Post by johnc on Apr 19, 2017 9:04:58 GMT
On Easter Friday, I was at Mercedes World to take advantage of my Christmas present.
I got to drive a C63 coupe, an S63 Coupe and a CLS 63S in that order: that's over 1500hp of fun.
After a few minutes on seat position we headed out on to the short circuit just to get used to the car and make sure I was comfortable. The circuit is about 1.5 car widths wide and probably only about 500yds long but it has plenty of corners. It is not really a speed circuit, more one just to get a feel of the car. We then proceeded to the skid pan which is trickier than it looks. By the end of the day I had managed to get the whole way round but in my first session, I could only manage about a third of the circle before the car slid to the outside too much and left the slippy surface or reached full lock and then revolved. Getting the sweet spot with the revs is the trick together with getting a steering angle which you leave in one place the whole way round. On the first run in the C63, we tried it with all the driving aids on, then in the half way house and then totally off. Basically, if the aids are on, the car will win every time and it is a reminder of how far the safety in a modern car has come over the past 20 years or so.
There was also a straight wet skid pan where we had a bit of fun seeing how the car's electronics would keep you in control regardless of braking, steering and general idiocy. The other activity was a straight line drag to about 75/80mph followed by a full brake stop: I think this is as much for the instructors benefit to see reactions and braking force before heading out for some faster laps but it was a good place to compare the straight line grunt. The S63 gave me that feeling in the legs under acceleration where it is almost as if the force of acceleration is slowing the blood flow. I have only ever felt that before in a 911 and a race car.
The skid pan was fun but the bit I was looking forward to was the longer faster circuit - again, not the widest track, more of a single track road but lots of corners and a short straight where we broke 100mph most times. The format is that you start out with all the aids on and if the instructor is confident, he will turn off some aids and then finally turn them all off. The C63 is a quick car and felt pretty agile with good turn in and very predictable movements when under hard braking and under hard acceleration. My only previous C63 experience (on the road) was that it was a car that that could bite you very hard and suddenly but my experience on the track was quite different and whilst the car moved around a bit it was never unpredictable or frightening in that hard smack in the back of the head kind of way. This is a well sorted chassis.
We must have done at least 10 laps and the brakes and tyres were certainly given a workout.
The S63 Coupe was something else! It is big and to my eyes beautiful and when fitted with 580+ HP it was not going to be slow. The car was fully kitted out with massaging seats and a computer system with so many variables for so many things that I reckon they could run a day's course on how to set it up. Anything you think could potentially be variable was. It even had a suspension feature which made it lean in to the bends a bit.
On the track I could feel the extra weight and size but this was a mightily impressive car which didn't behave as if it was so big: it did a great job belying its size. Once you got in to a rhythm it really flew around the track and the shove in the back on the short main straight just kept building until the braking point. Grip was very good. Apparently this is the only model in the range where all the traction control and other safety aids can't be fully turned off but even so, I had a degree or two of opposite lock on a few occasions. The huge digital dash which blends into the satnav screen etc is very nice. I would definitely put one of these in my garage after a lottery win. It is quiet, comfortable, fast and still has a soundtrack to keep a petrol-head happy. You could cover a Continent in this and still feel fresh at the end of it.
The CLS63S had the 5.5litre engine with high 500hp as well. Immediately though, this felt more old school. In comparison to the other two cars it is definitely older tech. The rear tyres on this car were clearly reaching the end of their life after a day on the track and I had difficulty getting full throttle as we entered the fast straight. As a chassis the car was very well sorted and flew around with strong brakes and good turn in but for me, it fell a bit between two stools: you would have more fun in a C63 and far more comfort in an S63, but the engine really ripped down the straight once it got its power down. This was probably the fastest of the lot in a straight line but it was beginning to show its age.
Now the criticism: Franki has mentioned the turbo lag previously on a 4 litre turbo Merc he has driven and to some extent I had some lag in all these cars at some point. When on the boil and above 3,000 rpm, lag didn't exist - the car just shot forward with every prod of the loud pedal but exiting a few of the slower corners where the revs fell a bit, there was definitely a delay before things got going. For normal road driving I don't think there would ever be an issue but if you are out for a country road blast, there might be a few times when you find yourself shouting "come on".
Overall, I was left very impressed by Mercedes fast products and hearing a new M4 accelerate away when we were leaving made me appreciate the V8 even more.
The cars on view, including the F1 cars are a good way to spend an hour or two and the simulators on the top floor are a good way to part you with your money. I had one go on the F1 simulator and got my time down to 1min 52 but some hotshot put in a 1min 44 a bit later and headed the leaderboard for the day. It is something you would need to do many times to get used to the circuit before you could be satisfied that you had put in your best performance. However at £10 a go for about 12 mins, it could get expensive.
