BMW M Models vs Mercedes-AMG E43

What's the difference?

Brutal, bruising and utterly brilliant, the M4 CS will be an acquired taste due to its no-compromise approach, but those willing to take the leap will find a performance car like few others at their disposal.

If you want a fast Benz but your other half prefers genuine comfort and doesn't like the sound of NASCAR, this is your solution. It's an opulent luxury saloon by default, but with proper performance and personality just the flick of a switch away.

We know the E 63 S will be sharper and 1.2s quicker to 100km/h, but it will also cost another E 200 more, and feel like a performance car ALL the time. The E 43 doesn't, which is just brilliant.

The M4 CS is familiar in all the right ways, but definitely looks significantly jacked up compared to its lesser siblings.

Part of that is the extensive use of carbon everywhere, from its bonnet panels to its roof, front lip, side skirting and boot spoiler. But also because of its super-muscular angles and creases, including the huge dome in its bonnet.

Also exclusive to this M4 CS is the light treatment, with the front LEDs lighting up with yellow highlights the brand says are supposed to be reminiscent of GT racing cars.

At the back, the rear lights are flush with fibre optic lighting, lending a flowing and unique light signature that looks epic at night.

Inside, it's a sea of carbon, with the lightweight racing seats, the dash inserts and the centre console all lined in it. It is a perfectly finished space, though, and one that's also flecked with red, including a 12 o'clock band on the thick-rimmed steering wheel, the seat backs, the contrast stitching and the paddle shifts.

Be warned, though, it takes some acrobatics to climb into or out of the CS. The seat bottoms have these super high edges that double as grab handles, but require some awkward contortions to navigate.

In short, it looks angry, this M4 CS, inside and out.

Unlike the bulging wheelarches and gaping gob of the new E 63, the E 43 uses discrete flourishes to distinguish it from the regular AMG-pack E-Class.

Most obvious are the more aggressive 20 x 8 and 20 x 9 'RTO' wheels, but if you look closely it also scores subtle black winglets on the outer edges of the front bumper openings, a single bar grille insert, boot lip spoiler and black split exhaust tips. 

Hiding within those wheels are upgraded 360mm brakes at all corners, with four piston calipers up front and single at the rear.

On the inside, the E 43 steps up to perforated leather and 'Dynamica' pseudo suede seat trim but the fronts appear to be the same comfortable shape as the regular AMG pack seats. Aside from a smattering of AMG badges, that's about it. Like the outside, it looks a little bit sporty, but luxury is the focus.

It all boils down to how you classify practicality in a car like this. I mean, the basic stuff is all there – it's got two doors, four seats and a boot capacity of 440 litres.

It measures 4801mm in length, 1918mm in width and 1399mm in height, and room for front seat riders is good, but less so for anyone you squeeze into the back. There are even ISOFIX points for a child seat.

But if you consider practicality the practical pursuit of performance, then the M4 CS has plenty of perks.

Like all E-Class sedans, the E 43 has amble room for four large adults to travel comfortably. Everyday practicality is well considered with dual cup holders front and rear with bottleholders in each door, map pockets and ISOFIX child seat mounts in the outer rear positions. Boot capacity is a useful 540 litres.
Like all AMG performance models, the E 43 forgoes run-flats or a spare tyre in favour of an inflation kit.

At $159,900 the E 43 sits exactly $20,000 above the E 400. As you'd expect it comes fully loaded with comfort and convenience features, including a choice of black, brown or beige nappa leather, 'Air-Balance' cabin scent and air filtration system, tinted windows, panoramic sunroof, head-up display and a 13-speaker Burmester surround sound audio system.

Like all new E-Classes, the E 43 also comes with the brilliant Drive Pilot suite of active cruise control and lane guidance tech that permit semi-autonomous driving, including the ability to change lanes. More sculpted AMG front seats and a Dynamica pseudo suede-trimmed steering wheel are available as a $3076 option, but it's worth noting that the seat upgrade eliminates the PRE-SAFE impulse side function that moves passengers toward the centre of the car when a side collision is anticipated.

BMW has found yet more grunt lurking in its trusty 3.0-litre 'M TwinPower' six-cylinder petrol engine, with the M4 CS now pumping out 405kW and 650Nm.

That's a decent jump from the 390kW and 620Nm served up by the M4 Competition, and a giant leap from the outputs of the 'base' M4 – 353kW and 550Nm.

Predictably, then, the CS is the fastest of the lot, knocking off the run from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds, compared to 3.5 and 4.2 in the Competition and M4, respectively. The top speed is also dialled up to 302km/h.

All that power is channeled through an eight-speed automatic and sent to all four wheels on demand, with the help of an 'Active M Differential'.

Rather than simply plonking the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 from the other '43s in the E-Class body and fettling the tune to edge it ahead performance-wise over the smaller models, the E 43 uses larger turbos to boost power by 25kW but retains the same 520Nm, which is also 50kW and 40Nm greater than the E 400.

Like all current E-Class variants, the engine is backed by Mercedes' very clever nine-speed torque converter auto and follows the E 400 and other '43s by sending power to all corners via the 4Matic all-wheel drivetrain.

The M4 CS is fitted with a 59-litre fuel tank, which – given the BMW's official fuel claim of 10.2 litres per hundred kilometres – should deliver a driving range on a full tank of 541 kilometres.

But... BMW also says the regular M4 – you know, the one that makes 52 fewer kilowatts and 55Nm less torque – uses 10.1L/100km, so do with that information what you will.

Despite making more power and torque, the E 43 carries the same 8.4L/100km official combined figure as the E 400, but requires more expensive 98RON to achieve it. The E 43 also scores a 14-litre larger 80-litre fuel tank, which should stretch the range between fills by around 167km based on the official figure.

The hardest and angriest M4 of all time is, perhaps unsurprisingly, hard and angry. This is a race track specialist, but because I don't happen to own one of those, my first experience with the barking (and barking mad) M4 CS was navigating my way back from BMW's inner-city dealership.

Like it or lump it, you're going to read some Porsche comparisons here, because you're talking not too far off base 911 Carrera money, and suddenly I find the two Germans doing battle for a spot in my dream garage.

First things first, the BMW won't be much chop for daily driving for most people. Happily, I have a sickness for uncomfortable sports cars. It tells me that no compromises have been made in the pursuit of punishing performance.

A good thing, too, because the BMW, at city speeds, can be punishing. Everything feels heavy, the seats aren't overly comfortable – especially the hard bits that tend to dig in when cornering – and it stiff-arms its way over road imperfections, that exhaust booming and barking as it does.

Again, I loved it, and you probably will, too. But it's still not the kind of car I'd relish sitting in the morning peak hour rush in.

But escape the confines of the city and the BMW M4 CS suddenly makes a whole heap of sense. The acceleration is genuinely brutal, and wonderfully theatrical, with that quad-tipped titanium exhaust barking and snarling as you rocket towards 100km/h.

The steering is brilliant, with feedback fed to your wrists via that thick-rimmed wheel, and the entire experience feels sharp, super engaging and edgy.

You can push the M4 hard and fast, and I'm certain my limited talents would run out far before the BMW's would, but there's this thrilling sense of peril sparked by the aggression of the experience, that I love.

It's like the magic of a roller-coaster, I guess. Even if you know nothing is going to happen, you never really know, right? And in that lies the magic.

But back to original question, this or a Porsche 911? There's no doubt a Carrera is a better all-rounder, in terms of comfy commuting and race track fun, but this angry M4 is all shouty theatrics, all of the time.

I bloody love it.

Working our way out of Melbourne via its network of motorways, there's little aside from perforated leather and Dynamica faux suede seats to tell us we're aboard something a bit more special than most E-Classes. 

Left in Comfort mode via the console-mounted drive select toggle, the engine delivers a creamy urge with max torque available from 2500rpm, the transmission is silken and the ambience is very E-Class.

On the country roads beyond Melbourne's urban limits, you can tell you're riding on 20-inch wheels with limited sidewalls, but it's all entirely liveable and still very Mercedes. 

Flick it over to Sport mode and it's much the same, but confronted with the bitumen rollercoaster that is Chum Creek Rd (look it up, it's worth it), we felt it was time for Sport +. Race mode is reserved for the full-blown AMGs, but Sport + instantly transforms the E 43. 

The steering gets heavier, the exhaust gets louder and the transmission drops at least one ratio, but the dampers also become much firmer which makes it feel at least a couple of hundred kilos lighter than the aluminium-abundant W213 E-Class already is.

The stability control also loosens its leash and surprisingly permits some play from the rear end when you're really pushing under throttle. It is all-wheel drive, but the torque bias favours the rear wheels by a factor of 69:31.

The auto manages to shift quickly and the abundance of ratios means it happens very often. You'd have to be pretty bored to bother with the paddle shifters, as everything responds beautifully to your right foot – including the brakes. 

It's very easy to drive very fast and you soon forget you're driving a near-5m long sedan.

The V6's growl will never match a V8 symphony, but it helps to stamp the E 43's individual character. If it made no noise it would be disappointing, but it does well to push a classic V6 bark past its turbos.

Like all versions of the W213 E-Class, the E 43 carries the maximum five star ANCAP and EuroNCAP safety ratings. A brilliantly integrated suite of active and passive safety features go well beyond its nine-airbag count, 360-degree parking cameras, rear cross-traffic alerts, and a pedestrian-protecting active bonnet.

The M4 CS is covered by BMW's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with condition-based servicing available in packs, which will cost you $3530 over five years/80,000km, or $2900 over four years/60,000km.

As with all Mercedes passenger cars, the E 43 is covered by a three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Service intervals are either 12 months or 25,000km and the first three services are capped at $668, $1356 and $1356 respectively.