It’s a simple process: enabling drift mode on the
2018 Mercedes-AMG E63 S,
that is. First, you grab the chrome drive mode rocker switch and click
it down into race, which quickens shifts, steering and throttle
application. Then you hold the traction-control button for a few seconds
to turn the system completely off. After that, you hit the M button for
manual mode, grab both wheel-mounted shift paddles and pull back. The
twin 12.3-inch dash/gauge cluster/infotainment screens will ask you if
you want to enable smoky burnout mode; you reply yes by pulling back the
right paddle. Then it’s just a quick matter of making a call to
Affalterbach to make sure it’s OK, and you’re ready to go.
OK, that last part is a lie, but the rest of the procedure is 100 percent accurate.
The level of tech in the new E63 is truly staggering, but that’s not
new for Mercedes. It’s always been on the bleeding edge of this stuff.
But again ... it’s simple. The E63 has two directional pads on the
D-shaped steering wheel. One controls the left screen, one controls the
right. There are at least three home buttons and about eight layers of
menus for everything from driver-assistance options; ambient lighting
with a rainbow of colors; front-, rear- and bird’s-eye-view cameras; to
controlling the three-box screen right in front of the driver, which
also has three settings for gauge look and a multitude of options for
the left and right display areas. There’s also the jog dial in front of
the middle armrest, which works as a touchpad and a joystick. See?
Simple. Just have the nearest millennial figure it out and get the main
beats later. That’s what we did.
In addition to the dash, the rest
of the E63’s cabin is busy. Our first tester has two different types of
metal weave near the gear shifter and by the vents, black leather on
the dashpad and brown leather everywhere else. Add that to the purple
ambient light that runs from door handle to door handle, and it feels
like an incoherent mishmash of styling choices. Of course, this is
Mercedes, so the materials are top-notch. Later, we jump in a car with
carbon-fiber accents, instead of aluminum weave, and black leather
everywhere else, which looks much better. We switch the ambient light to
a color we call whorehouse red, and that seems to be the perfect
combination. The IWC analog clock in the center is probably the least
gaudy piece of interior jewelry.
The E63 is a bit wider overall
than the E300 and feels spacious in both the front and back seats.
There’s no fastback here, so rear headroom is also ample.
Both cars bring a new version of AMG’s hot 4.0-liter
twin-turbocharged V8. This one has two twin-scroll turbos and cylinder
deactivation for better gas mileage. We don’t know exactly what the EPA
rating will be -- that comes closer to launch -- but we do know this car
will be more efficient than the last one, which was rated at a paltry
15 city, 22 highway. Output is pegged at 603 hp and 627 lb-ft for the S
and 563 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque for the base E63. Automakers seem to
be getting in the habit of unlocking more horsepower via the computer,
for a price. Not sure how we feel about it, but Mercedes isn’t alone in the practice.
Both
get a nine-speed multiclutch transmission and Mercedes’s new 4Matic
system, 4Matic-plus, which is now fully variable and can send up to 50
percent of the power to the front wheels. The new system also has a
coupling that disconnects the front axle for drift mode, but it can also
send 100 percent of the power rearward when going flat out in a
straight line, say, down the front straight of Portugal’s 2.9-mile
What's it like to drive?
The iris-style start
button brings a grunty, deep bark from the exhaust before the engine
settles into low, powerboat-like burble. Takeoffs in comfort mode are
smooth but quick; moving to sport and sport-plus modes makes the
throttle more touchy, and takeoffs more jumpy. There’s no delay, like
with some of the older AMGs, and barely any wheelspin considering the
all-wheel-drive wizardry going on underneath. As you move up drive
modes, the sound gets louder in the cabin, but some of that is pumped in
via the Burmester stereo system. Sorry, purists. Conversely, the
exhaust button is solely mechanical, opening up a valve in the system to
let more sound out.
We can debate the logic of adding more
sound-deadening material for quietness and then broadcasting sound back
in the cabin, but philosophically, if the V8 roar sounds real, and if it
feels real, can we just consider it real? Again, Mercedes isn’t alone
in doing this, and pumping engine sound into a hybrid or electric is a
different matter altogether, but I have no problem with it. Would I
rather have a thinner firewall and more real-engine sound? Of course,
but this system is far better than less sound, and, if one can cruise
around in a fire-breather like this in comfort mode quietly while on the
phone or enjoying a symphony, to Mercedes that equals more buyers. Oh
and from the outside? It’s still plenty loud.
The nine-speed
transmission uses a wet clutch and shifts seamlessly in comfort mode.
Sport, sport-plus and race get more aggressive, with crackles and pops
as the cogs are swapped. The exhaust button can be tapped in any mode to
get that added sound.
There are two options for brakes, one
carbon ceramic and one standard iron. We test the standard setup while
bombing around Portugal’s mountain passes and the ceramic discs at the
track. Pedal feel is great on the road with only a few inches of travel
before full lock. The ceramics heat up quickly when lapping Algarve, and
the pedal goes deeper than the standard setup but never fades out or
scares us out of our wits.
What's it like to drive?
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario