Driven: Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance Loses Its Soul in Search of Speed

Plug-in hybrid cars are practical for two major reasons. One, you have the convenience of driving as far as its fuel tank can take you. Two, you can charge the battery and silently commute a decent distance. They’re sensible cars for sensible people with sensible driving needs. As far as I can remember, the AMG version of Mercedes-Benz‘s C-Class has never really been a sensible car. Famous for its brashness and ability to rocket down the Autobahn while blasting its V8 tune, the German brawler isn’t typically bought by rational people with rational driving needs. So why are we trying to turn the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance into a rational car?

You likely already know that for the new generation, Mercedes ditched the C63’s twin-turbo V8 in favor of a more powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder plug-in hybrid system. The electrified drivetrain is more advanced and produces a mountain of power capable of shipping the 4,800-pound sedan from zero to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds. But despite the extra oomph, AMG’s venerable C63 has gone from having a maniacal spark to feeling like another too-quick, soulless cyborg.

The Basics

The C63 is a handsome-looking sedan. It looks wide and low up front for that typical menacing AMG vibe, but it gets a little more classy and less dramatic as you look toward the back. It rocks that quintessential C-Class profile that reminds you of its high-brow status while the 20-inch, 10-spoke wheels and quad exhaust peeking out the back give it a healthy dose of sportiness.

Looking directly at the rear end, however, the design comes off a bit squished. The taillights look a little too high up, and the same goes for the line where the blacked diffuser and silver bumper meet. It gives the car a hatchback-y, liftback look. Perhaps this is due to it needing to accommodate a hybrid battery, but the trunk floor also sits quite high—trunk space itself has indeed been reduced, which is disappointing for a sedan.

Things get better inside, with a sleek and driver-oriented cabin as well as a phenomenal steering wheel. Mercedes-AMG makes some of the best-feeling, chunky wheels in the business, and they are a joy to operate whether you’re cruising around town or beating up a country road. The seats are well-padded and supportive and can be customized in any way you’d possibly want. If you’re taller or wider than average, entry into the vehicle can feel a bit low and tight. Moving the seat back and the steering wheel forward helps, but it mostly feels like there isn’t enough space between the A and B pillars. It’s the same story for the backseat, where you’ll struggle to fit if you’re more than six feet tall.

Like any modern Mercedes cabin, the focal point is the 19-inch portrait-style touchscreen in the center of the dash. It features a handful of physical buttons for controlling the driving modes, parking cameras, hazard lights, and volume, but that’s it. With the exception of the lights and wiper controls located in the stalks, everything else is relegated to the touchscreen and the MBUX operating system.

Driving the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance

Just because the V8 is gone doesn’t mean this baby won’t scoot. It scoots mighty fine. And frankly, a few of the sounds it makes aren’t half bad, either. However, that visceral, throaty rumble is gone, and instead, you get a race car-like pop every time the nine-speed transmission shifts gears. You won’t imagine yourself in a Silver Arrows F1 car, but a GT3 racer? Probably. Everything between those loud spurts, however, isn’t that great sounding. Even worse, you have to bury the accelerator to get that audible theater. With the old V8, you could be doing 40 mph in fifth gear and sound like a badass.

At no other time is the lack of a V8 more noticeable than when you start the car. Push the Engine Start button and hear… crickets. It’s a very anti-AMG thing. Sure, you can quickly switch the drive mode into Sport via the neat steering-mounted control knob to hear the engine fire up, but it all feels so artificial. In a regular car, this would be completely OK. It would be civilized, and I would probably really enjoy its fine manners, but in a C63 AMG? Despair has entered the chat.

Nonetheless, should you have to tackle a long stretch of highway or a twisty road, it’ll stick out its claws and give you all 671 horsepower at once. You’ll feel a kick in the ass and a thrust forward, and by the time you’re able to process what just happened, you’ll likely be doing 125 mph. If you’re on a curvy road, you better pay attention, because the sudden thrust could easily pull the wheel off your hands and send you into the nearest ditch.

This tester was equipped with winter tires, which aren’t exactly ideal for hard driving, but it highlighted the car’s beautiful balance and phenomenal suspension. Stepping hard on the brakes when entering a corner doesn’t cause the front end to dive, nor does the rear step out as you begin to turn and apply power. The steering offers good feedback, though there’s still a dead spot on initial turn-in that always makes you wonder how quickly or slowly the front tires will first react. Once you’re in the zone and braking, clicking down the gears, and getting back on the throttle until things start zooming past you, you’ll be surprised at how little you care about how many cylinders are under the hood. The C63 may not be as entertaining as it once was, but it’s far from boring.

One strength of this car worth highlighting is its ability to give you both extreme sportiness and extreme comfort without any compromises. If you want to cruise silently to work suspension plush and steering fluffy, it’ll do it. (As long as work is less than eight miles away because that’s all the battery is good for when fully charged.) If you want to bomb down the interstate or a back road on your way home from the office and arrive feeling like a hero, it’ll do that too. You choose the adventure, and the C63 will oblige.

Quick Verdict

All that said, I can’t imagine spending the $93,000 as-tested on the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance, and I couldn’t realistically recommend you do either. It’s not because it’s a bad car. In many ways, it’s actually great and the result of some truly clever engineering. But I wouldn’t buy one because it doesn’t deliver the AMG experience, or at least what I associate with the AMG experience.

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the three-pointed star’s high-po sedans over its cross-town rivals, but in this case, I’d be looking at Munich and not Stuttgart. Though if you asked me where I’d gladly spend my hard-earned sports sedan dollars, I’d whisper to you that Detroit’s got one hell of an example that still comes with a big V8 and even a manual transmission if you so choose.

Quick Take

It’s not a bad car, it’s just not the car you think it is.

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