2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance new car review

One of the most potent muscle cars on sale has just gotten even better with a massive update that brings F1-derived tech to Aussie roads.

If technology is your thing, then look no further than the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance.

The latest hi-tech powerplay from the three-pointed-star brand has a list of gadgetry almost as long as its name as it aims to continue the high-performance lineage of one of the most potent four-door muscle cars to emerge from Europe.

There’s an electric turbocharger, an electric motor, two gearboxes, four-wheel steering, drive settings called Master and Pro and a battery pack with F1-derived smarts all conspiring to deliver some of the most intoxicating pace ever served up in a four-door sedan.

The new Mercedes-AMG has ditched V8 power.

There is one very big but, though.

The angry snarl of the outgoing V8 has been silenced. A victim of the push to reduce carbon emissions, the V8 that once defined a C63 has been killed off.

In its place is a highly tuned four-cylinder that is part of a hybrid system to make a mighty 500kW – 125kW more than the V8 it steps in for.

Torque is claimed at a hefty 1020Nm, although there’s some mathematical trickery in measuring it after it’s been through the two-speed gearbox dedicated to the electric motor.

Still, with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 280km/h there’s the sort of bahnstorming speed befitting the nameplate.

Power now comes from a turbocharged four-cylinder and electric motor.

Of course, that extra grunt has to deal with a weight increase; the C63 E-Performance is a portly 2166kg, hundreds heavier than before.

Still, plant the throttle and the C63 is brutally adept at building pace and does it with relative ease by diverting drive to all four wheels.

While it’s no V8, there’s an alluring and purposeful note to the four-cylinder AMG.

In Sport+ mode it flutters and burbles with intent. There’s enough of a scowl to reinforce the performance focus.

You could almost convince yourself it’s a viable aural alternative to what came before … until you hear that V8 again and realise nothing can compete with the sound synonymous with AMGs.

Power outputs are a staggering 500kW and 1020Nm.

The nine-speed auto is slick through the ratios although occasionally gets caught flat-footed in Comfort and Sport modes, before slipping into the right ratio.

Sport+ is more convincing in terms of gearshift assertiveness, or you can program a custom mode to your liking, teaming with the adjustable dampers and steering to tweak the dynamic equation. Pro and Master settings increasingly allow more freedom from the stability and traction control systems.

In Comfort the suspension is soft, but still with the occasional jarring edge over sharp imperfections.

Sport controls multiple body movements more convincingly, in some instances making for a calmer ride.

It’s a great all-rounder that does without the firmer stance of Sport+ – and helps reinforce the multiple personalities of the C63.

It is blisteringly fast.

There’s even an EV only mode that allows for thoroughly respectable around-town running in near silence, the 6.1kWh battery able to provide 15km of modest thrust before turning to premium unleaded.

Just don’t press the throttle too far or you will wake the petrol engine – and go from using no fuel to a whole lot more than the 6.1 litres per 100km government-derived claim attached to the car.

The C63 can be charged from a home powerpoint in about three hours or you can install a wallbox to lower that to about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Of course, such tech doesn’t come cheap.

The new C63 AMG sells from about $200,000 drive-away and brings a long list of standard gear.

It’s also amazingly comfortable around town.

There are 20-inch wheels, a panoramic sliding sunroof, 360-degree camera, Nappa leather, ambient lighting and a crisp Burmester sound system.

There’s also a broad head-up display with unique AMG layouts and a plethora of active safety systems that include driver monitoring, speed limit recognition, auto braking and blind spot warning.

One challenge for the C63 comes in the form of the garden variety C300.

It’s also a beautifully presented car with most of the AMG’s tech, albeit missing out on the fancy seats and sports steering wheel. Other than stitching and details elsewhere there’s not a huge difference between the two, although the boot is shallower with just 279 litres of capacity.

The cabin is hi-tech and luxurious.

From the outside the bulging bonnet, widened wheels and vertical AMG grille give it a menacing look as it appears in the rear vision mirror.

But even with quad exhausts and a small spoiler there’s nothing particularly muscular from the rear.

Still, for sheer pace – and the lashings of tech – the C63 ticks the boxes, albeit without the chest-beating theatre and tail-happy tactility of the car it steps in for.

And with ever-faster EVs playing a more significant role in the luxury performance space the new C63 four-cylinder hybrid has a lumpier path to executive express success than its V8 predecessor.

VERDICT4/5

Brutally fast and clinically competent but four-cylinder hybrid can’t match the character and thrills of the V8 it steps in for.

Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance

PRICE About $200,000 drive-away

WARRANTY/SERVICE 5 yrs/unlimited km, $7085 for 5 yrs/100,000km

SAFETY 8 airbags, auto emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, rear cross traffic alert, rear auto braking, driver monitoring, speed sign recognition

ENGINE 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo, 500kW/1020Nm

THIRST 6.1L/100km

SPARE Repair kit

BOOT 279L

Originally published as 2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance new car review