E63 Test Drive (& compared to CSRT-8).

[Deuuuce]

Test drove an E63 on Sunday. Cliff note: Highly refined, other than the HP, it's like a CSRT-8 as a C6 Z-06 is to a GTS Viper.

The 7spd Automatic and lack of interior noise made it deceptively fast. The tach is too small on off to the right to take advantage of the steering wheel paddle shifters - you can't judge a shift-point on the sound because it doesn't change much in pitch or tone when approaching redline. It's quiteter than my GFs SLK350 exhaust too. Also the paddle shifters do not follow the steering wheel when turning and are a little short since they don't. The power is exceptional with 3 passengers total. Hearing it start up it sounds great while outside the car, though.

It's actually a little small, like a personal 4-door coupe, if you will. The right armrest storage is a bit small and if you have bottled water, leaves no room for your elbow. I also noticed I had to pull my arm back to grab the door handle rather than forward in the Charger. Point being, it's a bit small inside compared to ours. I kinda liked that though.

I didn't get a chance to test the handling. The braking is very smooth and seemed to have less nose-dive than ours. You sit lower in the E63 as well. Had a nice feature that lifts the car (or front end) to avoid scraping which would be great vs. us going SLOW at an angle. Lambos have this too, btw...

It also has rear dual zone climate control and while not roomy like ours in back, at 6'0" with long legs, it was adequate. Next to a CLS63, it's a little shorter and sits a little taller. Is the 507hp E63 worth $92k? Well it is significantly different than ours and if you can afford it, than I guess it is. However, I like the raw, visceral feel and sound of the Charger as well.

Hopefully I'll test drive an M5 soon and make a comparison as well.

On a side note, there was a guy there, obviously had money, who claimed the following: His small-block, totally custom built powertrain EVERYTHING, pump gas, naturally aspirated C5 Vette had a 10K redline and made about 1200hp on the engine dyno. I had never seen a throttle body so large. Claims it ran a 8.7 or so at 180+mph in the quarter on slicks and skinnys w/ 4:10 gears. I'm having a hard time with this but with a 10k redline (and a short lifespan at that rpm), is it possible? He said he couldn't remember the compression ratio. Figure NASCAR motors on pump gas could make around 700hp at 9k rpm?

[artichoke]

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

... the paddle shifters do not follow the steering wheel when turning and are a little short since they don't.

This seems like a bit of a screwup. Why don't they rotate with the wheel?

Was this designed by the same team that gave Benz its 90 degree V-6 engine? They do some things that just don't seem very cool. Benz makes some great stuff but I don't automatically rely on their judgment any more.

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

It's actually a little small, like a personal 4-door coupe, if you will. The right armrest storage is a bit small and if you have bottled water, leaves no room for your elbow. I also noticed I had to pull my arm back to grab the door handle rather than forward in the Charger. Point being, it's a bit small inside compared to ours. I kinda liked that though.

If you pay the good folks at Benz a lot more money still, you can get a more family-sized version in the S class. I like large better than small. It's just more comfortable and relaxing to me.

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

I didn't get a chance to test the handling. The braking is very smooth and seemed to have less nose-dive than ours. You sit lower in the E63 as well. Had a nice feature that lifts the car (or front end) to avoid scraping which would be great vs. us going SLOW at an angle. Lambos have this too, btw...

But do either of them have the feature that slides the driver's seat back automagically when you turn off the key?

I think the SRT8 fits my needs better, independently of price. It would sure be fun to test drive the E63, but to me size matters especially because it's our backup family hauler as well as my general preference for a roomy interior. Note that 2 seaters often have a roomy interior, as far as the driver and passenger are concerned, and I like them too!

[Deuuuce]

I believe almost all Benz with memory seats move the seat back "automagically". My GFs SLK350 does it, I would be shocked if the Eclass didn't.

Not sure why they don't rotate w/ the wheel. Less complex design - or the figure it's better to hold a gear in the turn?

I didn't check but an S550 might be LESS than an E63!

[CplDaugherty]

Good writeup... it's good to get an insiders point of view on some of the other cars that are out and about.

[artichoke]

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

I believe almost all Benz with memory seats move the seat back "automagically". My GFs SLK350 does it, I would be shocked if the Eclass didn't.

Ah so that feature is another Benz thing that's found its way into our cars. Our family's Benz (except for my '83 380SL) is an ML430 and it's sort of ultra-simple. Doesn't even have automatic climate control (but of course it has air conditioning). Likewise it doesn't have the seat-sliding feature, although it does have memory seats that remember settings for several drivers.

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

Not sure why they don't rotate w/ the wheel. Less complex design - or the figure it's better to hold a gear in the turn?

If it looks like a mistake, it's probably a mistake. At least I think so. Guess they didn't want to totally redesign the steering column. Just like the 90 degree V-6 is a chopped 90 degree V-8. They reached into the parts bin ...

I am not impressed with these things even if Benz does them!

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

I didn't check but an S550 might be LESS than an E63!

Yeah but then the right comparison for that non-AMG car would be the even cheaper 300C wouldn't it?

[Deuuuce]

No doubt - even C&D asked "WHY E55?" regarding the E55 vs. the 3SRT-8!!

Actually, regarding the paddles - I think the tach size and location is a bigger design flaw. Regarding not turning with the wheel - simpler means cheaper = more profit - unfortunately!

[chiromikey]

okay...are you sure about the paddles??? i'm not positive since i've only sat in the e63 but i'm still going to have to call you on that. i'll eat my words if i'm wrong but i highly doubt mb completely moved the paddle location. all the previous w211 amg's have shift buttons (instead of paddles) on the back of the steering wheel and i just don't see mb relocating those for such a simple swap.

in all honesty, i think it would be a better design if the paddles/buttons didn't move like the lambo. that way they're always in the same place and you don't have the possibility of misshifting by hitting a button that isn't where you thought it was.

[330toSRT8]

Has anyone driven an S65? I was looking on autotrader.com and noticed that some used S65s with less than 20k miles are under $100,000. How could the value drop by 50% in less than a year?

[DD1]

wouldn't 180+ mph be closer to hgh 7's?

[Steve Levin]

Originally Posted by artichoke

This seems like a bit of a screwup. Why don't they rotate with the wheel?

It's a philosophical "potatoe vs. potahto" thing. Not that the hypercars don't rotate with the wheel either -- although the F1 cars do).

The argument for them not moving is that the paddle on the right always does the same thing, regardless of wheel position. In street cars, unlike racecars, you can certainly get the wheel cranked around -- and then, the argument goes, you have to think of where the paddles are, not which hand you are using to activate them.

I actually liked the system on my MR2 -- it had buttons on the front and back of the wheel, on both sides. so pushing either button on the face of the wheel was a downshift, and on the backside an upsift -- regardless of wheel position.

Steve