Review: Mercedes S212 E 63 AMG Estate (2011-13)

Overview

Officially released in Australia in October 2011, the Mercedes-Benz S212 E 63 AMG was a high-performance, five-seat wagon. Manufactured in Sindelfingen, Germany, the rear-wheel drive E 63 AMG Estate was powered by a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine that was mated to a seven-speed semi-automatic transmission.

M157 biturbo V8 engine

The M157 V8 engine had an aluminium block with cast-in aluminium-silicon (Silitec) cylinder liners, forged crankshaft made of 38MnS6BY steel alloy (a combination of manganese, sulphur, boron and yttrium) with eight counterweights and rotating in five main bearings, fracture-split forged connecting rods, an aluminium cylinder head, double overhead camshafts (driven by three high-performance chains), variable intake and exhaust camshaft adjustment over a range of 40 degrees via four pivoting actuators, four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 10.0:1. Furthermore, the M 157 had a dry weight of 204 kg, maximum engine speed of 6400 rpm and Bosch MED 17.7.3 control unit.

Significantly, the M157 engine had spray-guided direct injection with piezo fuel injectors (operating at 100 to 200 bar on a demand-related basis), a Garrett MGT2260MSL turbocharger for each cylinder bank (welded to the exhaust manifold) and air/water intercooling. For the standard E 63 AMG (386 kW), maximum charge pressure was 1.0 bar; for the E 63 AMG Performance Package (410 kW), however, maximum charge was 1.3 bar. For greater efficiency, the M157 engine had an ‘ECO start/stop system’ – which the driver could disable if desired – and multi-spark ignition whereby the spark plugs could fire multiple times during the combustion sequence for more efficient combustion.

With the M157 V8 engine, the E 63 AMG Estate could accelerate from rest to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, or 4.3 seconds with the AMG Performance Package. Over the ADR 81/02 test cycle, fuel consumption was 10.1 litres per 100 km.

AMG Speedshift MCT transmission

First introduced in the R230 SL 63 AMG in 2008, the seven-speed ‘AMG Speedshift MCT’ (Multi Clutch Technology) had a compact, wet start-up clutch that operated in an oil bath rather than a conventional torque converter. The AMG Speedshift transmission had four individual driving modes which the driver could select via a rotary dial:

• Controlled Efficiency, ‘C’, for softer throttle response, smooth gearshifts and early upshifts to minimise fuel consumption;
• Sport, ‘S’, for greater throttle response, higher engine speeds before upshifting, greater willingness to downshift and 20 per cent faster gearshifts;
• Sport plus, ‘S+’, for 20 per cent faster gearshifts relative to Sport; and,
• Manual, ‘M’, for maximum throttle response and gearshifts 10 per cent faster than Sport plus (as quickly as 100 milliseconds). For fast gearshifts under full loads, the engine could partially suppress individual cylinders by interrupting ignition and injection.

Other features of the AMG Speedshift transmission included:

• Automatic throttle-blipping on downshifts;
• A double-declutching function for multiple downshifts; and,
• A ‘Race Start’ function.

For the M157 engine, the gear ratios for the ‘AMG Speedshift’ transmission were 4.38 (1st), 2.86 (2nd), 1.92 (3rd), 1.37 (4th), 1.00 (5th), 0.82 (6th) and 0.73 (7th), while the final drive ratio was 2.65.

Dimensions and body

Compared to its S211 E 63 AMG Estate predecessor, the S212 E 63 AMG Estate was 6 mm shorter (at 4913 mm), 50 mm wider (1872 mm), 10 mm lower (1490 mm) and had a 20 mm longer wheelbase (2874 mm); kerb mass decreased by 3 kg to 1952 kg. Inside, cargo capacity was 695 litres with the rear seats in position, though this increased to 1950 litres when the rear seats were folded flat.

Suspension

The Mercedes-Benz S212 E 63 AMG Estate had three-link front suspension with MacPherson struts and multi-link rear suspension. The suspension featured electronically-controlled dampers (‘AMG Ride Control’) which used sensors to measure drive and brake torque, steering angle, lateral acceleration, ride height, direction of motion and body roll, with the objective of reducing the roll angle of the body. Furthermore, the driver could select from three settings:

• Comfort: for soft damping characteristics;
• Sport: on average, 40 per cent firmer than Comfort; and,
• Sport plus: provided even higher damping resistance.

The rear suspension included air springs that kept the rear of the vehicle at a constant height regardless of load (‘automatic level control’).

Compared to the standard S212 E-Class , changes for the E 63 AMG included:

• A unique steel-sprung front axle with a 56 mm wider track (relative to the W212 E 500 ), new steel spring struts, new control arms, new wheel bearings and new wheel location for additional negative camber; and,
• Rear suspension with a new subframe mounting for greater stability, AMG-specific air springs, and additional negative camber.

Steering

The Mercedes-Benz S212 E 63 AMG Estate had electromechanical speed-sensitive steering.

Safety equipment

Standard safety equipment for the Mercedes-Benz S212 E 63 AMG Estate included dual front airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, front row pelvis airbags, front and rear side airbags, curtain airbags for the front and second row occupants, ABS, electronic brake force distribution, brake assist, electronic stability control, traction control, active front seat head restraints (‘Neck-Pro’) and front and outer rear seatbelts with pre-tensioners and load limiters. Furthermore, the electronic stability control system had a ‘sport’ mode which had higher thresholds for intervention and could also be deactivated.

Additional safety technologies – fitted as standard – for the E 63 AMG Estate included:

• Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Pre-Safe’ which anticipated and prepared for collisions by tensioning the seatbelts, adjusting the seat positions for optimal airbag deployment and closing the sunroof (if open);
• Lane departure warning (‘Lane Keeping Assist’);
• Blind spot monitoring (‘Blind Spot Assist’); and,
• Driver fatigue monitoring (‘Attention Assist’).

The E 63 AMG Estate was also fitted with an ‘active’ bonnet which would automatically rise in the event of a collision to cushion a pedestrian’s impact.

Brakes

The Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG Estate had 360 mm by 36 mm ventilated and perforated front brake discs with six-piston callipers and 360 mm by 26 mm ventilated and perforated rear discs with four-piston callipers.

Available as an extra-cost option, the AMG ceramic composite brakes were manufactured from carbon-fibre-reinforced ceramic in a vacuum at 1700 degrees Celsius. The front ceramic brake discs were 402 mm by 39 mm at the front and 360 mm by 32 mm at the rear.

Euro NCAP testing

In Euro NCAP testing , a 2010 Mercedes-Benz W212 E 220 CDI sedan received a five star safety rating which included an 86 per cent adult occupant protection rating and a 77 per child occupant protection rating. In the frontal offset impact test, there was a slight risk of serious chest and leg injury for the front occupants; maximum points were awarded in the side and pole impact tests. Under ANCAP’s methodology , this testing resulted in an adult occupant protection rating of 34.88 out of 37.

Features: Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG Estate

Standard features for the Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG Estate included 19-inch forged AMG alloy wheels, 9.0J x 19-inch front wheels with 255/35 R19 tyres and 9.5J x 19-inch rear wheels with 285/30 R19 tyres, a fifteen speaker Harman Kardon Logic7 surround sound system, six-disc CD player, auxiliary inputs (3.5mm/USB/iPod) and MP3/WMA/AAC compatibility, Mercedes-Benz’s COMAND APS (Cockpit Management and Data Auto Pilot System) with a seven-inch colour display, HDD satellite navigation, CD/DVD player, 6GB HDD music register, TV tuner (analogue and digital), Bluetooth connectivity and voice recognition (‘Linguatronic’), three-zone climate control air conditioning (‘Thermotronic’), AMG front sports seats with active bolsters, Nappa leather upholstery, multi-contour front seats with power adjustment, cruise control with variable limiter (‘Speedtronic’), directional bi-xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, rear fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors with park guidance display (‘Parktronic’), 1/3 to 2/3 split and folding rear seats, an AMG Performance steering wheel with gearshift paddles, remote central locking, power windows and heated mirrors, a power adjustable steering column (for height), front seat memory settings, push-button start (‘keyless go’), automatically dimming rear view and door mirrors, Alcantara roof lining and interior trim, a power-operated panoramic glass sunroof, ambient lighting, 12 volt power outlet, tinted windows, a power-operated rear blind and manual rear door blinds, velour floor mats, AMG instrument cluster including ‘Racetimer’, a cargo cover, trip computer, motion-sensing alarm and an immobiliser.

Related links

• Press Kit: Mercedes-Benz S212.I E-Class Estate (October 2009)
• Press Kit: Mercedes-Benz S212.I E 63 AMG (October 2009)
• Wikipedia.org: Mercedes-Benz W212 E-Class