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.
With three different damper settings, three traction control stages and four gearbox modes (which adjust the severity of shifts), the E63 asks for plenty of information from its driver. A Jaguar XFR, by comparison, doesn't: it just gets on with the job of getting you around quickly and smoothly.
That said, the E63 is all about offering the flexibility to be a sharp tool on a twisty road or a comfortable high-speed express, for which the array of settings can be useful. On rougher surfaces, for example, the car copes well in comfort mode, so it's something you're glad to have. The sport mode, however, is so intense and firm that it would prove too much anywhere this side of a circuit, particularly on your average British B-road.
Generally, the E63 AMG needs a bit of manhandling compared with rivals such as the XFR. It doesn't feel as nimble, with its relatively heavy steering, but it does respond positively and accurately and there's no disputing that it handles like a muscular driver's car.
At its heart is the naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 - which AMG calls a 6.3 - mated to a seven-speed wet clutch gearbox, controlled by a centrally mounted stick or steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters. We could live with six rather than seven speeds, but otherwise this gearbox lends itself nicely to the big, naturally aspirated V8's smooth surges of serious power.
