Vs Car & Driver: RS4 vs C63 vs M3

[OBR]

you'll be surprised on how many people still cant drive a manual.. at least here in the States..

 

[Zafiro]

you'll be surprised on how many people still cant drive a manual.. at least here in the States..

I know about the states, I know about Britney Spears crashing her manual Ferrari Luckily I'm born and raised in Europe so I can master manual, dsg,smg and automatics

 

[klier]

You aren't even allowed to do your regular drivers licence with an automatic gearbox.....

 

[Tarek]

Great test
Well, ths just shows how great these 3 are. Sometimes the RS4 wins, sometimes the C63 and now the M3 got the gold. As stated "although no driver in this test directed an unkind word at the RS 4..." And stil it finished in 3rd. In anyway, you can't say any of these is a bad car. In fact, I still am surprised how well this old daddy RS4 keeps up with these two brand new rockets from Germany. I already can't wait for the B8 RS4... I know it's going to be insane.

Yeah i''m very pleased with the RS4,still can do well along a spanking new monsters,the new one is gonna besick i'm sure like the new RS6 i guess TT of the current engine pushing 480hp

 

[Centurion]

Every reviews says the C63 has the stiffest suspension. I wonder why MB decided to do this?

That worries me too, it doesn't sound good that an Benz is more uncomfortable than the competitors, and that without the sports package. As I see it MB tried to compensate for the high weight with a stiffer suspension but clearly we all know that such a solution only gets you that far. The chassi, engine and transmission is fantastic. If MB had done a better job with the reduction the C63 would easily have been an M3-eater.

 

[LaArtist]

yes its intresting. I remember all those previous fanboys discussion around the net, including our board. Reason why most people on car boards picked the C55 over M3 becuase the AMG had better comfort . Now that cant be used as an argument anymore and logically AMG fans should pick the M3 since it now offer better comfort than C AMG I wonder how many of them still pick C AMG

flip the burger and say..why doesent BMW fans chose the C63..now that its more hardcore..
they always stated the hardcore personality as one of the reasons when chosing the E46 M3 over the C55--hehe

 

[Sunny]

flip the burger and say..why doesent BMW fans chose the C63..now that its more hardcore..
they always stated the hardcore personality as one of the reasons when chosing the E46 M3 over the C55--hehe

Cause if the article is to be believed the M3 is still the more involving drive.

It’s no longer a homologation special, but next to the C63 and RS 4, this latest M3 offers the purest, least diluted, most involving, and best-in-class driver-and-machine relationship.

And of course C63 only offers an automatic (for now) which will stop many M3 drivers from switching.

 

[LaArtist]

Cause if the article is to be believed the M3 is still the more involving drive.



And of course C63 only offers an automatic (for now) which will stop many M3 drivers from switching.

yep and if the article is to belive the AMG is still faster in a straight line..
like the old one.. so..hehe

the interesting thing will be laptimes..i think if the track is not to tight the C63 should have a chance..

 

[Sunny]

yep and if the article is to belive the AMG is still faster in a straight line..
like the old one.. so..hehe

the interesting thing will be laptimes..i think if the track is not to tight the C63 should have a chance..

Yeah definitely, if straight line performance is more important to you, C63 is definitely the car for you.

 

[CorpusCallosum]

Not a fan of the 18inch wheels on the M3 and not a fan of the overtly aggresive styling of the Merc... leave that for local ford and holden fans in australia.... the germans are all about sophistication in my opinion

 

[Zafiro]

flip the burger and say..why doesent BMW fans chose the C63..now that its more hardcore..
they always stated the hardcore personality as one of the reasons when chosing the E46 M3 over the C55--hehe

Looks like Sunny already answered your post no hamburger flipping

BTW it sounds like someone felt he got hit by an arrow

 

[PC Valkyrie]

yes its intresting. I remember all those previous fanboys discussion around the net, including our board. Reason why most people on car boards picked the C55 over M3 becuase the AMG had better comfort . Now that cant be used as an argument anymore and logically AMG fans should pick the M3 since it now offer better comfort than C AMG I wonder how many of them still pick C AMG

Yes, it seems now that the M3 is indeed the best car in its class for the track AND on the streets. If I wanted to replace my C55 now, I would seriously consider the M3 sedan with DCT.

In the past the C55 and E46 M3 had very similar objective performance numbers (the C55 slightly faster in a straight line while the E46 M3 had slightly higher handling numbers). The E46 M3 was more raw and "involving" to drive, while the C55 was a better daily driver. Objectively, the C55 could match the E46 M3 on the Nurburgring and was only 0.3 seconds slower than the E46 M3 CS on the Evo 1.8 mile test track.

Now, the difference in acceleration between the C63 and E92 M3 is much bigger, while the handling superiority of the E92 M3 is not very large over the C63.

This makes for speculation that the C63 may indeed be faster than the E92 M3 on the Nurburgring, and maybe the C63 can match or beat the M3 even on a short track like Bedford Autodrome (not as likely). I can't wait for Sport Auto and Evo to test these cars.

 

[ACE]

If I wanted to replace my C55 now, I would seriously consider the M3 sedan with DCT.

What do you mean replace my C55 "now"? I enquired at my (UK) dealer about the M3 sedan with DCT and was told "that combination is at least 12 months away". Is this car coming out in Canada before Europe?

Does anyone have any stats on the E90 M3 DCT performance? I am guessing that it will be similar to the E92 M3 manual, i.e. slightly slower because of the extra weight but slightly faster because of DCT? Or not?

I am expecting that my next car will come out of this line up. At the moment I am favouring the M3 E90 with DCT. Although I have a lot of fun deliberating which is the best and why. To be honest, I don't like the looks of the Merc and the RS4 B7 is a previous generation model, imo, so at the moment the M3 is my favourite. One thing that concerns me about the M3 E90 is it's options list. It price get quite close to the M5 when you include the options like DCT, EDC, PDC and 19s that are included in the price in the M5 (in the UK at least). In the UK the M5 is £65k (easily reduced to £62K with discount) vs about £56K for the M3 with those options (not easily reduced for the first year of production).

 

[Merc1]

Wow, I hope this is my next issue which is due any day now!

M

 

[Imhotep Evil]

Yes, it seems now that the M3 is indeed the best car in its class for the track AND on the streets. If I wanted to replace my C55 now, I would seriously consider the M3 sedan with DCT.

In the past the C55 and E46 M3 had very similar objective performance numbers (the C55 slightly faster in a straight line while the E46 M3 had slightly higher handling numbers). The E46 M3 was more raw and "involving" to drive, while the C55 was a better daily driver. Objectively, the C55 could match the E46 M3 on the Nurburgring and was only 0.3 seconds slower than the E46 M3 CS on the Evo 1.8 mile test track.

Now, the difference in acceleration between the C63 and E92 M3 is much bigger, while the handling superiority of the E92 M3 is not very large over the C63.

This makes for speculation that the C63 may indeed be faster than the E92 M3 on the Nurburgring, and maybe the C63 can match or beat the M3 even on a short track like Bedford Autodrome (not as likely). I can't wait for Sport Auto and Evo to test these cars.

The E46 M3 came with the SMG II the current M3 comes with manual for now.
The SMG III used on the M5/M6 was better/faster at upshifts and even more so on downshifts (SMG II was really an more of an upshifter whereas SMG III worked for both).

This comparo also stops at 0-100 mph tests, whereas european reviews/comparos showed that the SMG III M cars really shined over the AMGs from this moment on as well (as improving flexibility times vs. the manual versions) witch is helpful on some parts of the Nurburgring but particularly the Hockenheim.


In conclusion the M3 with semiautomatic will IMO give have slight advantage at the Ring but a quite big one on the Hockenheim.

 

[Imhotep Evil]

That worries me too, it doesn't sound good that an Benz is more uncomfortable than the competitors, and that without the sports package. As I see it MB tried to compensate for the high weight with a stiffer suspension but clearly we all know that such a solution only gets you that far. The chassi, engine and transmission is fantastic. If MB had done a better job with the reduction the C63 would easily have been an M3-eater.

It goes the other way around too.
If BMW would have given the car a semi-automatic, ceramics and more weight
reducing materials the AMG would have never stood a chance.

 

[Centurion]

It goes the other way around too.
If BMW would have given the car a semi-automatic, ceramics and more weight
reducing materials the AMG would have never stood a chance.

Perhaps my post came out a little wrong. What I saw saying is that MB did a terrific job with the C63 except in the weight department. Off course no one can know for sure if it would have handled better than the M3 but would most likely been very very close.

 

[coolraoul]

I LOVE the C63... So brutal, so harsh, so bad boy, in the look like in the driving... This is really an old-school AMG, and I love it.

 

[Mr Robert]

That worries me too, it doesn't sound good that an Benz is more uncomfortable than the competitors, and that without the sports package. As I see it MB tried to compensate for the high weight with a stiffer suspension but clearly we all know that such a solution only gets you that far. The chassi, engine and transmission is fantastic. If MB had done a better job with the reduction the C63 would easily have been an M3-eater.

Stiff suspension is a not so optimal shortcut towards more inspiring handling. If the execution was not perfect this time it sure is one clear indicator of what Mercedes intentions are for the C-class now and ahead.

 

[LaArtist]

Looks like Sunny already answered your post no hamburger flipping

BTW it sounds like someone felt he got hit by an arrow

Wow you really didnt understand my post..
and i cant be botherd explaining it to you in swedish..

so enjoy whatever your brain thinks this matter is about..