Mercedes-Benz AMG S 63 Saloon Review & Prices

The Mercedes-AMG S63 E-Performance is a plug-in hybrid, and if that makes it sound like some saintly Toyota Prius alternative, well… The reality is that this big, traditional, luxury limo mixes V8 and electric power for a total of 791hp. Saintly? It’s as if Mary Berry suddenly decided to become a Hells Angel.

The big Merc’s just not all that thrilling to look at. With that incredible power output and all that high-tech, you’d think that the bodywork might shout about it a little more. Instead, the AMG S63 E-Performance looks very restrained, and is basically the same as any common-or-garden diesel S-Class.

You do get AMG’s ‘Panamericana’ grille and deeper bumpers, together with some shiny alloy wheels, but if you want to shout about your wealth and performance, this is not the car for you. On second thoughts, maybe that’s a good thing…

The S63’s 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 engine makes 604hp all by itself, and you’d kind of think that would be enough. However, AMG’s engineers looked at it and simply said: “More.”

To amplify the V8’s performance, the S63 gets a 187hp e-motor and a 13kWh battery which you can plug into the mains to charge up. In theory, that gives you a handy city-friendly electric range of around 20 miles (although 15 is probably closer to the truth), which means you can slip through ULEZ zones nice and easily.

However, the electric motor isn’t really there to make the S63 more economical, it’s there to ramp up the performance and it does just that, taking the big Merc to within sight of 800hp, and giving it a 0-62mph time of just 3.3 seconds. Ask nicely, and AMG will even take the speed limiter off the car, giving it a top speed of 180mph (assuming you know someone with an Autobahn in their back garden).

To corral all of that power, there’s 4MATIC four-wheel drive and active engine mounts to prevent the big V8’s weight from upsetting things mid-corner. There’s also rear-wheel steering, adaptive air suspension and even an active anti-roll system. All of that adds up to 2.5 tonnes – and yet this heavy bird still flies…

When you want to change how the S63 drives, you just twiddle the AMG drive control switch on the steering wheel and choose from Electric, Comfort, Battery Hold, Sport, Sport+, Slippery and Individual driving modes.

Inside, you get big screens (the iPad lookalike on the dash is 12.8 inches across, and easy to use) and the sort of luxury you’d expect from an S-Class. There’s quilted leather seats with pillow-soft headrests, a choice of open-pore wood trim, or wood that’s been inlaid with strips of aluminium to make it look like the Panamericana grille. There are more screens in the rear, and acres of legroom too, plus a fabulous Burmester sound system.

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Well, it’s an S-Class Mercedes with AMG performance and a plug-in hybrid system. So by most counts it’s just shatteringly expensive. You could buy a 571hp V8-engined Audi S8 supersaloon and have enough change left over for an Audi RS3 for the shopping runs. Or you could buy a plug-in hybrid BMW M5 and still have enough left for a nice 1 Series hatch. Even the hybrid-powered BMW M760e limo is less pricey than the S-Class, and while it has less power than the Merc, it’s no less imposing to look at. There’s also the option of a Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which matches the Mercedes for power and price, even if it’s cramped in the back compared to the AMG.