot left on the table. Winton is a bit faster now, too, thanks to its reprofiled turn four with its awesome F1-esque low and wide kerbs.

For track day addicts, you might prefer something a bit lighter but the C63 S combines track and road ability with everyday comfort in a pretty impressive package. And with its appetite for rear tyres intact...

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Things we fell for:

1. Grunt a-plenty
2. Repeatability
3. Smiles for days

Things we're not fond of:

1. Bit burly
2. Big drinker
3. Is a bad influence

Month 6: The Last Blast

It’s a sombre so-long, if not all roses and rainbows

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The time has come to hand back the dark blue beast, our Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe. It’s a sad, sad day.

Over the last six issues we’ve come to know the facelifted version of AMG’s thuggish twin-turbo V8 rear-driver and overall, it’s extremely positive. And no, I’m not just saying that because they gave me a car to drive around in for however many months.

The C63 S Coupe is, first and foremost, an outstanding cruiser. I could bang on about how much I love it, and perhaps I have over the last six issues anyway. It all boils down to: would I buy one? Yes, I would.

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It’s certainly a difficult farewell. I just never tired of perving on that fat, front three-quarter stance. Nor hearing the V8 burble on start-up, like I’d just cranked up a Tiger tank. I’d drive around with the rear backrest down as the idle note that came through the boot opening was bliss, and loud enough to negate opening the active exhaust (and so quietening the note to passers-by; I will admit, with the active exhaust open around pedestrians I felt a bit self-conscious). But also at higher rpm you were spared the artificial intake noise that comes through the speakers which, while definitely adding something, is not quite my cuppa.

With the softening of the suspension I think Mercedes-AMG has successfully repositioned this car as well. Most people are buying it as a daily, and owing to the loud exhaust just off idle, the effortless turbo torque, and those spot-yourself-in-shop-windows looks, it’s a very pleasing and satisfying cruiser at that. The softer ride has made it much more comfortable, even if a lot of people will still find it a tad harsh. The trade-off is you lose a degree of body control while admittedly asking a lot of the car on a twisty road – especially on higher lateral load-generating Cup 2s – and on a track, the car’s mass is a fair bit more obvious than it before. Responses are a bit slowed and yes, it’s a trade-off, but one I’d be happy with. And it’d never stop me going for a burn.

Of all the time I spent with it, how might I improve the C63 S Coupe? Well, I’d ditch the clunky wet-clutch 9G-TRONIC transmission (sorry, AMG) in place of a ZF eight-speed. The AMG unit is pretty responsive when you’re up it but just feels too highly strung and not smooth enough around town.

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While we’re talking gripes, let me get a bunch of them off my chest. The suspension still thuds harshly over cats’ eyes. The glovebox is too small (though the centre console is pretty big). I’d fit an exterior boot release button (somehow there isn’t one). I’d change at least one of the dash buttons into a simple play/pause. I’m glad for Apple CarPlay as it means I don’t have to interact with the COMAND system as much (a good thing), although life would be a lot easier if the screen was of the touch variety (it’s not). And the interior is nice enough – love the steering wheel – but I don’t think the styling is going to age very well. I also expected better for build quality from my first extended period in a Mercedes-Benz, too. Nothing broke, it’s just how everything felt put together. Undeniably high quality, but not to the degree I personally hoped. Maybe my expectations are too high.

What are some of the small things I loved? Even though it’s been out a few years, and even in dark blue, call me vain but the C63 turns more heads than I thought it would. It’s a very easy car to drive. The front spoiler somehow never scraped. The belt butler, a little electric arm that brings the belt to you to save you stretching to the B-pillar, is a nice touch. The parking cameras are unreal. The electronic tailgate is appreciated; press the boot button on the keyfob twice and it’ll go down. There’s a small cargo net on the transmission tunnel in the passenger footwell which is handy to stop things flying about. I honestly could go on.

Mine would have the optional carbon-ceramic brakes even though I’d probably have a different car for track days. Depending on how long you planned to own the car you’d probably get their $7900 cost back as they last a lot longer than steel ones. I’d consider steel brakes for regular track abuse as they’re cheaper to replace.

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Why wouldn’t I track my C63? I might do one track day to see what it’s like, but beyond that it’s just too heavy for my liking. You feel like you have to nurse the brakes and tyres a little too much. No thanks, I want to be able to thrash my track car with merciless, irresponsible abandon. Maybe if it was 150kg lighter.

I’d have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. While noisier and harsher, they have no grip when cold which, when combined with the lenient ESC Sport mode, makes for a surprisingly entertaining car even at urban speeds. Not to condone anything there… but it’s a little thrill that’s sometimes the highlight of your entire day. And that I will very much miss.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe Pros & Cons

Things we will miss

1. Satisfying noise.
2. Effortless grunt.
3. Fat stance.

Things we will not

1. Transmission.
2. Tyre bills.
3. Infotainment.

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