2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E-Performance Review: Performance Meets Extravagance

Blistering performance up front, snooze-worthy seats in back — what more could you want?

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Published August 31, 2023

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If the ethos of a mullet has ever been imbued into a luxury sedan … it has been in the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance.

I mean that in the best possible way, of course. Thanks to the wizards at Mercedes-AMG, it’s all business up front behind the wheel; yet with class-leading back seats that rival any private jet, it’s a decadent party in the back.

The apex of the Mercedes-Benz model lineup, the S-Class, has dabbled with influxes of intoxicating power and prolific poise for more than five decades, ever since the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG debuted in 1971. Affectionately dubbed “The Red Pig,” that race-winning steed benchmarked performance for the German automaker, and allowed engineers to apply learnings to the company’s everyday cars.

That history of distilling successful track-first applications into luxe road rockets continues with the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance, which borrows hybrid technology from Merc’s Formula 1 drive unit, leaving us with one helluva machine that can devour the tightest of twisty tarmac, while gently kneading your back via massagers behind the Nappa leather seats.

An AMG 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo is the beating heart of the S 63 E, augmented by a new AMG high-performance battery (a.k.a. HPB) delivering 13.1 kWh of power to a permanently excited synchronous motor mounted on the rear axle. Combined, 791 horsepower and 1,055 lb-ft of torque is available, which flings you from zero to 60 mph in a brand-estimated 3.2 seconds — impressive, for a hulking four-door sedan.

To review Affalterbach’s latest salvo, I spent an afternoon in the S 63 E carving up Malibu, California, canyon roads … and, of course, sampling the best of the backseat amenities.

mercedes amg 63 s e performance — As fun as the S 63 E Performance is to drive, the back seat may be the preferred option.

2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance: What We Think

TL;DR: It’s goddamn great. Whether you’re reclined in the rear seats, nestled into that sumptuous leather and plush pillow of a head rest, scrolling through all the entertainment options on the innumerable screens, or behind the tiller cycling through the seven dynamic driving modes, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance provides a class-leading experience.

7 dynamic driving modes are at your fingertips

Your options include “Electric,” which only utilizes the battery and motor, and can be utilized from a dead stop up to 87 miles per hour. This mode can also transfer power to the front wheels, should the vehicle detect wheel slippage. If the battery depletes, the car automatically switches to “Comfort,” activating the combustion engine. Comfort employs a combination of electric drive — dominantly used for city driving — and it’s helpful on highway drives, where the dual systems work in tandem for maximum efficiency.

There’s “Sport” mode, which provides an extra bit of oomph from the electric motor to help get up and off the line quicker. The S 63 also gives you more immediate response from the accelerator, snappier shifts, and earlier downshifts in this mode. The active dampening systems work to stiffen up the ride, keeping the car more firmly planted, allowing you to tuck into sharper turns with little to no body roll.

And then there’s “Sport+.” The engineers make a big to-do about ensuring the S 63 has a sportif nature, and this is the drive mode that highlights all that excellent work. There’s targeted torque intervention during the upshifts, and the engine deactivates cylinders to help optimize shift times. The suspension significantly stiffens, too, though the ride doesn’t feel harsh.

Oh, and don’t forget: there’s also a “Slippery” mode, which holds back some power to help you overcome less-than-ideal conditions; on top of that, there’s an “Individual” mode to help you customize each of the many electronic systems to your liking.

Comfort mode is indeed a tranquil experience, whether behind the wheel or enjoying the ride as a passenger. But you knew it would be, so let’s talk about flogging the S 63 in Sport+. The snarl on takeoff will start a smile creeping across your face, and it’ll only broaden as satisfying, chunky upshifts — managed by the 9G Multi-Clutch Transmission, tuned to double-declutch in this setting — help you rip any expanse of tarmac.

Race start — activated by mashing the brake pedal then flooring the accelerator and lifting off the brake — is a wonderfully violent affair that lightly rearranges your organs. It’s so intoxicating that you’ll find yourself race-starting from pretty much every stop.

The Malibu canyon roads are chock full of switchbacks that have sneaky decreasing radiuses and sharp hairpins; less than ideal for a behemoth of a sedan, typically. Here, in Sport+, the S 63 shines. Initially, we were nosing into sharp corners, dragging a bit of brake to help set the front end. But the car doesn’t need to slow down; you just need to have more cojones. Its agility means it can dance over a series of back-to-back twisties without you feeling its heft, at what I can only describe as frankly astonishing speeds—for the road we drove.

It’s flingable in a way that a sedan of its size shouldn’t be, and the limits of grip are absurdly high. We only got a hint of wheel squeal towards the end of the drive, when really pushing. (A colleague reclined in the backseat during this spirited portion had to swap to the front seat for more bolster support after a few miles.)

‘Battery hold’ and regenerative braking mitigate range anxiety

The final mode is “Battery Hold,” and it’s a nifty option if you want to ensure you’re always keeping a little bit of electricity in that high-performance battery. The S 63 uses both the combustion engine and the electric motor in this mode, but the state of charge never drops. Couple this with a largely imperceptible recuperation when you lift off the accelerator, and you can easily charge up the battery.

After nearly draining the battery, we toggled Battery Hold on at the top of the canyons, railed down to the bottom and found that we’d added enough juice to the system to drive fully electrically the 12 miles to the finish of the route.

The default for the regeneration system is Level 1, but you can adjust it up to Level 2 or 3, the latter of which affords one-pedal driving, just like in any electric vehicle. In this mode, with deliberate driving, you can feed more than 90 kW of power back into the car.

Rear-axle steering helps the S 63 E Performance slice corners

To virtually shorten the wheelbase, engineers cooked up a rear-steer system that modifies depending on your speed. Below 62 miles per hour, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction from the front; above 62 mph, the wheels shift to be in-phase with the front. Per the folks who designed the system, this builds up the lateral force faster when you’re quickly trying to change direction, and allows the car to have a better response to steering inputs.

And based on my the test drive, it works spectacularly. Come into a corner a little hot and get a little spooked when the road starts to cinch up unexpectedly and find that you needn’t be worried about much; the S 63 feels planted even when you’re correcting the steering input mid-corner. You have increased steering wheel feedback when in Sport or Sport+ mode, so you can feel how the car’s responding to any corner better, too.

This AMG’s stability systems can seem at odds under aggressive driving

A minor quibble, since it’s only noticeable under the most ferocious of driving — but with all the stability control systems doing their best to keep the S 63 surefooted and nimble, occasionally, you’ll feel a little chatter. Once or twice, I was mid-corner, hopping back on the throttle towards the exit, and found that while the car complied with more power, the inside rear wheel was struggling to put it down so it would cut in and out, giving a hint of vibration and resistance.

The steering wheel is a little busy

Another trifle, but there are more than 20 buttons and input selectors on the steering wheel. All of which are necessary, since they’re deleted from the beautiful expanse of screens in the cockpit, but it’s a bit overwhelming when you’re driving and trying to figure out some element of control.

I do, however, appreciate that many of them are customizable to suit your whims and wishes, so owners likely will get used to the system and setup quickly, but the initial fumbling around to, say, switch the car to manual shift mode, takes a longer than you’d ideally like.

The Dolby Atmos stereo system really immerses you in audio

Mercedes-Benz is among the first manufacturers to pilot Dolby Atmos audio technology within a vehicle, and this S 63 features it. While conventional car audio runs two channels, Atmos can infinitely parse audio elements, giving you a 360-degree experience that sounds like you’re inside the music. I gave it a test by asking Mercedes (the in-car audio assistant) to “play some Rammstein.” Within seconds, “Du Hast” was dominating the cabin, in perfect — and very loud — clarity.

s 63 tailpipes — Of course, if you’re not a Rammstein fan, you can always just listen to these.

2024 Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance: Alternatives

If you’re in the market for a $200,000+ sedan that can pamper or pulverize you, you’re likely going to also look at the Lucid Air, the BMW 7 Series, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid and the Audi S8.

The Lucid Air is fully electric, can hammer to 60 in 2.6 seconds, and boasts a category-leading amount of range at 516 miles. It’s also about $80,000 cheaper than the S 63, though the interior materials and a confusing infotainment system mar the overall package.

The BMW 7 Series has many powertrain options, including a turbo inline-six, a plug-in hybrid or a V8 with twin puffers, all offering plenty of hustle. That said, the Bimmer is more focused on interior comfort and offering an executive-level back seat than on the driving dynamics and sheer speed.

Porsche’s Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid offers 690 horsepower, and a quicker sprint to 60 (three seconds flat). While there’s ample legroom in the back, the Stuttgart sedan’s rear seat doesn’t quite stack up to the S 63’s in terms of comfort.

And finally, there Audi’s S8, a twin-turbo V8 packing 563 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of twist. Oodles of control options abound for those in the rear, though the powertrain seems pale in comparison to the S 63’s.