2007 Mercedes-Benz E63 Reviews

The Mercedes E-Class is a prestigious medium-large car that’s been reinvented in recent years. Once a conservative model, it has become pretty stylish as the Germans aim for a wider range of buyers.

This is the car that was responsible for the term 'bahn blaster' due to its ability to rapidly gobble up large tracts of German autobahn. They are so potent as to relegate plane travel between some European cities redundant.It's easier to trundle your E63 out onto the autobahn and fire it in the desired direction than to muck about getting to, parking and waiting at airports, boarding, waiting. flying and landing on a plane then getting to your destination.Over the last few decades it's evolved into one of the most desirable mainstream sedan cars you can get.Mind you at a cool $227,600, the E63's way out of the realms of the average punter but we can dream.The engine is not the only hand made or hand built component on the car because it's pretty much meticulously put together by a crack crew of technicians on a special assembly line.AMG is responsible for a swag of high performance Mercs from the littlies to the biggies including an awesome ML63 4x4. One presumes there will also be an AMG version of the big GL 4x4.The E63 is a four door, five seat sedan with a whopping 378kW/680Nm output. That's sufficient to propel the weighty beast from 0-100kmh in well under 5.0 seconds. It's almost supercar quick and has no real powerband to speak of - it's all go as soon as you push the accelerator.But all this potency is not unbridled - it's delivered by one of the most sophisticated cars around in a silky smooth but stirring manner.The 6.2-litre engine is a techno tour-de-force as is the chassis which features airmatic adaptive suspension and huge brakes. There's even a ride height raise function to get driveway clearance for the low-slung front end.Drive goes to the rear wheels via a seven speed auto transmission with sequential change including steering wheel paddles.It is never caught in the wrong cog.In addition to the performance side of the car, there's also a luxury and safety side. It is blessed with an astonishing array of luxury goodies including gorgeous Nappa leather, a rockin' Harman Kardon audio system with massive sub woofer, TV, DVD, satnav, comprehensive computer, bluetooth and electrically operated everything. The test vehicle's roof was mostly glass with integrated front glass sunroof.It has adaptive bi-xenon headlights, sonar cruise control and 360 degree park assist.We really like the anti tamper, anti tow function that sounds the horn if a vehicle comes within a metre of the E63 when parked. It's a stunning drive, composed, firm, responsive and sounds fabulous. There is plenty of room for five inside and the styling enhancements not only aid aerodynamics, they also look pretty good.Is it better than the previous supercharged E55 AMG?You'd better believe it.

No point in spoiling his day — noblesse oblige and all that. After all, this is a Mercedes wherein the satisfaction lies in knowing with certainty that you could have if you really wanted to.As menacing as the black E-Class looks in all its AMG livery, this remains a luxury sedan — a very focused and purposeful one.AMG enjoys a reputation as wizards to the wealthy — in a league with BMW's reveredM division. Both are producers of gilt-edged performance machinery for the well-heeled.Previously reliant on the instant gratification of force-fed urge, the latest generation of the AMG cars display a more rounded character.With the shift in philosophy away from superchargers, AMG has moved to creating its own bespoke engine — a naturally aspirated V8 with a capacity of 6.208 litres (they like to call it a 6.3, possibly because the badges look cooler) and an output ranging from 386kW to 354kW depending on model, all at 6800rpm. The torque figures are also constant at 630Nm at 5200rpm.For the E Class the change away from the 5.4-litre powerplant equals an increase in power to 378kW but a drop of 69Nm in torque from 700Nm; more top end but with less punch to get there.More than the actual figures, the nature of the engine determines how different the two models are to drive.City cruising and open-road driving show that this is a car of different character.The 63 is much smoother in its power delivery, minus the back-slapping arrival of piles of torque as the supercharger gets busy. The E63 demands a more determined mindset, unlike the old supercharged models, when a brush of the throttle set the tone.Getting the best out of the 6.3 demands a more positive and smooth approach, with firm application of the throttle and intelligent choice of gears rewarded.Kept on the move with the engine sitting above 4000rpm, the 63 is a willing worker.Using the paddle shifts for the seven-speed box adds another element to the experience, but the truth is that the ratios and shift points are so well-sorted in full automatic that 90 per cent of the time it is as effective to allow the car to choose.With its semi-active air suspension the E63 can be set to one of three ride heights from boulevarde cruising to track attack.In any mode the E63 is a delight to drive. Tip the car into a corner and the reaction is immediate. The grip from the front end is huge, feedback communicative and general balance quite superb.Ride quality, for what can be a genuine track-day warrior, is at the upper end of the scale while interior comfort is everything you would expect from a luxury manufacturer asking you for $227,600 for a basic package.Over and above the E Class safety and comfort items — a full spectrum of electronic minders, airbags everywhere, sunroof, digital TV, concert-quality sound, satnav and four-zone climate control — the E63 has plenty of AMG-specific kit.The sport seats with multiple electronic adjustment are superb when you work out all the possible permutations; the composite front brakes add another level to the safety package while the AMG instrument cluster and quad exhausts spice up the package.The test car was also fitted with the optional distronic cruise control ($6590) and Bi-Xenon active headlights ($1440).The distronic system, while not unique, is clever and useful. In effect, it is a radar unit fitted behind the grille, which acts in concert with the cruise control to lock on to a car in front and maintain a pre-set separation, braking or accelerating as necessary.