Mercedes-AMG E63 vs Toyota Corolla Cross

What's the difference?

The E 63 S fills its niche in AMG's Australian line-up perfectly. More mature than the brand's four-cylinder hatches and SUVs, but not as overbearing as some of its bigger sedan, GT and SUV stablemates. And its ability to seamlessly switch between serene comfort and dynamic performance has nailed the objective for this 2021 update.

The Corolla Cross is still an incredibly sensible car if you’re needing to buy a car, but you’re not a car person. Everything is intuitive and easy, allowing you to focus on driving.

This update has helped make this car stand out a bit more, but it’s still a bit vanilla. The Hyundai Kona, for example, offers more character. Also the asking price, especially at the top end, is creeping eerily close to RAV4 territory.

The E 63 S has been massaged for 2021 starting with flatter headlights, AMG's now signature 'Panamericana' grille, and a high gloss black flap across the top of the curved 'Jet Wing' section defining the lower part of the nose.

At the same time, the vents on either end of it are larger and feature twin transverse louvers to guide cooling air to wherever it's needed.

It's all about what AMG calls 'optimised aerobalance' but the form is just as appealing as the function. The characteristic 'Power Domes' in the bonnet dial up the muscle, as do the fat wheel arches (+27mm each side), and 20-inch rims with distinctive aero inserts.

This car's optional exterior carbon package consists of a front splitter, side sills, a flash near the fender badges, the exterior mirror covers, the boot lid lip spoiler, as well as the lower apron around the redesigned diffuser and quad tailpipes.

New, intricately styled LED tail-lights are also flatter, but there's even more going on inside.

A new AMG sports steering wheel features three rounded twin-spokes with new switches on the bottom to control the car's dynamic set-up.

It also picks up a new take on the small touch-sensitive controllers used to adjust the instrumentation and manage other functions like phone calls, audio and the cruise control.

Not sure I'm in love with them at this stage. In fact, the words fiddly, imprecise, and frustrating come to mind.

Nappa leather covering the superb AMG sports seats, upper dash, and door beltlines remains standard, but the show-stopper is the 'Widescreen Cockpit' - twin 12.25-inch digital screens for the MBUX multimedia interface on the left and instruments on the right.

The instrument cluster can be set to 'Modern Classic', 'Sport' and 'Supersport' displays, with specific AMG read-outs such as engine data, gear speed indicator, warm-up status, car set-up, as well as a G-meter and 'RaceTimer.'

To borrow an official automotive design term, it looks schmick. Overall, with touches like open-pore black ash wood trim, and brushed metal highlights, the interior looks efficient but classy, with an obvious attention to detail in the layout and its execution.

Toyota has put some effort into jazzing up the Corolla Cross’ exterior design. The pre-update car was arguably one of the more vanilla cars in its segment.

The most noticeable changes are up front. There’s a new grille set-up with hexagonal cutouts, as well as new LED headlights that are connected by a section that illuminates at night. This latter part looks quite tacky and feeds into the current trend of full-width light bars.

Around the side there are new 18-inch alloy wheel designs on this Atmos trim, as well as a revised LED tail-light set-up.

You can still tell this car is clearly a Corolla Cross from the outside thanks to the cladding around the wheel arches, but it no longer looks so boring, especially in top-spec Atmos guise.

Inside the design changes are more minimal. There’s a new centre console set-up that includes a chunkier gear selector, as well as an ambient lighting strip that wraps around the outside.

I prefer this centre console as it looks more substantial than the pre-update car’s, however, the glossy piano black is a big downside. After a week of testing it was already dusty and grimy, plus scratches are inevitable when you wipe it clean.

Beyond this there are no other obvious changes. I wish Toyota would include some differing colours and finishes inside as it’s a bit of a sea of black.

While there are some soft-touch materials on the dashboard and armrests, you don’t need to look far to find harsher, scratchier finishes. I expect better in a car that costs more than $50,000.

At just under 5.0m end-to-end the E-Class sits in the upper range of the mid-size luxury spectrum. And almost 3.0m of that is accounted for by the distance between the axles, so there's plenty of space inside.

The driver and front passenger are provided with heaps of room to breathe, and there's a surprising amount of space for those in the back as well.

Sitting behind the driver's seat set for my 183cm (6'0”) position I had more than adequate head and legroom. But access to and from the back is a struggle for full-size adults.

The rear doors open out a long way, but the limiting factor is the size of the aperture, necessitating excessive contortion of the head and limbs to fold in and out of the car.

Connectivity runs to two (power-only) USB-C sockets in the front centre storage bin, as well as another USB-C (for power and multimedia) and 12-volt power outlet in the centre console.

Speaking of the front centre storage bin, it's a decent size and has a padded split lid so it can double as an armrest. There are two cupholders in the front console, a generous glove box, as well as long door compartments with recesses for large bottles provided.

There's a pair of USB-Cs along with another 12-volt socket in the back, sitting under the climate control panel with adjustable vents in the rear of the front centre console. Nice.

The fold down centre armrest incorporates a lidded (and lined) storage box as well as two pop-out cupholders. Again, there are bins in the doors with room for smaller bottles.

The boot offers 540 litres (VDA) of volume, and is able to swallow our three-piece hard suitcase set (124L, 95L, 36L) with room to spare, or the substantial CarsGuide pram, or the largest suitcase and pram combined! There are tie-down hooks to help secure loads, too.

Don't bother looking for a spare of any description, a repair/inflator kit is your only option. And the E 63 S is a no-tow zone.

The front seats in this car are deliciously comfortable. The bolsters hug you nicely and there’s plenty of upper back and leg support.

I’m also a fan of the upholstery finish in this Atmos trim. It’s a combination of leather and fabric which is great because the front seats also offer heating and now ventilation.

The steering wheel is a classic Toyota unit that features synthetic leather wrapping and heating function. There are also plenty of clearly labelled physical buttons that are a treat to use.

Behind this there’s a 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster like plenty of other Toyota models now. It features a familiar set-up that allows you to change a number of widgets and save multiple pages of configurations.

Moving across, the 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system is high-resolution and has crisp colours. There’s not a heap to do in the native user interface so there’s no excuse to get lost.

Thankfully there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Connection was immediate with my iPhone 15 Pro Max when starting up the car and it remained rock solid throughout known interference points.

Under the touchscreen I appreciate that Toyota has retained physical climate control buttons and dials. They’re very easy to understand and use, especially on the move.

In fact, there are a lot of physical buttons around the cabin. This is great because you don’t need to dive into touchscreen menus and sub-menus.

In terms of amenities up front there are two cupholders, a wireless charger, USB-C charger, centre console box with a 12V socket, as well as a glovebox.

Moving to the second row there’s a decent amount of space for a small SUV, though if you want to use the seats more, you’ll likely want to opt for something larger, like a RAV4.

At 182cm tall I have minimal legroom behind my own driving position, though toeroom is excellent. Headroom is fine though it is impeded due to the panoramic glass sunroof, which notably doesn’t open despite the thick crossbar.

You can easily get two adults in the back of the Corolla Cross, though pushing it to three would make things squishy. It doesn’t help that there’s a central hump in the floor.

Amenities include rear air vents, two USB-C ports, bottle holders on the doors, plus a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

Around the back there’s a hands-free power tailgate that’s handy if you’ve got your hands full. In classic Toyota fashion, it opens and closes with plenty of beeps, which may attract attention.

There’s 380L of boot space with the rear seats upright, expanding to 2000L with them folded. This is fine for the segment, but doesn’t stand out. Front-wheel drive trims get a touch more boot space as they don’t have the rear electric motor.

In the boot area there’s a light, some hooks and a load cover. Unfortunately all-wheel-drive trims don’t come with a spare wheel whatsoever. Instead they only get a tyre repair kit.

It’s worth noting two-wheel-drive trims get a space-saver spare wheel. This is important if you frequently do long-distance drives away from tyre repair shops.

The 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross line-up now starts from $37,440 before on-roads for the GX Hybrid trim, however, on test here is the flagship Atmos Hybrid AWD trim at $50,990 before on-roads. That’s a fair chunk of change for a small SUV.

For context, you can get a mid-spec RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid for around the same price as this Corolla Cross. Ultimately it comes down to whether you want a bigger car or more equipment.

Speaking of the latter, this top-spec Corolla Cross is stacked with equipment.

Highlights include new 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a panoramic glass sunroof, 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker JBL premium sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, as well as premium leather-accented upholstery.

One of the few things this car is missing over its rivals is the availability of a head-up display.

The E 63 S is powered by the M178 version of the all-alloy 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine used across numerous AMG models from the C-Class up.

Thanks in no small part to direct injection and a pair of twin-scroll turbos (located in the engine's 'hot vee' to optimise throttle response), this all-alloy unit produces 450kW (that's 612hp) from 5750-6500rpm, and 850Nm from 2500-4500rpm.

And as per standard AMG practice for its Vee engines, this car's powerplant was built from scratch by a single engineer in Affalterbach. Thank you Robin Jäger.

AMG calls the nine-speed transmission used in the E 63 S an MCT, which stands for Multi-Clutch Technology. But it's not a dual-clutch, rather a normal auto transmission using a wet clutch as opposed to a conventional torque converter, to connect it to the engine on take-off.

Drive goes to all four wheels via Merc's '4Matic+' AWD system, built around an electromechanically controlled clutch connecting the permanently driven rear axle (with locking diff) variably to the front axle.

Like last year, all Corolla Cross trims now come with a hybrid powertrain. It’s unchanged with this facelift.

There’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with either one or two electric motors, depending on whether you opt for a front- or all-wheel drive version. Our tester is the latter so it has two electric motors.

Total system output is 146kW with drive sent through an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT). Top speed is 180km/h.

It’s worth pointing out there is no power difference between the front- and all-wheel drive trims. Uniquely, the latter picks up a ‘Snow’ drive mode.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 12.3L/100km, the E 63 S emitting 280g/km of CO2 in the process.

That's a pretty hefty number, but in line with this car's proportions and performance potential.

And Merc-AMG has gone to great lengths to minimise fuel use. As well as the standard 'Eco' stop-start function, in the 'Comfort' drive program cylinder deactivation becomes active, the system able to drop four cylinders anywhere between 1000 to 3250rpm.

There's no physical hint of half the cylinders leaving the party. The only clue is a blue icon on the dash indicating a temporary shift to V4 operation.

Despite all that effort, however, we saw a dash-indicated 17.9L/100km over a mix of urban trundling, highway cruising, and some spirited dynamic assessment.

Recommended fuel is 98 RON premium unleaded (although it'll run on 95 at a pinch), and you'll need 80 litres of it to fill the tank. That capacity translates to a range of 650km according to the factory claim, and 447km using our real world result.

Toyota claims the Corolla Cross Atmos Hybrid AWD consumes an average of 4.4L/100km on the combined cycle. This is 0.2L/100km higher than front-wheel-drive trims.

During my week of testing I saw an average of 5.0L/100km, according to the trip computer. This is fine, but I’ve experienced better in other hybrid SUVs.

However, during one trip into the office with heavy traffic I achieved an average of 3.7L/100km. Now that’s frugal!

All-wheel-drive trims get a larger 43L fuel tank compared to the 36L unit front-wheel-drive versions have.

Using my as-tested fuel consumption, this car has a theoretical range of 860km.

All Corolla Cross variants require a minimum of 91 RON regular unleaded petrol.

AMG's major goal with this upgrade of the E 63 S was to maintain its dynamic response and ferocious performance, but dial in the extra comfort customers had said they wanted.

So, the 4Matic+ AWD system has been fine-tuned for more smoothness as has the Comfort option in the dynamic set-up. But we'll investigate that shortly.

First, that 4.0-litre turbo V8 in the nose is claimed to slingshot this roughly 2.0-tonne sedan from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, and it feels every bit that fast.

With 850Nm available from 2500-4500rpm and nine gear ratios to help keep you operating in that Goldilocks band, mid-range thrust is monumental. And thanks to the bi-modal sports exhaust it sounds beautifully brutal.

The nine-speed auto's wet clutch, as opposed to a conventional torque converter, is designed to save weight and optimise response. And while some will tell you an auto with one input shaft is never going to be as fast as a dual-clutch with two, shifts are rapid and direct. The wheel-mounted shift paddles are larger and set lower, as well.

The AMG 'Ride Control+' suspension with multi-chamber air suspension and adaptive damping is amazingly good. The underlying set-up is by multi-links front and rear, and despite riding on big 20-inch rims wrapped with low-profile, high-performance Pirelli P Zero rubber (265/35 fr - 295/30 rr) the Comfort setting is incredibly... comfortable.

Slip into 'Sport' or 'Sport+' and the car immediately feels tauter but far less compliant and forgiving. An impression reinforced by the engine, transmission, and steering shifting to a more buttoned-down mode at the same time.

The standard dynamic engine mounts play a big part here. Able to make a soft connection for maximum comfort, but switch to a rigid link when required.

But no matter which mode you're in, the car is well damped and feels beautifully balanced in quick cornering. And the E 63 S's electro-mechanically-assisted variable-rate steering is progressive, feelsome, and accurate.

The 4Matic+ AWD system is built around an electromechanically controlled clutch connecting the permanently driven rear axle (with locking diff) variably to the front axle.

Torque distribution happens imperceptibly, the big V8 putting its power down emphatically, with various electronic systems tieing up the loose ends as you aim up for the next corner.

 There's even a 100 per cent RWD Drift mode available in the Race setting, but without a race circuit at our disposal this time around that'll have to wait for another time.

The optional ceramic brakes feature huge rotors and six-piston front calipers, and stopping power is immense. And the good news is they operate quickly but progressively at normal pottering around town speeds. No warming up required to get them in an optimal temperature zone (as can be the case with other ceramic set-ups).

When you first start up the car it usually defaults to EV mode unless the petrol engine is bone cold. If this is the case it’ll fire it up to get the fluids warmed up.

Once the engine reaches operating temperature it typically switches off again, allowing you to cruise around exclusively on electric power. This never stops being fun and it’s almost a game to try and eke out as much electric juice as possible before the engine fires up again.

This is inevitable however once the battery charge gets low enough, or you press the accelerator that little bit harder. There’s no noticeable switch from electric to petrol that can be felt, but you do hear the petrol engine whirring away under the bonnet.

Despite this hybrid powertrain producing a total system output of 146kW, it doesn’t really feel like it from behind the wheel. Once you push the accelerator, the petrol engine tends to sound strained. It’s not a nice sound as it’s amplified by the fact there’s an e-CVT that doesn’t require gear shifts.

There’s great regenerative braking as standard which helps recuperate kinetic energy from slowing down back into the battery. This is helpful as it acts like engine braking down hills without actually using the brakes.

When you come to a complete stop the transition from the regen brakes to the traditional friction brakes can be a little grabby. You need to be prepared to alter the pressure you’re applying to the brake pedal.

The suspension in this car is a major highlight. It balances comfort and composure perfectly, allowing for an effortless driving experience. It soaks up virtually all road imperfections with ease, including harsher speed bumps.

This flows on to the steering which does err on the firmer side, but feels direct and a touch sporty. Overall this makes the Corolla Cross a fun vehicle to pilot even on the most dull roads.

On the parking front there are front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround-view camera with great resolution. Even though this car is easy to park, there’s also a semi-autonomous park assist that can be handy if you’re not great at parallel parking.

Out on the open road the petrol engine does stay on more consistently. It’ll quickly flare the revs if you need to accelerate harder which makes me grit my teeth every time because it’s not the most refined sound.

Despite this there were moments when I was travelling at 80km/h and the petrol engine turned off, allowing the car to drive exclusively on EV power. This primarily only happens on flat roads as the moment there’s even a whiff of a hill, the engine kicks back in again.

There’s a fair bit of road noise that enters the cabin at higher speeds, which isn’t uncommon for small SUVs. However, there’s also noticeable wind noise that sounds like it comes from the sunroof or the side mirrors.

The Corolla Cross was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022 based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP. The two safety authorities have harmonised testing protocols.

Standard equipment includes eight airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, lane centring, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, as well as a reversing camera.

The AEB system activates from 5km/h and lane-trace assist (lane centring) can be activated from 0km/h.

Also standard is one year of complimentary access to Toyota’s connected services. This allows for SOS emergency calling, as well as a range of remote features via a smartphone app.

Stepping up to the GXL brings a surround-view camera, as well as vehicle detection for the low-speed front and rear AEB.

All three rear seats have top-tether points and the two outboard rear seats have ISOFIX child seat anchorage points.

It’s all fairly standard on this front.

All AMG models sold in Australia are covered by Mercedes-Benz's five year/unlimited km warranty, with 24-hour roadside and accident assistance included for the duration.

Recommended service interval is 12 months or 20,000km, with pricing for a three-year (pre-paid) plan set at $4300, a $950 saving overall relative to its three year, pay-as-you-go 'Service Solutions' capped price program.

And if you're happy to fork over a little more up-front, there's a four-year service deal at $6300, and five years coming in at $7050.

Like all Toyotas, there’s a five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty. However, if you service at Toyota dealers you get two additional years of engine coverage, bringing the total to seven years.

The high-voltage battery coverage can also be extended up to 10 years if you service at Toyota dealers.

Roadside assistance is available to purchase from $99 annually.

Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The first five services are capped at $255 each, which is incredibly affordable. It’s only beaten by the likes of Honda.

Toyota has one, if not the, most prolific dealer networks in Australia. There are around 260 dealers and they span metro, regional and rural areas.