Moving from a W211 E55K to a W212 E63 Biturbo

[AMGeed]

As I have just changed cars, I thought it might be a useful thread for anyone contemplating doing the same at some point. I have noticed a few differences already, so as I discover this car and its reliability, performance etc, I'll put them here for reference.

First off, the interior of the 212 is a massive upgrade on what still is a very fine W211 interior. Looking back inside the E55, it appears really dated and I suppose as the design is 16 years old its not surprising.

Economy............not top of the list if you want to run an AMG, especially one with a 5.5 engine, but already the Biturbo is showing better economy despite heavy stop go traffic and some decent speed over the 140 mile drive home.

Sound....again, you can hear the 212 is much deeper than a modified 55 exhaust. It's a great sound and I may want more very soon

Now a couple of niggles.
Why does the setting always revert back to Comfort when you have been in Sport+ ?
And that Eco button. Always showing green on the dash so you have to turn it off every time you re start the car if you don't want the stop/start feature activated.
Two minor annoyances with the 212 that I noticed straight away.

Three pics..........look at the state of these exhaust tips. Going to have to break out the A̶n̶u̶s̶o̶l̶, Autosol tomorrow for a good clean . My OCD can't put up with that carbon and soot build up.


Heavy traffic and delays and still a resonable average MPG coming back home.


Finally, the dealer came good and replaced the missing E on the boot. It now reads as it should.


I'll update the thread as I find out more about this great car.

 

[HB]

Lovely Roger, as I keep saying we really miss ours. The 205 C63 is shite in comparison tbh.
Our 212 reset itself like this also. The C63 also resets to E after it’s off for a while too.

 

[350cls]

Regarding the gearbox settings are you referring to Roger? It's across the board on the w212 to revert back into the Comfort setting once the car has been shut down I imagine.

How are you finding the gearbox? Does your car have the 9 speed MCT box or is it the 7. I see you have been exploring with the sport+ . How are you finding the power?

 

[AMGeed]

It's a 7 speed Tom. I think the 9sp is only fitted to the later W213.

Yes I've had a play with all settings driving home.
Sport and Sport + hold on to the gears longer but I found + a bit jerky in stop start trafFIC.
Comfort is better for town/city driving I think.

The power is yet to be properly explored
Very similar to the 55k up to the NSL but I fancy the Biturbo may pull away at higher speed.
Whatever, its adequate as stock. Without driving a mapped one I have no idea how it would feel.

 

[350cls]

Ok sound Roger.
Yes I agree sport+ in stop start traffic not the best setting to be in its as if the car wants to nail the road. And obviously like the 55 gearbox in sport the car stars off in 1st gear rather than 2nd in comfort mode. The exhaust note in sport sport plus does bark louder I find. The gearbox has so many options it's a good set up really. Options for all types needs of driving.

It sounds like you are really pleased with it and it looks an amazing beast. Congratulations.

You will find you have to wash it more than your silver 55 lol.

 

[John]

All Mercs of a certain vintage and newer start in ECO modes.

It is the way of things now.

Not sure if it can be changed permanently with a bit of Star hacking though.

My CL has detached tailpipes and they were coked up.

Means it has been driven hard as I never had to clean them again having driven like an old fart!

 

[Will]

The gearbox settings and stop/start functions are all like that. As they are on every other modern car with stop/start I’ve driven. I’ve always assumed it was so it could meet the published emissions data regards taxation/VED etc. For what it’s worth the 212 6.2 doesn’t have the ‘ECO’ stop start

The 5.5 in my GL has it but to be honest I don’t actually find it intrusive in that. The engine is pretty quiet at warm idle and you soon get used to it

But yes I definitely found that annoying coming from the 211 ‘55 to the 212 ‘63 - the gearbox mode defaulting to ‘C’. I always thought the gearbox was far too lazy in C and too jerky in the S modes. The old fashioned 5-speed slushbox with a torque converter is so much smoother on the 55K but the 7G box is better when you’re pressing on and using all the revs and using the paddles etc.

I liked the interior of both the 211 and the 212. Personally the 212 feels a bit more modern and some of the tech etc is better but the 211 always had the edge for quality to me and the seats I found more comfortable on long journeys (would be interesting to see your thoughts after the decent run back)

Silly things like the lower door cards felt a bit plasticky and the inner door seals don’t have that velvet like edge just hard rubbery plastic etc, door bins etc the same. But then most (all?) modern MBs are like that now (my GL is the same). I liked the look of the gloss black trim in the photos (around the gear shifter) but it quickly gets dusty and covered in fingerprints

And the exhaust tips. Yes both my 212 (6.2) with 11k miles and my 22k miler 5.5 tips were pretty similar. They shouldn’t take you too long with some autosol and elbow grease. Are they separate on the 5.5? On my 6.2 model they weren’t - it’s a lot easier than cleaning them down on the ground. Otherwise wait until you take it somewhere with a ramp - will save your back and knees! Or ask your detailer to do them if you go down that route?

I think mid twenties mpg wise isn’t bad. A lot better than I get from the 5.5 in mine buts it far heavier of course.

Pleased to hear it’s home and safe, and please remember to look after the keys!

Health to enjoy

Will

 

[AMGeed]

^ Cheers Will, very informative.
No idea if the tips come off easily, if not its on my knees time.
Already got the keys in a pouch and double pressed the button on parking up to disable KG.
I have lots of cleaning to do tomorrow before I can take any decent photos.

Re Eco mode. I've been in an older generation Merc for so long this new tech is an unknown to me
But the car itself takes very little getting used to.
Comparisons are going to be difficult and in many cases unfair on the 55 simply because tech has moved on so much.
Oh, I like the reversing camera automatically appearing on the comand screen when you select reverse

 

[Will]

The 360 camera package I think you have is excellent, really handy for parking (and essential in the GL!)

Was something that wasn’t on my ‘must have’ list but that and the other driving assistance package stuff is really quite handy.

A bit like parking sensors, we all lived without them for years, but you wouldn’t want a car without them now?

But yes, otherwise with every generation of Mercedes-Benz you slip into them like a comfy pair of slippers, with the majority of functions and controls being familiar. Feels like home hey?

Did they sort out the KG start button for you btw?

 

[Will]

One thing I kept on thinking to myself - even up to this year (as I ran my 211 ‘55 the whole way through my 212 ‘63 ownership) - was just how good a car the 211 was for its time. Sure stuff has moved on, but in the same way an older iPhone does the majority of stuff you need, the E55K was an incredible car for its time and still does pretty much everything you need today. I mean even performance wise, the fact that a decade later there’s not that much in it, says a lot about the car for an early 00s launch?

How do you find the ride? I loved the ‘63 on the motorway or when pressing along on faster A-roads etc but around town I missed the gliding on air comfort of the full airmatic E55 with 18” wheels

 

[rockits]

Finally, the dealer came good and replaced the missing E on the boot. It now reads as it should.
View attachment 89005

Shame they didn't put it on right though [emoji3]

 

[AMGeed]

^ Looks OK to me

 

[Hakon]

I'm guessing that 25mpg is going to be the best MPG you'll ever see, again….. one of the first trips in the wagon saw 26mpg and I was amazed, since then its 19-23mpg.
I came from a 17 year old 2002 M5 and the mpg was similar to the E63 but the new stop start function was a serious irritant, it doesn't however take long to start to automatically depress the eco after each start.
My exhaust tips looked much like yours and don't require too much effort to get cleaned up nicely.

M5London gave me heads up on the below
"While cruising, if you release and tap (or just tap) the throttle in S+ it drops you into the lowest gear possible for that road speed, so you are ready to go if you need to.
Same with holding the down paddle for a couple of seconds....drops you into the lowest gear for the road speed...saves you having to click down through 3 gears for example."

Not many occasions really present themselves when the pedal can be mashed and held to the floor but things get quite ridiculous when that opportunity arises.
Have fun !

 

[AMGeed]

I only expect to see those figures on a run. Most of my driving is around town.
The tapping the pedal is one to try. Holding down the left paddle is similar to the E55 down button on the steering wheel.
All tips are welcome

 

[Will]

If it makes you feel better, my GL was showing 16mpg average on the trip computer when I got it, and has been steadily dropping ever since...tank takes 100L of V-power to fill up which at c. £1.45 a litre makes you realise the thirst

I had 9mpg the other day for an hour or so long journey. And I had accidentally turned the ECO off for some reason which was a bit silly in traffic. I think I turned it off before the traffic and then forgot about it - oops!

I’m sure with your sort of mileage the mpg won’t really matter. Just enjoy the soundtrack and clear its throat whenever the opportunity arises

 

[rockits]

^ Looks OK to me

Sorry! I couldn't help it or have slept if I didn't mention it [emoji3]. Maybe the pic but certainly doesn't look aligned correctly.

Doesn't affect a fantastic car though. It looks really nice. I look forward to when they drop a smidge more to make one accessible for my garage [emoji6]

 

[fabes]

Lovely day down here Roger for a thorough cleaning session (if you can find some shade)

Good luck!

PS 25mpgs not bad....

 

[st13phil]

Enjoy your cleaning session, Rog

On the subject of the Eco mode, I know none of us buy an AMG for fuel economy reasons, but the eco stop/start on the E63 with the wet clutch MCT 'box is pretty seamless in use and makes a huge difference to fuel consumption when driving in heavy traffic. And pulling away in second isn’t a huge performance hit either. Out on the open road it’s a different matter of course, but even then the wide torque band means you have plenty of performance available even with the 'box in Comfort mode.

The one mod I’d give serious consideration to is the fitting of an LSD or Quaife ATB diff. Personally, I found the Quaife diff to be better for use on the road than the AMG Locking diff, but both make a huge difference to how the car feels and behaves when pressing on.

 

[st13phil]

Oh, forgot to mention. If you don’t already have a DI Vessel, get one. It makes a massive difference to how long it takes to wash an Obsidian Black car.

 

[C43AMG]

I found the Quaife diff to be better for use on the road than the AMG Locking diff, but both make a huge difference to how the car feels and behaves when pressing on.

I couldn't agree more