He found it very hard to criticize, only spotting a couple of niggles
Mercedes has given its all-new E63S AMG all-wheel drive as standard, but according to Chris Harris it’s now the pinnacle of fast, sporty and good to drive super sedans. He is bowled over by the way it handles itself around a track, using its all-wheel grip only when absolutely necessary, feeling like a pure rear-wheel drive car most of the time.
Harris is also impressed by the way the twin-turbo V8 delivers its power and the character it lends to the car. In the E63S, the 4.0-liter unit makes 604 hp and 850 Nm – it gives the car a very muscular, brutish character and will want to turn the rear tires into smoke whenever you disconnect the front wheel drive and the car becomes a drift-hungry maniac.
And yes, you can disconnect the fronts completely so as to send all of the available shove to the back wheels. They obviously won’t be able to handle all of the oomph, so the result will be billows of thick tire smoke that can completely obscure the car from view…
The only point of criticism leveled at the new E63S is the fact that its ride is described as “busy” by Harris on anything other than perfect track tarmac; this and the slightly uninspiring and artificial engine note are the only things he found wrong with the car.
Read our test drive review of the new E400 E-Class; we also drove the E400 Coupe