Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 review

The C63 is a very pricey piece of kit, as you'd expect given the sheer weight of tech and complexity on-board. A C63 S e Performance 4MATIC+ Night Edition Premium Plus Saloon (honestly, who comes up with this nonsense? And who signs it off?) starts at £97,530, making it by far the most expensive car in its class.

That said, Mercedes only sells the C63 fully loaded: you don't have to shell out extra for sportier seats or upgraded infotainment functions as per the BMW M3. But even so, it's an eye-watering price for such an imperfect driving experience.

Of more importance might be its fuel economy and CO2 numbers, and the impact these have on its viability as a business car. That’s when slinking around for eight miles of emissions-free use becomes a real asset; the resulting combined figures of 40.9mpg and 156g/km are in line with a decent hot hatch, though it’s worth noting we barely scraped 19mpg in mixed (and not completely yobbish) use.

That's because the fast-discharge/recharge battery strategy will chew through fuel in order to bring the hybrid system back online ASAP, so you've always got 671bhp on hand. That left us thinking... why have the hybrid system at all? Besides making silent getaways, it's not offering any real-world benefits beyond the huge speed (not that the V8 was slow) and in return you've got a less fruity-sounding, heavier, less practical and more complicated car.