Forza Horizon 4: The new breed of super saloons

The Mercedes-AMG E63 signals the new breed of super saloons where the glorious FR layout of the past has been ditched in favor of four-wheel drive but still offers the same rear-wheel-drive feel with a special device planted to it. Sacrilege by some, the new E63 sets the new benchmark for executive-sized fast saloons, something that the latest BMW M5 followed suit.



Having won this car from the Series 21 Horizon Winter Playlist, let's get to know more about the Mercedes-E63 AMG W213.



Following where the previous model left off, the new Mercedes-AMG E63 sets the standards of fast executive-class super saloons as for the latest model, the rear-wheel-drive layout of the past has been ditched in favor of its AMG-tweaked 4MATIC+ four-wheel-drive system with a special Drift Mode feature that allows this sedan to oversteer like a rear-wheel-drive car. The new model is powered by the same 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine as the Mercedes-AMG GT sports car but in the S version, it produces up to 612PS of power and 850Nm of torque. With the nine-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT, it does 0-100kph in 3,4 seconds and it is electronically limited to 250kph or with an additional extra, the limit can be raised up to 50kph more, resulting in 300kph.



Although it feels more mature to drive than the M5, the E63 sure is as quick as any German super-saloon should and still enjoy some serious super-saloon stuff even with a four-wheel-drive standard. You can really spend lots of time getting hooked to its dynamics like a man possessed and still get out unscathed. I'm starting to understand why Mercedes opted to make the W213 E63 a four-wheel drive only super-saloon and how the current BMW M5 stole the E63's recipe for success but forget about it because it's time to see which of the German 4WD super saloons is the king.



With that, the F90 BMW M5 has been rejoined to settle this personal debate once and for all in the streets of Edinburgh.




I remember a certain Top Gear episode where Harris drives the E63 while Business Stig drives the M5 and in the end, the AMG is the winner. Now that we're in the city center, let's see if the AMG still beats the M5 by setting a fast time through the Edinburgh city sprint. Let's roll the tape.

After a quick sprint in the heart of the city, here are the results;

F90 M5 - 2:49.837
E63 W213 - 2:49.403



To the winner, the spoils. With the three-horsepower gap between them, it's no wonder the E63 managed to claw through the tail-happy F90 M5 by a narrow margin and nicks it with a scratch, not a slash. Judging by the close result, the Benz really grabs it by the nose faster than the BMW and looks like Mercedes is still king in making super saloons even at this brave new age where four-wheel drive is the norm.

The more your know.