Kotters
///Member
This week I've spent plenty time at Z with the new C63 and today I got a few laps in the M4. (I've also done plenty laps the the M3)
Plenty has been said about the M so I'll focus on the 63.
First and foremost it has to be said... the new AMG 4.0L V8 is EPIC!!!!
It is brilliant, there is very little lag and the torque from even low RPM is available in bucket loads. It feels (and is) more torquey than the F10 M5.
Its been earmarked for the long term replacement of the 5,5L and any concerns over the reduction in torque can be waved away.
The rest of the package, Well, it looks much better in the flesh than the pictures suggest, but its far from handsome. Parked next to the M3 it just isn't as well proportioned and looks bulky and heavy.
Very much the athlete vs the bruiser.
Inside its typical C class, with very little to make it seem more special (Unless you spec the performance seats)
The loss of the gear shifter on the centre console makes you feel a little cheated, as the column shift is the same as you will find in the A class.
To drive: as expected the motor dominates the experience, the ESP light flashing away or if turned off, the tyres squeal in protest at anything over 1/2 throttle, snaking out of corners certainly gives you the grin factor, but it will wear thin very quickly on the more bumpy roads around JHB.
It certainly rides better than the M3 or any 3 series for that matter, making it the better daily by miles, if you have careful control over your right foot.
On track they are polar opposites, the 63 feels heavy and the new electronic steering is about as lifeless as it comes with very little feel on what the front end is doing, Push too fast into a corner and you greeted by bags of understeer, slow it down and it turns in with a slight delay that makes the placing the car a bit more difficult than expected.
Coming out of the tight turn 2 and feeding the power in, a very predictable and progressive slide is easy to control while a thick stream of white smoke pours from the tyres.
The brakes felt a bit spongy and there was alot of squirrelling under braking, but they seemed up to the job, but not all that confidence inspiring.
Overall I would say the C63 feels more M5 than M3.
Its not as sharp and doesn't try to be, the more I drive the M3/4 the more I fall for it, it talks to you in ways the C63 cant, it turns in with a touch and if you are smooth and work with it, is devastatingly good at banging in lap after lap and pushing you to try harder.The brakes are fantastic but slightly grumbly (all the M3/4 I've driven on track suffer from this).
Its the winger always waiting for his chance to break away.
The C63 feels like the flanker, Big and strong, yet capable of a surprising sidestep break, but never really born to do it or entirely comfortable doing it.
It is dynamically a much better package than the model it replaces, but falls short of the M.
So which would it be...?
Mon-Friday would be the C63
The weekend would be the M.
So logic dictates that you buy the C63, except if I did, I would always feel the M3 was the more rewarding car to drive, the one that despite what people say has more character... even if its a very clinical one.
I would buy the M3 and smile every time I'm told that the AMG is faster, sounds better and is more powerful.
But I'd know I've made the right choice every time I hit the shift paddle and it bangs up a gear, even if its speakers filled me with fake engines noises.
Basically, The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Plenty has been said about the M so I'll focus on the 63.
First and foremost it has to be said... the new AMG 4.0L V8 is EPIC!!!!
It is brilliant, there is very little lag and the torque from even low RPM is available in bucket loads. It feels (and is) more torquey than the F10 M5.
Its been earmarked for the long term replacement of the 5,5L and any concerns over the reduction in torque can be waved away.
The rest of the package, Well, it looks much better in the flesh than the pictures suggest, but its far from handsome. Parked next to the M3 it just isn't as well proportioned and looks bulky and heavy.
Very much the athlete vs the bruiser.
Inside its typical C class, with very little to make it seem more special (Unless you spec the performance seats)
The loss of the gear shifter on the centre console makes you feel a little cheated, as the column shift is the same as you will find in the A class.
To drive: as expected the motor dominates the experience, the ESP light flashing away or if turned off, the tyres squeal in protest at anything over 1/2 throttle, snaking out of corners certainly gives you the grin factor, but it will wear thin very quickly on the more bumpy roads around JHB.
It certainly rides better than the M3 or any 3 series for that matter, making it the better daily by miles, if you have careful control over your right foot.
On track they are polar opposites, the 63 feels heavy and the new electronic steering is about as lifeless as it comes with very little feel on what the front end is doing, Push too fast into a corner and you greeted by bags of understeer, slow it down and it turns in with a slight delay that makes the placing the car a bit more difficult than expected.
Coming out of the tight turn 2 and feeding the power in, a very predictable and progressive slide is easy to control while a thick stream of white smoke pours from the tyres.
The brakes felt a bit spongy and there was alot of squirrelling under braking, but they seemed up to the job, but not all that confidence inspiring.
Overall I would say the C63 feels more M5 than M3.
Its not as sharp and doesn't try to be, the more I drive the M3/4 the more I fall for it, it talks to you in ways the C63 cant, it turns in with a touch and if you are smooth and work with it, is devastatingly good at banging in lap after lap and pushing you to try harder.The brakes are fantastic but slightly grumbly (all the M3/4 I've driven on track suffer from this).
Its the winger always waiting for his chance to break away.
The C63 feels like the flanker, Big and strong, yet capable of a surprising sidestep break, but never really born to do it or entirely comfortable doing it.
It is dynamically a much better package than the model it replaces, but falls short of the M.
So which would it be...?
Mon-Friday would be the C63
The weekend would be the M.
So logic dictates that you buy the C63, except if I did, I would always feel the M3 was the more rewarding car to drive, the one that despite what people say has more character... even if its a very clinical one.
I would buy the M3 and smile every time I'm told that the AMG is faster, sounds better and is more powerful.
But I'd know I've made the right choice every time I hit the shift paddle and it bangs up a gear, even if its speakers filled me with fake engines noises.
Basically, The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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