A Fast And Furious Ride

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday October 25, 2008

Jaedene Hudson & Joshua Dowling

The car Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

The price $146,271

Vital statistics 6.2-litre (336kW, 600Nm) V8. Seven-speed automatic transmission

Consumption and emissions 13.5L/100km, 321g/km

HE Let's get straight to the point. This thing is an absolute missile. Basically, Mercedes has squeezed a massive 6.2-litre V8 into a car that's smaller than a Toyota Camry. The result is Porsche-beating performance. The 0-100kmh sprint takes about 4.8 seconds. This thing will do this time all day long - which you can't say about some of its rivals.

SHE I reckon a grandmother could drive it that fast. All you have to do is put your foot down and it takes off. I love the sound of the engine and the exhaust - it just sounds like an absolute powerhouse. It is one of the few cars that even sounds good when it is decelerating as the exhaust crackles and pops. I reckon Mercedes has hit the nail on the head with this one.

HE The price isn't bad either. The previous model was $160,000 and this one is about $20,000 cheaper and goes better. I love the seats, I love the brakes and it has good grip. There are just two downsides to what is otherwise an awesome car: the interior presentation lets it down a little and it is too firm over bumps.

SHE The interior quality is not on par with some of its other rivals and also other Mercedes models. I found the ride was quite irritating and you got rattled around in the seats.

HE Would the compromise in comfort be enough to put you off buying this car? Because as much as I love this car, it was an issue for me at the very end.

SHE It probably would be. I found it got really annoying.

HE What's puzzling is that we drove the SLK convertible AMG the week before and it was much smoother over the bumps than the C63 AMG. I am pretty sure Mercedes is aware of this feedback - not just from media but also from customers - and I reckon they'd be working on a fix for an update model in about a year or two.

SHE When this first went to sale you had to wait about eight months. How long do you have to wait now from when you put in your order to when you actually get delivery of your car?

HE According to Mercedes, it depends on which colour you are after. But as I understand it, the waiting list is now less than six months. I've also spotted a few on the used market at prestige dealers.

SHE Talking of colours - we tested the AMG in dark blue but I really love it in white.

HE There will soon be a new player in this particular market. The main rivals are the BMW M3 ($160,000-plus) and the Audi RS4 ($170,000-plus) but Lexus is about to release a V8 version of its IS 250 sedan and has undercut all of them with a price of $129,000.

SHE Lexus surprised everyone when it sharpened the pencil that much, especially considering most Lexus cars have high levels of standard equipment. In contrast, the Germans usually make you pay extra. You have driven the IS-F briefly overseas - is it a genuine rival to these cars?

HE Ah, I am reserving judgment on that one. My initial impressions of the Lexus were underwhelming, especially when you compare the claimed performance figures with how it felt to drive. Put it this way: the Mercedes and the BMW have no trouble living up to their performance claims but we only got within about a second of the claimed 0-100kmh figure for the Lexus.

SHE So which one of these would you live with?

HE Choose? If I wanted a missile to drive to and from work I'd take the C63, although I am still undecided about the suspension comfort. But, if I wanted a track car I'd take the M3.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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