Mercedes-AMG E63 vs Mercedes-Benz C350 E

What's the difference?

Feels like lately all the Mercedes-AMG buzz has been at the smaller end of the scale.

Most recently, the screaming GLA 45 S has arrived in Australia, pumping out more kilowatts and newton-metres than any compact SUV has a right to.

But here, we're doubling the cylinder count to eight, arranging them in a vee, and lighting the wick on AMG's powerhouse mid-size sedan, the recently upgraded E 63 S.

While the ferocious twin-turbo V8 and the rest of this beast's powertrain are unchanged, the car has been brought up to speed with some aero-focused styling tweaks, Merc's latest 'Widescreen' digital cockpit, as well as the MBUX multimedia system, and a tricky new multi-function sports steering wheel.

They're doing it again! Actually they've been doing it again for a bit now. It’s Mercedes-Benz Australia and plug-in hybrid tech.

The Ross and Rachel, or Jim and Pam of the premium automotive world.

It's been a will they, won't they for a while, and in the past Mercedes has dipped its proverbial plug into the electrons a few times and gotten cold feet.

But now it says it’s all in. There are others, the GLA and GLC SUVs, plus there’s the new C63 performance car, but this one feels like a bit of an arrival.

Yeah, the C-Class is no longer the Mercedes-Benz in terms of sales, but it might be the best way to make the most of a bit of battery power.