Porsche Panamera vs Mercedes-AMG GLC63

What's the difference?

Australia hasn't had what you'd call a love affair with the Porsche Panamera. Especially compared to the on-going romance with its iconic sibling, the 911 and even its SUV stablemates. 

The Panamera straddles the fence between high-performance sports car and family sedan and it's a position rivals like the BMW 740i, Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz S450 have sometimes found difficult to balance.

This new-generation 'base' Panamera model is on test to see if this sedan's 2025 redesign will launch an arrow from Cupid's bow for Australian families?

It doesn't feel like that long ago I spent a day with the brand spanking new Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S when it first arrived in Australia. It's a car that stuck with me, the SpaceX-worthy thrust of AMG's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 translating into that dirty V8 exhaust note.

Turns out it wasn't that long ago, but time waits for no car - the 2020 GLC 63 S has arrived, with some useful upgrades and a deep suspicion that someone, somewhere thought the car needed some changes.

And they may be right, because in June 2018, the GLC 63 S assumed an empty throne. Now in 2020, it has the Jaguar F-Pace SVR and BMW X3 and X4 M twins to deal with.

So, under a scorching hot Bathurst sun, I examined the box-fresh GLC 63 S for signs of nefarious activity, hoping things have not changed for the worse just because there are a couple of challengers in town.