The 604bhp, drift-ready Mercedes E63 Estate is here

Much as we like the new Mercedes-AMG E63 saloon, this is the one we’ve really been waiting for. It’s the AMG E63 Estate – the one that couples the 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 with the 1,820-litre boot of the regular E-Class Estate.

And we’re pleased to report as well as being capacious enough to resettle a small cul-de-sac’s worth of families, it’s every bit as powerful, and virtually as fast, as the saloon. Good. 

The regular E63 Estate gets 563bhp and 553lb ft of torque, whereas the ‘S’ gets 604bhp and 626lb ft. You’re looking at 0-62mph in 3.6secs for the former, 3.5secs for the latter (respectively 3.5secs and 3.4secs for the saloon, although when we strapped some of our own timing gear to it, we saw 62mph in 3.2…). Both are limited to 155mph, but the top speed can be raised to 180mph by specifying the AMG Driver’s Package. 

Both are all-wheel drive, too, and use the same nine-speed automatic gearbox, but as with the saloon, the S is the only one that gets Drift Mode – where the front-axle is effectively decoupled from the rear to make the mad Merc rear-wheel drive. The RS6 can’t do that. The S also gets dynamic engine mounts and bigger brakes over the non-S, though you can specify ceramics on either. In a car this large, you may want to.

These are just the headlines, so read our drive of the saloon for a proper tech breakdown; it’s mechanically identical to the Estate, after all. Although Mercedes does say the “hallmark AMG V8 sound has been tuned specifically for the Estate” (louder, we hope…), and naturally, there’s a bit of a weight penalty. We figure the S Estate is 115kg heavier than the equivalent saloon, and the non-S 110kg. Small price to pay? For looking cool at Scandinavian flat-pack furniture shops, absolutely.

We’ll see the AMG E63 Estate at the Geneva motor show next month, ahead of sales in April. Plenty of time to give the RS6 another 50bhp, Audi…