Mat and Nicholas of carwow have recently pitted the old-gen C 63 against the 206 series, which is certainly going to spark debate among enthusiasts. Although the C 63 S E Performance is a much techier machine with ridiculously more peak torque on tap, four cylinders from a car that costs nearly £100,000 from the outset is vulgar and outrageous.
The newcomer also happens to be a porker at 2,190 kilograms (4,828 pounds) compared to 1,750 (3,858) for the 2015 model, with said figures applicable to the wagon, a.k.a. estate in British English or T-Modell in Mercedes' own vernacular. To help the C 63 S E Performance feel a bit lighter on its feet, AMG decided on 4MATIC+ by default rather than rear-wheel drive for the previous gen.
This, in turn, makes a world of difference in a dig race. Its hand-built 2.0L turbo four-cylinder engine and the rear-mounted electric motor also happen to be a serious combo, with Mercedes quoting 680 ps and 1,020 Nm or 671 horses and 752 pound-feet. As for the M178 twin-turbo V8 engine of the 205-series C 63 S, that would be 510 metric horsepower (503 mechanical ponies) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft).
It goes without saying that the lighter and less powerful wagon sounds way nicer at idle and when you give it the beans. However, its best quarter-mile time was 12.1 seconds compared to 11.5 for the hybridized model. Speaking of hybrid stuff, the plug-in hybrid system wouldn't mean anything without the 6.1-kWh battery. In all-electric mode, it promises up to 8 miles (13 kilometers) of range.
Mat and Nicholas then proceeded to race from a 50-mph rolling start, with 50 miles per hour meaning a little over 80 kilometers per hour. In automatic mode for the transmission, the C 63 S pipped the C 63 S E Performance over the half-mile finish line. Crank it up into the sportiest setting, and the plug-in wagon makes easy work of the ICE-only model.
Photo: carwow on YouTube
Transmission-wise, these cars are equipped with AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT boxes rather than torque-converter automatics. As implied, MCT stands for multi-clutch transmission, meaning that the torque converter is gone in favor of a multi-disc wet clutch for better throttle response. The MCT 7 of the C 63 S shouldn't be confused with the DCT 7G of the first-generation AMG GT, which is a dual-clutch transaxle supplied by Getrag, which is controlled by Magna Powertrain since July 2015.
The C 63 S E Performance uses the newer MCT 9, which is twinned with the 9G-TRONIC. Having cleared that up, the boyos at carwow have also tested the braking prowess of the 205 and 206 series. You'd expect the heavier car to brake a bit worse from 100 miles per hour (around 160 kilometers per hour), but rather surprisingly, it stopped in a shorter distance than its predecessor.
Truth be told, the tires on that C 63 S E Performance are far superior to those of the C 63 S. Their dimensions are pretty different as well: 265/35 by 20 inches and 275/35 by 20 inches results in larger contact patches than the 245/40 R18s and 265/40 R18s of the 205-series C 63 S T-Modell.
Even though the plug-in hybrid station wagon aced every single performance test, Mat and Nicholas agree that it’s lacking in terms of aural pleasure and emotion. "The new car has basically won everything apart from our hearts," said Mat Watson.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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