New Mercedes-AMG C63 review

The all-new Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance you see here is arguably the most important road car to come from Mercedes' performance sub-brand in decades.

That's because it marks the moment the brand’s electrification strategy – honed in Formula One – makes its way into a mainstream performance car. Think of it as an AMG for the Drive to Survive generation.

So, gone is the simple set-up of a 4.0-litre V8 powering the rear wheels. In its place is an all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid system featuring a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a 6.1kWh battery pack; you even get rear-wheel steering.

All that makes the new AMG C63 – which is available in estate car as well as saloon form – quicker and more powerful than the previous one by every measure.

Nonetheless, Mercedes is taking a bit of a risk here, because for 25 years its V8 engine has given this super saloon – based on the Mercedes C-Class – unique appeal. An eight-cylinder engine has character; character which helped set the C63 apart from the Audi RS4 Avant with its muted V6-engine and the ballistically quick but aurally underwhelming BMW M3.

While it is hard to imbue a plug-in hybrid with personality, it's not impossible (see the Ferrari 296 GTB for proof). So is the new Mercedes-AMG C63 one of the best performance cars you can get, or should you look elsewhere? Read on to find out how the latest C63 stacks up against key rivals, from the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio to the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo...

We loved the previous-generation Mercedes-AMG C63 because it was a wonderfully simple machine. You had a big V8 engine up front that sent power to the rear wheels, a combination that gave it proper muscle-car brutishness. And while it did have a multi-stage stability control system, you could turn it off and indulge in its expressive, transparent handling balance.

The new car is nothing like that. Before leaving our office car park, we spent a good 10 minutes scrolling through menu after menu to work out exactly what driving mode did what. During that time we learned there are eight driving modes, three stability control settings and four levels of regenerative braking.

There are also four AMG Dynamics programmes labelled Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master, which in turn control numerous sub-functions, including three steering calibrations. We’d stop short of calling it overwhelming but it’s not the kind of system you can get your head round on the fly.

Surprisingly, crawling around town in Electric mode feels entirely natural (officially, the PHEV battery gives the C63 an electric-only range of seven miles). Less natural is what happens when you put your foot down and the four-cylinder engine kicks in. You see, while we love the non-hybridised version of this engine in the Mercedes-AMG A45 S, it simply doesn’t sound exotic enough for a performance car costing close to six figures.

Nor does it feel quite as punchy as its 671bhp and official 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds suggest. Sure, the instant hit of torque (up to 236lb ft) from the electric motors gives you a proper kick in the back when accelerating up to the speed limit, but the petrol engine doesn’t rev as freely towards the red line as the old V8. In other words, there's little drama – and therefore precious little temptation to select manual mode and enjoy running it up and down the gears.

At 2,111kg for the saloon and 2,190kg for the estate car version, the C63 is heavier than all its main rivals, but it must be said that AMG has done a good job of hiding its mass in the bends. Thanks to a quick steering rack and a well-judged rear-wheel-steering system, you can place the car exactly where you want it.

And should you turn off the stability control system, it’s possible to get the rear end to rotate gently mid-corner. Point to point, it would give an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio or a BMW M3 a real run for its money.

What the C63 isn’t, though, is interactive. And that’s a problem when the Quadrifoglio and M3 are more than willing to let their hair down and indulge you with their playful, rear-biased handling balance.

Mercedes can boast all it wants about how the C63 was developed with input from Mercedes-AMG's F1 and Formula E teams, but super saloons are not about lap times – for that, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or a Caterham would be a better bet. Instead, these cars are about having fun – and at the moment BMW and Alfa Romeo do it better.

The Mercedes-AMG C63 comes with an electrically adjustable steering column and racy semi-bucket front seats with integrated head restraints, which are also fully electric. In other words, nobody should have an issue with finding a suitable posture. The seats are quite hard though, so expect a little bit of back stiffness on long journeys.

The driving position itself is on a par with that of the BMW M3, with the wheel, pedals and seat all lining up neatly. The driver’s seat is also set low and allows you to adopt a sporty, hunkered-down position. The downside, of course, is that visibility isn’t brilliant – although a high-definition surround-view camera, plus front and rear parking sensors, are fitted as standard to assist when parking. 

As with any other Mercedes C-Class, the C63’s interior is dominated by screens. Along with the crisp 12.3in driver’s display, there’s a large portrait-oriented 11.9in infotainment touchscreen that can be operated by touch, by voice or via the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel.

The central touchscreen responds quickly to inputs and has super-sharp graphics. And while it is frustrating that the climate controls are now touchscreen-based, at least they remain fixed on screen whatever else you happen to be fiddling with. 

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration is provided as standard, and there’s wireless phone-charging and two USB-C sockets in the centre console to charge up your devices. Music lovers will be pleased to hear that a 13-speaker Burmester surround-sound system comes as standard. 

There’s a real flamboyance to the C63's interior, and a plush mix of soft Nappa leather and carbon-fibre trim. It has a much more premium finish than the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio but in places doesn’t quite match the solid build quality of the Audi RS4 Avant and BMW M3.

One of the best things about performance cars is that you get sports-car performance and handling in a package that’s as practical as a regular saloon or estate car. But that’s not quite the case with the Mercedes-AMG C63. 

Space in the back, for example, is acceptable but not exactly generous. Because while the head room on offer is fine, it’s unlikely that three people will be able to travel in comfort in the back due to the large central tunnel the middle passenger will need to straddle. If you’re planning to do regular five-up road trips we’d recommend taking a look at the physically larger Audi RS6 Performance. 

But the biggest drawback of the C63, in both saloon and estate form, is the boot. In their quest for a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, the AMG engineers have placed the C63’s battery pack directly above the rear axle. The does improve handling balance, but unlike a regular Mercedes C-Class (which has a flat luggage compartment), the C63's boot has a big lump in the the floor.

The result is 279 litres of boot space for the saloon and 324 litres for the C63 estate. For comparison, a BMW M3 Touring offers up 500 litres of space, an Audi RS4 Avant has 505 litres and an RS6 Performance 565 litres. The Merc's figures, therefore, are simply not good enough, especially when the space is compromised by an uneven floor, making it impossible to pack your bags in neatly or take your dog along with you.

You do at least get 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats for those occasions when you need to carry extra paraphernalia, and a powered tailgate comes as standard.

The Mercedes-AMG C63's ​​F1-inspired hybrid technology doesn’t come cheap, and the car commands a hefty premium over the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Audi RS4 Avant and BMW M3.

The C63 is currently only available in either Night Edition Premium Plus trim or Carbon Edition trim – the difference between the two is purely cosmetic and both include all the equipment you’d ever need. 

You get keyless entry, 20in forged wheels, a panoramic roof, a Nappa leather interior, ambient lighting, a head-up display, carbon-fibre trim, an 11.9in infotainment system and Mercedes’ excellent Digital Light headlights, which can project illuminated symbols, such as zebra crossings, on to the road.

Being a plug-in hybrid you might expect the C63 to be rather abstemious. In reality, the 6.1kWh battery has been developed with performance in mind, rather than efficiency; it can charge and discharge very quickly to make sure you always have some electric power in reserve on a country road.

However, on longer, more relaxed jaunts where you’re not making the most of the regenerative braking, the battery’s seven miles of electric range depletes very quickly, leaving the four-cylinder engine to do all the heavy lifting. In a situation such as this you’ll be lucky to get more than 30mpg, which is only slightly better than the non-hybridised M3 (in our Real MPG tests the BMW averaged 26.3mpg). 

And don’t go thinking the plug-in hybrid tech will make the C63 a cheap company car. It officially puts out less CO2 than an M3 or Giulia Quadrifoglio, but still sits in the highest benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax bracket. The electric Porsche Taycan and Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo are much cheaper for BIK tax.

When it was tested by Euro NCAP for safety in 2022, the Mercedes C-Class was awarded five stars out five, and scored highly for adult and child occupant protection. The BMW 3 Series was tested using different procedures and the Audi A4 rating has expired, so drawing useful comparisons is impossible. However, all versions of the Mercedes benefit from automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, active lane-keeping assist and traffic-sign detection. 

The latest C-Class didn't feature in our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey but Mercedes came a disappointing 24th place out of 32 manufacturers, below BMW in 12th but above Audi in 26th.

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