The latest versions of the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 rekindle the age old rivalry.
Traffic. Merciless traffic. Trucks, buses, rickshaws and bikes, coming at us from every direction. Also in the mix, overcrowded utility vehicles, impatient cyclists and loads and loads of ‘dumbwalkers’, sauntering across the road, their noses in their phones. It feels a bit like we’re in one of those complex, multi-dimensional paintings from one of the Renaissance masters, painted on a vast canvas, with hundreds of elements all fighting for our attention. What’s worse is that we are sat in cars that have a huge amount of potential energy, tightly coiled under the hood. Our average speed over the last half hour, a paltry 12kph; sheesh, what a waste! We should’ve left the city earlier, we really should have.
Then it ends. I have to edge past a broken- down bus, but once I’m through, the road ahead is as open as the savanna. Time to let off some steam, be a little irresponsible. I put my left foot on the C 63’s brake, place the accelerator on the carpet, and then let it go. And launch it does, like an artillery shell. The rear tyres spin away some of my angst and the rear does a bit of salsa, but once the tyres hook up, the AMG leaves the line like it’s been shot out of a cannon. I expect protest from the cars around, but all I get are a few thumbs ups and smiles; guess everyone enjoys a bit of a release after the traffic.
The road now is ours, and as expected, the hammer goes down. The contrast between using two and 100 per cent throttle is so huge, it initially takes my breath away. I’ve had the privilege of piloting the 503bhp C 63 S several times over but nothing really prepares you for that first stab of rabid acceleration. Like being drenched in cold water, it’s startling, refreshing and invigorating, all at the same time. What leaves a lasting impression, however, isn’t that single hit of early power, but the manner in which the AMG keeps pulling harder and faster as the motor winds up the powerband. There’s enough power from 3,000 to 5,000rpm to satiate most, but the Merc engine keeps pulling with brute force all the way to 7,000rpm. Nothing this side of a supercar pulls this hard. Enjoy blowing past slower traffic? This is the car for you then.
The M3, if anything, has an even more enthusiastic top end. Its engine is 1,000cc smaller, it has two fewer cylinders and it makes only 425bhp to the Merc’s 503, but it revs harder, is lighter by 50-odd kilograms and comes with the faster gearbox. But none of these advantages are apparent when I swap cars. The M3 has nowhere near the urge of the Merc in the lower half of the powerband, and this is repeated every time I get on the gas. Whereas the Merc goes SLAAAM as soon as you hit the pedal, you have to wait a bit for the revs to rise in the BMW (due to the bigger turbo). The Merc, as a result, is snapping at the heels of the BMW at every chance we get to really pull these cars together. The gap stabilises once the revs rise and the BMW spins harder and more enthusiastically to its 7,300rpm redline, and then it feels absolutely brilliant, and actually just as quick. And it’s the more frenzied of the two in the top end, which only adds to the drama.
It’s the AMG, however, that noses ahead. It head butts the 100kph mark from rest in just 4.2 seconds when the launch control is used and feels seriously quick with 200 coming up in just 13.05 seconds. The BMW is only slightly behind. It runs to 100 in 4.7 seconds with the launch control not working satisfactorily, which, if you think about it, is insanely quick in isolation. Please remember these aren’t sportscars or supercars, they’re big and heavy sedans with huge amounts of power and grip. They shouldn’t be this quick.
And the AMG is the faster of the two as well in the slog from 20-80 and 40-100. It accelerates from 40 to 100kph in just 2.9 seconds, which is devastatingly quick whichever way you look at it. Count it out loud, 1, 2, 3 and you’re at 100. Yeah, that’s bloody quick.
Luck is on our side when it comes to traffic. We still have the wide, three-lane highway to ourselves, with only the odd car or two along every straight, and so the long, hard bursts of acceleration continue every time we see a long and open stretch, the only thing limiting us, our own self preservation instinct.
A series of tunnels approach, and I drop my speed and the M3’s windows. But instead of listening to the BMW, I get an earful of the AMG as it slips past, comes down the gears and then accelerates, leaving me chuckling in its wake. And what a beautiful noise it is. The blare is a delightful combination of Nascar V8 rumble and the sharp crack of jet exhaust on overrun. It’s tight, fruity and sonorous all at the same time, and I just can’t get enough of it. The straight-six under the hood of the BMW sounds totally different. Its howl is very sporty in its own right and it sounds the business too, as I explore the upper reaches of its powerband along a long, curving tunnel that follows. But for sense of drama and sheer scale, the AMG’s tight-as-a-drum rumble and blare is hard to match. And the Merc has the smoother engine of the two as well.
The M3 though, is the more comfortable of the two over bad roads. We switch from a wider, faster highway to a quieter one with more charismatic corners. But road in between isn’t in as good a condition. The Mercedes feels jiggly at low speeds and the suspension crashes quite regularly over larger craters, even in ‘Comfort’ mode. This is surprising because the M3 is stiffer sprung, but it seems to take the edge off the craters and holes a bit better.
The BMW also has more grip, greater agility and easily feels the more poised of the two through corners. We meet up with Hormazd, who’s driven down from a nearby hill station, just as we hit the really fun roads. The ghat roads aren’t in perfect condition and the bumps do upset the composure of the cars, but Hormazd still takes off like a bat out of hell in the C 63; the Poladpur ghat we are on is literally his back yard. In fact, so comfortable is he with the road and the cars, we decide to stop to take some shots of the cars sliding around a long corner just ten minutes in. The Merc is the easier to slide of the two. It isn’t as grippy as the M3, and because the hit of torque comes in nice and early, it’s easier to break traction at the rear. This is borne out while attacking corners further up the ghat as well. The AMG, in fact, feels more stinking fast GT than out and out sportscar when you really get it on. Its steering is smoother, it rolls more in corners when you go from lock to lock and the difference between it and the BMW is so marked, it clearly feels the ‘softer’ of the two.
To get the M3 to slide, you need to be brutal and drive it extremely hard; otherwise, it has so much grip, it just stays glued to the tarmac.
I jump back into the BMW just to verify, and am immediately struck by just how much more grip it has. It just hangs on leech-like in corners, and like all great sportscars, begs you to drive it harder and faster. Body control is much tighter, there’s less understeer and more bite when you turn into a corner and the steering tells you just how much grip there is in the rear, which also goads you on. It also has the quicker gearbox and the more reassuring brakes. Problem is, it only wakes up and thrills you when you are driving it really hard. The AMG, in contrast, is entertaining at any and all speeds.
We stop again to can some good light shots as the sun goes down. The subtle differences in character are now easier to spot. The Mercedes is the more restrained of the two. Its longer nose makes it look a bit sportier than the standard car, but the ‘enhancements’ are otherwise so minimal, identifying the car without the badges, square exhausts and big wheels would genuinely be tricky. The BMW is clearly the extrovert here. There’s a big power dome on the bonnet, the wheel arches pop much more, especially at the rear, and as a result, it looks the more hardcore.
On the inside, neither is too far removed from the stock car. The Merc has the more elegant cabin and dash, but the BMW is the sportier on the inside as well. The 3-series has a racier looking cabin to begin with, and the new three-spoke steering wheel and the seats with integrated hand-rests make it look the more convincing of the two. It also has the more supportive rear seat. The Merc has more rear legroom and the cabin is a bit better put together, but it still feels like a luxury car that’s dressed up in a track suit.
The C 63 S dash has plenty of upmarket trimmings but Mercedes has upped the sport quotient by adding in some carbon-fibre trim.
The M3 and C 63 look like regular sedans from a distance. They both have four doors, practical cabins and a boot. What makes these cars unique is that they can also stand up and go 15 rounds with most sports cars. The BMW is the thoroughbred of the two, the better driver’s car. Engineered to be driven hard, it outperforms the Mercedes around corners and is a match for it in a straight line, delivering acceleration in manic bursts. That said, it needs to be driven to the limit to entertain. The more expensive Mercedes is more relaxed and uniquely, has the ability to entertain at just about any speed. To enjoy the BMW, you need to access some seriously fun roads and go out and drive it as hard as you dare. Enjoying a drive in the AMG is much easier. With its cracker of an engine, it has the ability to get you grinning on even on that Sunday morning drive to the bakery. And that’s exactly why it wins; the thrill is easily accessible, any and every time you want.
Courtesy : Autocar