E63 vs E55 Comparison
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Joined: Oct 2006
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E63 vs E55 Comparison
I see lots of speculation, and informed guesses on the forum about these cars.
I traded my 03 E55 on an 07 E63. Have had the E63 two weeks, 1500 miles.
These are very different cars. Neither is clearly better, just different.
The E55 was the "bad boy" in the Mercedes lineup. Tons of "right now" torque, a little rough around the edges for a Mercedes (supercharger noise, belt chirping, on/off power delivery). I enjoyed the car a lot, and in fact had decided that if I did not like the E63 sufficiently when I got it, I would simply keep the E55 since there was no other 4-door car around that I liked as much even today. I quite liked the ride/handling/instant power of the E55. It was a very strong/fast car, on par with my 2002 Corvette Z06 and quicker than my later 2005 Corvette Z51. I could do traction-limited 0-60 runs in about 4.2-4.3 seconds. A more interesting test was to lock the car in 2nd gear in the manual mode, and do a 0-60 all in second gear - no shifting- and with all that torque, it could do this in 4.7 seconds!! This car achieved its spectacular performance through brute torque (which I like), and a reasonable 5 speed gearbox.
The E63 is a far more "refined" vehicle. "Feels" like a completely different car. Exceptionally smooth, generally quieter, much better riding, better transmission/gearing, better paddle shifting (I actually drive this one in manual most of the time), more effortless. In purely objective terms, it is a better, more improved car. Unfortunately, as is often the case, as one removes some of the rough edges, one also tends to remove some of the character out of the car. So much so, that the E63 has a sort of Lexus feel - ie. exceptional engineeering, finesse, execution, but lacks a certain character. It handles at least as well as the E55, and is equally fast, but it does not feel better in the process - just different.
Nevertheless, with about 1000 miles on it, I had no problem doing 0-60 in 4.1-4.2 seconds. (Could not do the second gear trick, since this transmission does not allow you to start and stay in second with the accelerator floored). Peak longitudinal acceleration (measured using the same G-tech instrument, on the same roads, and in similar conditions), were actually higher in the E63. ie. .72G vs. .70G in 1st gear; .58G vs .53G in second gear; .41G vs .35G in 3rd gear etc. In other words, the combination of the E63's lower, but still considerable torque, mated to a much improved gear ratio combination (hence torque multiplication), from the 7-speed tranny, results in better utilization of the power band, and produces an overall seat-of-the-pants pull that is at leat equal to, or stronger that the E55, but since it does so with less fury, it does not give the sensation of the brute force one gets from the E55. I am guessing that when the magazines finally report acceleration runs, the E63 will be at least equal to the E55.
So, as you can tell, I did opt to take delivery of the E63 and I am generally happy with the car. There is room for improvement, but it is a good start. I am actually enjoying it more than the E55 at least for now, since the much improved transmission and shifting encourages driving in manual mode. The lower gears allow one to have more fun shifting through more gears in "normal" driving, so more driver involvement - compensating in part for the smoother overall package. The engine sound from outside the car is absolutely spectacular, unfortunately, from inside it is largely muffled - definitely an opportunity for aftermarket exhaust!
(NOTE that all my tests were done using the same G-tech instrument. I actually have a neat little spread sheet, in Word format, that summarizes the G-force in each gear, and the gear ratios and speeds in each gear, but could not figure out how to attach it here and still preserve the format - if anyone can tell me how to do that , I'd be glad to post it - it also includes a couple others of my fast cars - 2006 Z06 and Ferrari 575M).
I traded my 03 E55 on an 07 E63. Have had the E63 two weeks, 1500 miles.
These are very different cars. Neither is clearly better, just different.
The E55 was the "bad boy" in the Mercedes lineup. Tons of "right now" torque, a little rough around the edges for a Mercedes (supercharger noise, belt chirping, on/off power delivery). I enjoyed the car a lot, and in fact had decided that if I did not like the E63 sufficiently when I got it, I would simply keep the E55 since there was no other 4-door car around that I liked as much even today. I quite liked the ride/handling/instant power of the E55. It was a very strong/fast car, on par with my 2002 Corvette Z06 and quicker than my later 2005 Corvette Z51. I could do traction-limited 0-60 runs in about 4.2-4.3 seconds. A more interesting test was to lock the car in 2nd gear in the manual mode, and do a 0-60 all in second gear - no shifting- and with all that torque, it could do this in 4.7 seconds!! This car achieved its spectacular performance through brute torque (which I like), and a reasonable 5 speed gearbox.
The E63 is a far more "refined" vehicle. "Feels" like a completely different car. Exceptionally smooth, generally quieter, much better riding, better transmission/gearing, better paddle shifting (I actually drive this one in manual most of the time), more effortless. In purely objective terms, it is a better, more improved car. Unfortunately, as is often the case, as one removes some of the rough edges, one also tends to remove some of the character out of the car. So much so, that the E63 has a sort of Lexus feel - ie. exceptional engineeering, finesse, execution, but lacks a certain character. It handles at least as well as the E55, and is equally fast, but it does not feel better in the process - just different.
Nevertheless, with about 1000 miles on it, I had no problem doing 0-60 in 4.1-4.2 seconds. (Could not do the second gear trick, since this transmission does not allow you to start and stay in second with the accelerator floored). Peak longitudinal acceleration (measured using the same G-tech instrument, on the same roads, and in similar conditions), were actually higher in the E63. ie. .72G vs. .70G in 1st gear; .58G vs .53G in second gear; .41G vs .35G in 3rd gear etc. In other words, the combination of the E63's lower, but still considerable torque, mated to a much improved gear ratio combination (hence torque multiplication), from the 7-speed tranny, results in better utilization of the power band, and produces an overall seat-of-the-pants pull that is at leat equal to, or stronger that the E55, but since it does so with less fury, it does not give the sensation of the brute force one gets from the E55. I am guessing that when the magazines finally report acceleration runs, the E63 will be at least equal to the E55.
So, as you can tell, I did opt to take delivery of the E63 and I am generally happy with the car. There is room for improvement, but it is a good start. I am actually enjoying it more than the E55 at least for now, since the much improved transmission and shifting encourages driving in manual mode. The lower gears allow one to have more fun shifting through more gears in "normal" driving, so more driver involvement - compensating in part for the smoother overall package. The engine sound from outside the car is absolutely spectacular, unfortunately, from inside it is largely muffled - definitely an opportunity for aftermarket exhaust!
(NOTE that all my tests were done using the same G-tech instrument. I actually have a neat little spread sheet, in Word format, that summarizes the G-force in each gear, and the gear ratios and speeds in each gear, but could not figure out how to attach it here and still preserve the format - if anyone can tell me how to do that , I'd be glad to post it - it also includes a couple others of my fast cars - 2006 Z06 and Ferrari 575M).
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