Displaying items by tag: MercedesAMG C63

Saturday, 24 September 2022 06:25

2024 Mercedes-AMG C63

The high-performance variant of Mercedes’s entry-luxury C-class sedan will return as the 2024 C63 S, but this time it will get a radically different engine. The previous generation was powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 with either 469 or 503 horsepower, but this new-generation C63 will be motivated by a gasoline engine half that size: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that combines with an electric motor to making a whopping 671 horsepower in total. The new hybrid setup promises to improve upon the previous C63’s great performance, though the engine’s character will no doubt change radically. To help mitigate turbo lag, the downsized engine uses an electrically powered turbocharger system related to the one found in Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1 race car. The rest of the package will be heavily based on the new C-class that debuted for the 2022 model year but with racier styling and a spruced-up interior. Mercedes-AMG has also confirmed that the junior C43 model will also return to the lineup, but we review that model separately.

What's New for 2024?

The C63 is all new for the 2024 model year and, unlike last year, it will be offered solely as a sedan. We expect to see the 2024 C63 roll into Mercedes dealerships in the middle of 2023.

Mercedes-AMG hasn’t released pricing yet but we expect the C63 to follow the new trim levels that launched with the 2022 C-class, starting with the Premium base trim at around $85,000 and going up from there.

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

Gone is the old twin-turbo V-8 engine from the last-generation C63 and in its place is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. But before you get disappointed at an engine half the size of the old one, you should know that this inline-four will be augmented by a 201-hp electric motor and uses an electric turbocharger to reduce turbo lag. The new high-performance hybrid propulsion system will pump out a massive 671 horsepower, giving it an edge over rival to performance sedans such as the BMW M3 and the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, at least on paper. This setup allows for some limited all-electric driving, but only about 8 miles or so; its purpose instead is to provide similar performance to the outgoing car with better overall fuel economy. When we get a chance to test drive the new C63—which we are eager to do—we’ll update this story with driving impressions and test results.

The EPA hasn't released fuel economy figures for the 2024 C63 sedan yet. But due to the introduction of the downsized engine, we're expecting to see some fuel efficiency improvements over the outgoing model which was rated at 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. When we get a chance, we'll take the new C63 sedan on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test route and update this story with its results. For more information about the C63’s fuel economy, visit the EPA's website.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

The C63’s cabin looks much like the standard C-class and junior AMG C43 model, but it sports unique upholstery and stitching patterns as well as AMG-branded sport seats with openings cut out to help save weight. Mercedes hasn’t detailed every feature and option, but we expect to see plenty of luxury and convenience items available, including a panoramic sunroof, heated and cooled seats, four-zone automatic climate control, and more.

Infotainment and Connectivity

All models will likely come with the same large 11.9-inch infotainment touchscreen that is integrated into the center console and canted slightly toward the driver in the C43 model. A 12.3-inch digital gauge display will also likely be standard. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto should both be standard for wireless connectivity, and a high-end Burmester stereo system is expected to be available too.

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

Like the C43, the C63 will likely offer a host of standard driver-assistance features but unfortunately, the car's coolest tech, which includes an adaptive cruise-control system that utilizes navigation data to adjust the vehicle's speed for upcoming curves and roundabouts, will probably remain an optional upgrade. For more information about the C43's crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites. Key safety features are likely to include:

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

Although rivals such as BMW, Genesis, and Volvo offer three years of complimentary maintenance, Mercedes-AMG omits that benefit from its standard warranty offerings. Otherwise, all new AMGs come with an industry-standard plan that covers most things for up to four years or 50,000 miles.

Limited warranty covers four years or 50,000 miles
Powertrain warranty covers four years or 50,000 miles
No complimentary scheduled maintenance

Source: caranddriver.com

Published in Mercedes

The compact AMG station wagon is a sportier utility vehicle—but it's not available here.

Many Americans still think of "mom" and "station wagon" in the same sentence, ignoring that the ubiquitous modern SUV is essentially the 21st century's Wagon Queen Family Truckster. But in Europe, wagons are still cool, still the preferred utility vehicles for people with sporty lifestyles. And the faster the wagon, the cooler it is. Which makes the 2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S wagon about as cool as long-roof load luggers come.

The C63 S wagon is of course the E63 S 4Matic+ wagon's little brother, 11.5 inches shorter, 3.8 inches narrower, 1.3 inches lower, and rolling on a 3.9-inch-shorter wheelbase. It's powered by the same 503-hp, 516-lb-ft version of Daimler's versatile 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 as the AMG GLC63 S Coupe sold Stateside, rather than the big-hitter 603-hp, 627-lb-ft engine of the E-Class version. Can't have the 600-pound-lighter—and, in the U.K., the 23 percent cheaper—little brother upstaging things, can we?

The C63 S wagon's lighter weight is partly because, well, it's smaller, and also because it doesn't have the bigger car's 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system. By Daimler's own numbers, it's about half a second slower to 62 mph than the E 63 S 4Matic+ wagon, which suggests a zero to 60 time of about 3.5 seconds. Given the heavier, all-wheel-drive AMG GLC63 we tested a few years back recorded a zero to 60 time of 3.2 seconds, that might be a touch pessimistic. And there's nothing in it in terms of top speed between the two; Daimler says the E 63 S is good for 180 mph, while the C63 S will do 174.

A 2018 face-lift added the toothy AMG grille up front and a new rear diffuser, plus the option of 19-inch forged alloy wheels instead of the regular 18-inchers. Interior upgrades included a 12.3-inch digital dash and 10.5-inch infotainment screen, a flat-bottomed steering wheel with touchpad controls on the spokes, and a rotary mode controller similar to Porsche's Sport Chrono unit.

While the engine remained untouched, the old seven-speed torque-converter auto was replaced with AMG's nine-speed wet-clutch automatic, and it added an e-diff. AMG Traction Control—the same nine-stage system first seen on the AMG GT R—was made standard on the S. The AMG Dynamic Select system offers five predetermined driver modes, along with an Individual mode that allows you to choose the engine, gearbox, steering, and exhaust settings. AMG Ride Control manages the steel springs and adaptive shocks, and the AMG Dynamics system enables you to manage the ESP settings and torque distribution to the rear axle through four further settings: Basic, Advanced, Pro, and Master.

What's it all add up to? A rambunctious little thug of a wagon, that's what. Next to the C63 S, the E63 S seems calmer, more mature—if any station wagon with Saturn V thrust, a rolling thunder soundtrack, and Drift mode could be called calm and mature. The C63 S feels livelier, noisier, busier, especially at 120 mph or more on the autobahn, where the shorter wheelbase and different suspension settings mean high-speed turn-in response feels more aggressive, and there's much more vertical motion through the chassis. The rear drive balance is real rather than digitally remastered; accessing Drift mode in this thing simply requires turning the traction control off, instead of the video-game cheat code sequence of button presses, paddle pulls, and menu fiddling E63 drivers must engage to defeat the AWD and access its rear-drive mode.

It might not have the brute power of the E63 S, but Lordy it's still fast. On a trip that saw us in a single day dispatch the 700 miles between London and Dresden in eastern Germany, we averaged 100 mph on one 55-mile stretch of autobahn that included more than 5 miles of slow running through construction. The C63 S cruised easily at 130-140 mph when traffic allowed, and on one stretch we saw an indicated 156 mph.

The best thing about the C63 S wagon? Not just that it flies, but that it flies below the radar. Unless you're an enthusiast, it could be one of tens of thousands of diesel C-Class wagons running around Europe on fancy AMG wheels. There's something deeply engaging about a supercar that to most people looks like an ordinary grocery getter. It has utility. But it's very, very sporty.

Source: motortrend.com

Published in Mercedes

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