A month and over 2,000 miles in I think I'm qualified to settle a point of conversation that inevitably occurs whenever the C63 is discussed. And settle it, I hope, definitively so we don't have to talk about it again and can concentrate on fun stuff like drifting around Mercedes-Benz World's skid pan.
Hold the phone - turns out it's a bit thirsty
Of COURSE it's thirsty. There's a pretty obvious '6.3' badge on the side of it so it's not like they didn't warn you.
What's emerged though is that on a cruise it's consistently thirsty, by which I mean fuel consumption hovers around the low 20s however you drive it. I've driven to Wales and back at a 'steady motorway cruise' with mountain bikes on the roof and got around 21mpg. I do the stop-start 40-mile M25 commute and get 22ish. I've had to crawl along in the slow lane having been caught out by the reserve light coming on seconds after the needle drops below the quarter tank mark and got 24mpg. And on the way to Sunday Service the other day I was at a cruise-controlled 55mph waiting for a mate to catch me up on the M25 for about 10 miles and just scraped 25.
So basically it doesn't make much difference whether you're mincing or mashing the throttle. I'm rather pleased with this discovery. Mainly because it means there's naff all incentive for trying to drive slowly to save fuel. PHer and C63 owner Grant Hibbett would seem to agree, Tweeting "I find there's only 2-3mpg in bumbling along versus, erm, making progress" when I mentioned as much online.
Skidpan gentle on tyres, commute less so
Of course, start properly pressing on and the 507 will slurp down fuel in quarter-tank gulps. But if you're driving it like that you'll have more pressing concerns. Like 'is half a tank enough to do the next 10 miles?' or 'how long before they set up a road block?' Pays your money, etc.
Gripes thus far are few but include seats that don't go low enough, tyre roar that intrudes on otherwise peaceful cruising, the slightly off-set wheel and ... no, that's about it really. Oh, and I did set off one morning only to get a strident warning from the tyre pressure sensor. A lack of change meant I couldn't top it up at any of the air lines I passed, denial and self righteous rage seeing me bumble along the M25 until I found a Sainsbury's with a free to use air line. Mercedes Brentwood replaced the tyre on the press fleet account, the Conti Sport Contact 2 a burly £254 fitted if I'd been paying. So I'm glad I wasn't.
Gatecrashing the AMG lounge at Sunday Service
Meanwhile there are many things I love about this car but I've got six months to bore you with them so I'll conclude with this. Is there any other stat about your car even the automotively illiterate can appreciate beyond engine capacity? Most non-car folk couldn't honestly tell you whether 400hp is significantly better than 100 but engine size is so deeply engrained in motoring hierarchy you'll ALWAYS be able to get a response with this single Top Trumps stat.
I love it. I parked up next to a builder the other day and he wandered over and said 'What's that got in it, mate?' I told him. 'Get out of it. 6.2 litres? In that? No, you're having me on...' It never fails to tickle me. In a modern context it IS a truly outrageous number that goes beyond the wow factor of the performance or noise it makes. People look genuinely shocked that a grey Mercedes estate can pack so much heat.
You'll have read about the SLS Final Edition we've just driven; that 'my' family estate car with room for bikes, baby clobber and the rest has fundamentally the same engine under the bonnet is just magnificent. It's a properly special car this one, a sense that's only growing with every mile that passes. Along with a sense of inevitability that at some point hence I will put my own money into one.
FACT SHEET
Car: 2013 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507
Run by: Dan
On fleet since: March 2014
Mileage: 9,251
List price new: £68,470 before options (£80,075 as tested, comprising Privacy Glass £330, reversing camera £390, Lighting Package £150, three-zone climate control £590, Keyless Go £665, AMG Performance Media £2,040, Comand Online with six-disc changer £250, DAB £335, Harmon Kardon surround sound £650, phone pre-wiring with roof aerial £290, Designo Magno Platinum paint £3,660, rear axle limited-slip differential £1,745 and 19-inch wheels £510)
Last month at a glance: Lots of miles (some of them sideways) and fuel later grin isn't subsiding
A little corporate propaganda about the engine
for your viewing pleasure...
Photos (MB World): Dave Smith
