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Originally Posted by Luwalira I beleive the C63 won't be near as hardcore as the RS4 or the coming M3. MB builds luxury cars and luxury refers back to the word comfort. Comfort is exactly what people expect when they buy a MB, even a high performing one. Hopefully MB will give us a C63 black edition or something similar. |
I agree with you for the most part. The new C-AMG car likely will not be as driver focused and hardcore than the upcoming M3.
But I do want to point out one thing: the small AMG cars (like the C55/SLK55) are NOT very comfortable, compared to the non-AMG models. Prior to owning the C55, I actually had a C240 Classic (probably one of the slowest petrol C-class models). The C240 was extremely quiet and very comfortable, especially for such a small car. The ride was EXCELLENT, with relatively slow steering, which made high speed cruising a breeze, very much what you would expect from a Mercedes Benz saloon. Then, I test drove the C55 when I was thinking of upgrading. My first impressions were: 1) This engine and exhaust is so damn loud! 2) The ride is so bumpy and harsh. 3) The car doesn't feel as "stable" on the highway because the steering was so sensitive.
Of course, this was relative to my old C240. Then I drove my friend's M3. That made the C55 feel refined, comfortable and more stable on the highway. So it's all relative.
The price for better handling is a harsher ride, unless you have an adaptive or adjustable suspension. Compared to the C32 it replaced, the C55 was significantly much better in every performance/handling category. But the C32 offerred a much better ride.
With the upcoming C-AMG car, I was hoping that they would try to take the M3 head on in terms of driving dynamics. It's not a matter of whether they can, but whether they WANT to. The C-AMG car will always be compared to the M3 or S4/RS4 type of vehicles. And for a car of this small size, car mags will want to emphasize performance, as opposed to "overall" appeal as a daily driver (like the E63/M5/S6 arena), where cars like the M5 may not be considered ideal. Therefore, unless the C-AMG car becomes as driver focussed as the M3, it will never win the typical car mag comparisions which emphasize performance over daily driving.
Another thing is promotion by the parent company. Everyone knows about the M3 and its performance. There has never been much buzz about C-AMG cars. Heck, most people in the internet world consider the S4 to be a better performer than the C55, when in reality the C55 outperforms the S4 in almost every category. When people think about AMG cars, they think about cars like the E55/E63, CLS55/63, S55/63/65, SL55/65. Even the SLK55 gets much more press than the C55 ever did. MB AMG's strength is in the higher end cars, while BMW rules with the M3 in the entry level.