Costs & verdict
Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is
It's not for us to say whether the world needs a 604bhp saloon or estate car, or whether spending the money on one is a sensible thing to do. But we will say one thing: buying or running a Mercedes-AMG E63 won't come cheap. The Audi RS6 Avant is the cheapest of its main rivals – E63 costs a similar amount to the entry-level BMW M5 Competition. The Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is way more expensive than all of them.
The E63 will tend to lose the most value as a percentage of its list price after three years compared with its key rivals. The M5 is not much better, but the RS6 and Panamera could save you thousands of pounds in depreciation. That's also why they tend to have cheaper PCP finance rates.
To help justify its weighty list price, the E63 S 4Matic+ Night Edition Premium Plus, as it's officially known, does come very well equipped. We've already mentioned the infotainment features and other additions, such as electric seat adjustment and parking aids, but you get plenty more on top.
That includes 20in alloy wheels, red brake calipers, unique AMG bumpers and side skirts, a limited-slip differential (LSD), heated front seats, nappa leather trim, keyless entry, three-zone climate control, privacy glass, a panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control with steering and lane-changing assistance, power-folding door mirrors, a sports exhaust, a powered tailgate with gesture control and multi-coloured interior ambient lighting. That's way more kit than you get as standard on the entry-level RS6.
Safety features include automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and lane-departure warning and assistance. Euro NCAP awarded the standard Mercedes E-Class its top five-star crash-test rating, with a particularly high score for adult occupancy protection. That was several years ago, though, and since then the tests have become much stiffer so it's almost impossible to compare the results with more modern car designs. The Panamera has not been tested by Euro NCAP.
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