The E63's owners' manual is as thick as the King James Bible, but mercifully, one can operate the car without it. The E63 still uses an older version of Mercedes' Comand system that lacks the central controller of the Comand in the latest S-class. So there are buttons galore. Like the face-lifted 2007 E-class, the E63 has received a much classier instrument panel, and the AMG's more supportive seats match the car's heady character. Aside from the new engine, the most significant change concerns the seven-speed manu-matic gearbox--with paddle shifters--in place of the departed five-speed. There are three shift modes: comfort (standard), sport (35 percent quicker), and manual (quicker yet). In manual mode, there is no kickdown and no automatic upshift. As before, the Airmatic suspension offers a choice of three different settings ranging from firm to compliant.
The cockpit of the S6 doesn't differ much from that in the A6. The leather sport seats, which strike a compelling balance between support and comfort, are the most welcome addition. We also like the supplemental digital speedometer and the top-grade materials. As far as fit and finish are concerned, this Audi is again more solid than the improved Mercedes and the comparatively drab BMW. Having said that, apart from the seats and the carbon-fiber trim, there is precious little radiating a sense of the occasion. Unlike the Mercedes, and other A6 models, the S6 isn't available with the desirable air suspension. Why? Because the engineers didn't want to add more weight to the already substantial 4486-pound total (versus 4160 for the M5 and 4035 for the E63), and because they felt that a coil-spring setup was more in line with the car's sporty character.
THE RANKINGS
THIRD PLACE - BMW M5
A class master for many years, the BMW M5 has finally met its match. It's the M5's transmission that pushes the car down the rankings. SMG is wonderful for a track day, but it's a drag during the rest of the week. It's a shame, because the rest of the car is still dynamically spot-on. For instance, it's hard to imagine more communicative steering than the BMW's. The brakes also do a splendid job, although directional stability at very high speeds could be better and the ride comfort is acceptable only in comfort mode. As it happens, comfort mode provides the kind of suspension compliance that makes the car handle in a particularly creamy and predictable manner. At the limit, the M5 will instinctively attempt to oversteer. That's the good news. The bad news is that the car always goes through a phase of initial understeer before the tail commences its side step, so every extra square inch of tarmac helps, as does plenty of confidence.
So, the M5, at $81,895, comes in last, mostly due to SMG. Having said that, the six-speed manual transmission, which will be offered in the U.S. market later this year, may alter this ranking. But as it is, the ballsy BMW is too crude, too complicated, and too compromised to emerge as the best of this bunch. ...next page >>