E 43 refines AMG theme
comfortable of any AMG-43 yet.
It’s certainly the quietest: there’s a characterful gurgle from the sports-exhaust under load and it does gain urgency as you power towards the redline, but even then it’s all very civilised. And unlike the C 43, you can’t option-up really shouty pipes to scare the neighbours.
Nor is it a demon in the corners. It’s astonishingly swift and well-balanced, and the Air Body Control suspension can be dialled up to more aggressive Sport and Sport+ settings. But even then, it’s surprising how well it rides for a vehicle on 20-inch wheels and slivers of 30-series rubber.
The nine-speed automatic is commendably smooth... mostly. But on a couple of occasions during our drive, the 9G transmission clunked uncomfortably into gear. As it has in other E-class variants I’ve driven. It’s slick, but not perfect.
However, select manual-shift mode and you can hold your paddle-selected ratios without the car over-ruling your choice. Like that. And the E 43 does have a more powerful braking braking system than ordinary E-class models – although not up to the track-attack hardware of AMG’S harder-edged efforts.
Should we be alarmed that a Mercedes-amg product is more about swift, no-fuss A-to-b progress than neck-snapping acceleration and wild oversteer?
You can be if you like, but the fact is that AMG is broadening its offerings and this is just one piece of an enormous product line. Presumably, AMG figures that anybody wanting the space and presence of an E-class at this price point doesn’t necessarily come over all fast and furious at every hairpin corner. Excuse me for swallowing the company line whole, but it was pointed out to me at the media launch event for the E 43 that you can go and buy a C 63 S sedan for pretty much the same money.
The E 43 isn’t completely under the radar. On the outside, it has an AMG styling package including special wheels, blacked-out detailing and a body kit that includes a teeny-tiny boot spoiler. Inside, there’s a sports steering wheel and figure-hugging seats in Nappa leather, sports pedals and the Air-balance system for the air conditioning that includes fragrances (you can choose) and upgraded filtering. You’re not exactly roughing it.
And of course the E 43 has the full suite of automated driverassist features fitted to every other E-class.
A very desirable, beautifully balanced package, then. But given the relative subtlety of the E 43, the big question might be whether it’s one E-class too many.
Mercedes-benz already has an E 400, which offers 245kw/480nm from its 3.0-litre biturbo V6 and also has 4Matic. It’s 0.7sec slower to 100kmh and uses exactly the same amount of fuel (8.4 litres per 100km), but it’s also $17,000 less expensive. And it’s not a whole lot different in dynamic character to the E 43.
Why buy the E 43 then? Perhaps because it’s got credentials from AMG, with extra design touches inside and out that make it much more special than a mere top-line Mercedes-benz. And remember, the real E-class Amgcrazy is yet to come.