Category: Executive 
Price Range: No data available
Powerful, smooth 6.2-litre V8; blend of performance and comfort; mean styling.
Pricey; not as agile as rivals; too many settings and gizmos.
Super saloon mixes impressive performance with everyday usability.
This is the E63 AMG, the range-topping Mercedes E-Class, fitted with the firm's sonorous 6.2-litre V8 engine - a potent motor we know all about thanks to previous encounters with it in the likes of the SL63 and C63 AMGs.
Here are the headline-grabbing numbers: 518bhp, 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of just over 175mph (without the limiter).
But power and pace are only part of the story. AMG has made a concerted effort to ensure the E63 AMG is more economical and easier to live with than ever. Engine enhancements make it 12% more fuel-efficient than the outgoing model, even though it's more powerful and faster. And Mercedes is so keen to make the point that we took part in a fuel economy run - surely a first for AMG - and came back with an average impressively close to the company's claimed 22mpg.
A trick electronically adjustable suspension system, made up of conventional metal springs at the front and air springs at the rear, has been designed to offer customers supple comfort and sharp athleticism in one package. In fact, AMG says this E63 offers 'no compromise' between race track performance and day-to-day use - but is that really possible? Read on to find out.
