Do I miss my C63?

[wj100]

Hi all,

Been a while since I've been on the forum...I was a former owner of an E90 M3 and after driving BMWs for 9 years I strayed and had been driving a W204 C63 for the last 2+ years. I always felt a bit out of place in a Merc so two weeks ago I came back home to BMW with a MW/SO M4. There's always an adjustment period to a new vehicle, but here are some early observations:

ENGINE: Whenever anyone talks about the W204 C63, they always start with the engine and the note it produces. For those of you who've driven the car, you know the hype is true. The way the exhaust sounds and the strong pull of torque just about anywhere in the rev band is truly special. It's one of those hard to explain things, but if you've driven one, you know.

The M4 is a different beast. Obviously it makes tremendous power and I actually don't mind the added sound through the stereo, but it just can't match the tactical feel of the C63 motor in my opinion. I find myself downshifting much more often to access the M4's power than I did in the C63 which pulled willingly even in higher gears.

Advantage C63

TRANSMISSION: No doubt, this is the weakest link of the C63. The lack of a proper dual clutch tranny was the thing I disliked most about the car. In contrast, the DCT in the M4 is one of my favorite things about the car. I drive in manual mode almost exclusively and forgot how much I enjoyed the push/downshift, pull/upshift set-up. It just feels right.

Advantage M4

STEERING: No matter which setting I select in the M4, it can't product the just right feel of the C63's near perfectly balanced weighting and superior road feel.

Advantage C63

SUSPENSION: My M4 has the adjustable dampers which I think is mostly likely an important option. The C63's suspension was brittle and definitely happiest on smooth patches of road.

Advantage M4

INTERIOR: When I purchased the C63 I thought the interior was a big upgrade over my E90 M3. And, besides the awful HK stereo, it probably was. I wasn't necessarily gaga over the new M4's interior, but the more I'm in it, the more I actually really like it. I wish I had full leather, but the SO with CF inserts still make the car feel special. And I don't know how I ever lived without an HUD (even though I wish it was more customizable).

Advantage M4

EXTERIOR: The C63 was the definition of a sleeper. So subtle are the AMG styling cues that only car people noticed - this is good or bad, depending on your perspective. The MW M4 with black wheels is definitely more of an attention grabber and I think it has the right mix of elegance and butch.

Advantage M4

INTANGIBLES: This is the most surprising thing to me. I always loved BMWs for the way they felt...the connection to the road. Maybe my opinion will change as I continue to learn how the car likes to be driven, but my initial feeling is that it's lost some of that special feel that once made BMWs truly great. The car makes gobs of power, handles amazingly, but somehow it's lost some of the special sauce IMO. Surprising especially when compared to the W204 C63.

Advantage C63

So, those are my initial thoughts. All in all, I feel fortunate to drive such amazing cars. Happy motoring...

[racsos]

Give the m4 some more seat time.

[F83]

Pretty balanced review.

[PodDoc]

Have you driven the new C63S? I'd be interested to know how you feel about the "intangibles" of that car compared to the old C63 and the M4.

Could the feeling you feel is lost in the M4 be due to a combo of the electric steering vs hydraulic and being turbocharged? Not having to rev out the engine to 8k rpm to get top power may have something to do with it? Just curious.

[s4awd]

No replacement for displacement. Simple as that

[DBACE]

In my quest to understand the types of cars out there that can be compared to the BMW M3, before I buy one, I recently test drove a 2015 AMG C63S. You make some great comparisons of the two cars I concur with. For me the advantage goes to the M3. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but the AMG while an exquisite car, had applications on it. Why would they do that? Sorta of dressing up the ugly friend for a blind date. The BMW just drives with more purpose to me and why ultimately it wins. The sound of that C63S though, damn.

[Lups]

C63 does sound good. Listening to danzig sounds better.

Thanks op, nice to know you're not sorry for moving on from Tom Jones.

[F83]

Originally Posted by s4awd

No replacement for displacement. Simple as that

Always been true.

[idocm4]

Thanks for sharing! Congrats on the M4!

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by s4awd

No replacement for displacement. Simple as that

If you've driven the new C63 with the TT 4.0L V8, you would know this is not true.

[DC-T]

I wouldn't mind getting my grubby little paws on an M4.

[Roadkiller]

Great review bro...! I agree, we are very fortunate to drive these cars -- especially now that both divisions have up'd their games. I would say I agree with your comments regarding the DCT -- best in segment. But the new MCT is no slouch and is very close. I was expecting it to be a bit sloppy. Yet, it has been incredible in Sport+ mode. Having said that, I think the DCT is special and the benchmark for the segment.

[mul1gan]

The more I drive my M4 the more I love it. Its so much more nimble than the 2012 c63 eurocharged, and not sure if it's a good thing or not but I find myself weaving in and out of traffic while down shifting all the time. Now I know why BMW drivers have that reputation, I must have cut over and over passed dozens of people on the beltway the other night.
The c63 is a great car, but for some reason I find myself driving the M more aggressively.

I dont miss my amg!

[AM4ZING]

Originally Posted by mul1gan

The more I drive my M4 the more I love it.

I dont miss my amg!

Have you turned traction off yet?

[Blindside_137]

So did the E90 have more of that special sauce compared to either of the newer cars you had?

Thanks for the review!

[Devilzmantis]

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

So did the E90 have more of that special sauce compared to either of the newer cars you had?

Thanks for the review!

I think my E92M has that special sauce... but so does the older M3s. I feel more engaged. The M4 however is more refined.. its effortless in middle settings but its incredibly wild in top settings. It's just trying to get use to all these electronic steering, turbos, emissions stuff.. that you lose that special sauce.

I guess you are moving from pure rawness to refinement everytime.

[mul1gan]

Originally Posted by AM4ZING

Have you turned traction off yet?

no i have not, too scared to get all twisted around. hahahaha
waiting for the track for that.

[wj100]

[QUOTE=2015 M4 BSM Fully Loaded (meet Olivia) <<---->> 2015 C63S AMG (meet Chloe)[/QUOTE]

So you have both vehicles? If so, kudos to you sir. I drove a C63S prior to buying the M4 and was very impressed. The power and soundtrack are truly exceptional. A bit more of a GT car than the M4 perhaps? The one thing I really had a hard time with though is the column mounted shifter...call me crazy, but that just doesn't belong in a car like this. That said, if I hadn't been coming out of a C63 already, I may have gone that way...and I may go back in a couple years...but that column mounted shifter...I'm sure the folks at AMG weren't pleased when Merc moved the C-Class shifter to the column...

[mephiska]

Originally Posted by weinerj100

All in all, I feel fortunate to drive such amazing cars. Happy motoring...

I share this sentiment, or rather I fully expect to when my F80 arrives.

[yaymitch]

I miss my 2009 C63 but I love my 2015 M3. I think out of all the cars that I've owned the two that I was/am most emotionally attached to are: the W204 C63 and the F80 M3. When that C63 came out there was nothing like it, seriously, a 6.2L n/a V8 in a small sedan packing 500 HP with an equal amount of torque. Anyway, I am really glad I have my F80 now and can't wait to drive it more.

[adc]

Originally Posted by s4awd

No replacement for displacement. Simple as that

So you would take a Viper over a 458 Italia?

Viper has almost twice the displacement, so should be twice as good.

[bimmerj]

Originally Posted by adc

So you would take a Viper over a 458 Italia?

Viper has almost twice the displacement, so should be twice as good.

Veyron has also twice the displacement. Would you take it?