MERCEDES-AMG E43
A less-shouty E63? Sure...
EXPECTATION can ruin reality in many ways. Like the pictures on the Mcdonalds menu, or online dating profile photos. For Mercedes-benz, nothing builds expectation and promises excitement like an AMG badge, but its current crop of highly focused performance cars should be furthest from your mind when approaching the new Mercedes-amg E43.
This mid-range mid-sizer is not like the other AMGS, yet unlike fast food outlets who overpromise and underdeliver, the crew from Affalterbach need not be ashamed. As with existing halfway-house models ( C43 and GLC43), this polished sports sedan serves to broaden the scope of AMG’S portfolio.
AMGS haven’t always been uncompromising, and in some ways the E43 is a return to the Q-car. It’s the first performance variant of the new E-class, ahead of E63, and uses AMG’S 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that plugs a gap between the manic 2.0-litre four and ferocious 4.0-litre V8.
Usually the engine is AMG’S point of difference, but the V6 is distinctly different. Instead of falling under AMG’S one-man, one-engine program, it rolls off the regular Mercedes production line fitted with Amg-spec turbochargers, exhaust and ECU, driving outputs to 295kw and 520Nm. That’s 50kw and 40Nm more than the E400 on which the E43 is based.
It’s no snarling beast, though performance remains a selling point. Wide open, it cracks its exhaust valves and howls into action, with discrete pops and burbles on overrun. The rapid 4.6sec sprint to 100km/h seems undramatic when cocooned behind thick glazing.
Aim the E43 at a corner and things get more interesting.
The Amg-engineered front end incorporates new suspension and steering components. Handling is sharp in all five drive modes, which alter steering weight, suspension stiffness and throttle response. The recalibrated allwheel-drive system has a fixed, rear-biased torque split of 69: 31 and the mix of grip and agility feels well judged. There’s a three-tier ESP safety net, but with so much traction it takes a lot of leaning before any interference is felt. The E43 is lithe and sinuous, always controlled and impressively capable.
Stronger brakes, suspension tweaks and a gearbox tune round out the AMG improvements. Merc’s nine-speed auto is particularly effective in this application, with some engineered thump between changes in Sport Plus, and an Amg-specific manual mode in which you’re able to hold a gear against the rev-limiter.
Ride quality is another strength. Body control is exceptional; even in the most resolute drive modes, the E43 will gallop at full tilt undisturbed by lesser road surfaces. It never feels too harsh.
This could be seen as a matureage alternative to the C63; pricing is expected to be comparable, but it offers significantly more space, technology, luxury and greater perceived prestige, in a softer and more liveable package at the expense of some outright performance. The hard-edged C63 with its hugely elevated performance window will be too much for some, and that opens the door for the E43.
In this age of clickbait and hyperbole, the E43 has a refreshing lack of headline numbers and shouty bravado. It’s a tip of the hat to AMGS of the past, and shows once again that the more things change, the more they stay the same.