W213 E63 questions

[nickjonesn4]

Evening all,

Just had clearance from the missus to find a replacement for our beloved E55k estate. To my surprise she has agreed to a new-ish E63 as long as it's the 4 l bi-turbo. A few questions for owners out there....

What's the mpg doing 50% motorway/50% b road driving (sensibly)?
Any common issues with ownership/faults to look for?
Can I fit a tow bar (boat not caravan!)?
Any of the options 100% critical or waste of time?
Can you still raise the suspension for extra ground clearance?
MSL experiences with a good map, where have people got to?

Would really appreciate any input. The car will be doing 200 miles a week and then occasional long distance trips with the family. I've agonized over replacing our E55k but now is the time

 

[nickjonesn4]

The bargain struck to get this done is replacing our Golf R with a Renault Zoe

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

What's the mpg doing 50% motorway/50% b road driving (sensibly)?
I was looking at my average MPG page yesterday and it showed 20.5 mpg from purchase (December 2017, 15k miles). That has been a whole range of driving styles and road types. 18mpg spirited and 26mpg cruising on motorways. However about 70% of the time I drive in Sport+ mode to get the best sound, so I know 20.5 can easily be improved.

Any common issues with ownership/faults to look for?
No major problems for me.
Kick to open boot sensor (no big deal) is temperamental, according to MBUK this is due to the diffuser.
Issues with EML what was traced to faulty ignition coils, replaced under warranty. If I recall correctly I also read on the US of A forum that a few owners over there also had the same issues.

Can I fit a tow bar (boat not caravan!)?
I can't comment on this although if you could fit a tow bar it would involve cutting into the bumper and diffuser which I would imagine would come with lots of tears and cringing.

Any of the options 100% critical or waste of time?
Performance exhaust - Must have, big sound improvement when it's turned on.
360* camera - For me it is a huge bonus and a must have. If/when I buy another car without it, I would seriously miss it.
Heads Up Display - Nice to have, but I could live without it. It's handy when pressing on so you don't need to move your eyes too far from the road.
I have the performance seats and love them. As I'm sure you will have already read a mixture of reports. It seems like physical size and build could be a factor.
I don't have the drivers package with Distronic, apparently it wasn't available with performance seats and the Edition 1 (which I have) only came with performance seats.

Can you still raise the suspension for extra ground clearance?
Yes, but I'm not sure by how far and if it would suit your needs or not. I haven't used it apart from when it automatically adjusts in different driving modes/speeds.

MSL experiences with a good map, where have people got to?
I don't have any remap experience, but I know Acid at MSL took his own W213 E63s Ed1 to another level.


I hope at least some of that helps.

 

[MercedesDriver]

To my surprise she has agreed to a new-ish E63 as long as it's the 4 l bi-turbo.

I wish mine give me such ultimatum.

 

[nickjonesn4]

I hope at least some of that helps.

Thankyou for taking the time to write that. Super helpful

 

[nickjonesn4]

I wish mine give me such ultimatum.

I threatened her with a Taycan Turbo S which also helped

 

[Graveworm]

What's the mpg doing 50% motorway/50% b road driving (sensibly)?
I was looking at my average MPG page yesterday and it showed 20.5 mpg from purchase (December 2017, 15k miles). That has been a whole range of driving styles and road types. 18mpg spirited and 26mpg cruising on motorways. However about 70% of the time I drive in Sport+ mode to get the best sound, so I know 20.5 can easily be improved.

Any common issues with ownership/faults to look for?
No major problems for me.
Kick to open boot sensor (no big deal) is temperamental, according to MBUK this is due to the diffuser.
Issues with EML what was traced to faulty ignition coils, replaced under warranty. If I recall correctly I also read on the US of A forum that a few owners over there also had the same issues.

Can I fit a tow bar (boat not caravan!)?
I can't comment on this although if you could fit a tow bar it would involve cutting into the bumper and diffuser which I would imagine would come with lots of tears and cringing.

Any of the options 100% critical or waste of time?
Performance exhaust - Must have, big sound improvement when it's turned on.
360* camera - For me it is a huge bonus and a must have. If/when I buy another car without it, I would seriously miss it.
Heads Up Display - Nice to have, but I could live without it. It's handy when pressing on so you don't need to move your eyes too far from the road.
I have the performance seats and love them. As I'm sure you will have already read a mixture of reports. It seems like physical size and build could be a factor.
I don't have the drivers package with Distronic, apparently it wasn't available with performance seats and the Edition 1 (which I have) only came with performance seats.

Can you still raise the suspension for extra ground clearance?
Yes, but I'm not sure by how far and if it would suit your needs or not. I haven't used it apart from when it automatically adjusts in different driving modes/speeds.

MSL experiences with a good map, where have people got to?
I don't have any remap experience, but I know Acid at MSL took his own W213 E63s Ed1 to another level.


I hope at least some of that helps.

Not much to add except the extra ground clearance is 25mm when selected. You can't fit a towbar to the E63s or E63

 

[sof]

hello everybody

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

I was looking at my average MPG page yesterday and it showed 20.5 mpg from purchase

Not that it makes a whole load of difference, but I've just remembered that the figure of 20.5 mpg had quite a few <5 mpg 'trips' before the computer reset itself therefore lowering the average mpg. These are possibly times when I've only moved the car a short distance before turning it off again .

Mercedes Me app is showing a massive 22.4 mpg. I've never performed a real life fuel consumption test.

 

[nickjonesn4]

I wish mine give me such ultimatum.

I threatened her with a Taycan Turbo S which also helped

Not much to add except the extra ground clearance is 25mm when selected. You can't fit a towbar to the E63s or E63

Nice one. I cant bring myself to buy an SUV so this is good news

 

[nickjonesn4]

Not that it makes a whole load of difference, but I've just remembered that the figure of 20.5 mpg had quite a few <5 mpg 'trips' before the computer reset itself therefore lowering the average mpg. These are possibly times when I've only moved the car a short distance before turning it off again .

Mercedes Me app is showing a massive 22.4 mpg. I've never performed a real life fuel consumption test.

Thanks.

 

[nickjonesn4]

This looks like very good value, seems to tick all the spec boxes and I prefer the 19s

Auto Trader logo

 

[Londonscottish]

This looks like very good value, seems to tick all the spec boxes and I prefer the 19s

Auto Trader logo

That looks stunning. Love the colour (biased). Also like combo of black leather with the pan roof to lighten it up a bit. Sits fine on the 19's.

 

[Petrol Pete]

This looks like very good value, seems to tick all the spec boxes and I prefer the 19s

Auto Trader logo

Nice car. Again, the Pedantic part of me comes out, has the seller of a £60K even looked at his advert ? every photo out of focus. How is that even possible these day's ?
Mini rant over.
Sorry, carry on guy's , as you were.

 

[Steve84N]

This looks like very good value, seems to tick all the spec boxes and I prefer the 19s

The non S cars are notably cheaper. Few differences like less power and smaller brakes but still an epic car.

 

[nickjonesn4]

The non S cars are notably cheaper. Few differences like less power and smaller brakes but still an epic car.

The £20k premium for the S seems crazy TBH when a trip to MSL can doubtless narrow the power gap for a few hundred quid.

 

[MrRight]

yes but only the power gap can be narrowed. i have a vague memory from when I flirted with the idea of buying the E class:
the E63s has an E diff vs mechanical in the 63.
Active engine mounts on the E63s for more stability.
the 63s has race mode and drift mode but again not sure who wants that.
possibly bigger brakes too.
slightly uprated nappa leather interior and slightly better trim and steering wheel etc.

ultimately I went with a c63s because I prefer rwd and a smaller car but the E definitely is a step up for sure.

having driven a c63 and c63s at MB world , there are differences between the two set ups for sure but you may not need the additional stability at the limit and save a whole bunch of cash it seems by skipping the pricey s variant. not sure how apparent the differences are on the bigger E

 

[nickjonesn4]

yes but only the power gap can be narrowed. i have a vague memory from when I flirted with the idea of buying the E class:
the E63s has an E diff vs mechanical in the 63.
Active engine mounts on the E63s for more stability.
the 63s has race mode and drift mode but again not sure who wants that.
possibly bigger brakes too.
slightly uprated nappa leather interior and slightly better trim and steering wheel etc.

ultimately I went with a c63s because I prefer rwd and a smaller car but the E definitely is a step up for sure.

having driven a c63 and c63s at MB world , there are differences between the two set ups for sure but you may not need the additional stability at the limit and save a whole bunch of cash it seems by skipping the pricey s variant. not sure how apparent the differences are on the bigger E

Thanks thats helpful, was being a bit flippant as the S is obviously a mega car. I will never take it on a track however so most of those features whilst technically impressive are pretty irrelevant.

 

[MrRight]

Thanks thats helpful, was being a bit flippant as the S is obviously a mega car. I will never take it on a track however so most of those features whilst technically impressive are pretty irrelevant.

the drift mode definitely is irrelevant. on the few occasions one pushes the car to eight tenths, then the other upgrades start to pay dividends. if I was buying one mainly for motorway cruising etc I'd be more focused on comfort and driver aids such as distronic and maybe smaller rims and lastly maybe not get the bucket seats. it would definitely also need the performance exhaust box ticked and the longer the warranty, the better too ...

 

[AMGeed]

I too was set on getting an E63S albeit in 212 guise until I looked further into what I was getting for the extra premium. The LSD is the only thing it needs for my kind of use (not tracking at all) and that can be added for around £1500 so I settled for a non S and went for the equipment I did want. As noted, if its more power you need, MSL can do the deed for a reasonable amount, but I doubt you'll need it with 600+bhp as stock.
Happy hunting!