2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S vs BMW M5 Competition // When Monsters Meet

You're watching the Thornton Horse Car Report. I'm James and we're here in California and it looks like we've stumbled upon a car enthusiast stronghold. Which is good because we want to find the homeowner and find out if a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S is worth buying over an M5 competition. Maybe that's him now! Excuse me, sir. Are you the homeowner? No. No, no, no. I'm just here to rake the botchy court. Oh. Well, what's your name? Jason. Jason, do you have an opinion on the AMG GT 63 S four-door? Yes. In fact, you know, it's really just a CLS with a body kit on it to make it look like a GT. I think it's a marketing sham. I haven't been on YouTube in two years! Get back here! I have a lot to say! You're watching Fartle House. I'm Thomas. And I'm James. And this is the AMG GT 63 S and the M5 competition. And $60,000 separates these two cars. And I know for a lot of us at home, it's like, well, if I have that much money to spend, an extra $60,000 isn't too scary. But our research has showed something different. $60,000! So given that, we want to find out if an M5 competition is enough. No one needs an M5, especially the competition. No one needs a 617-horsepower twin-turbo V8 sedan with enough torque to break into orbit. It's about as necessary as a huge chocolate-covered dessert after a three-course meal. Do I need it? No. But do I want it anyway? Of course. So that's why it exists. To satisfy our need for thunderous performance in an everyday setting. And with quarter-mile numbers in the mid-10s, it's difficult to see why you would ever need any more performance than this. Yes, you could argue that the new M8 Gran Coupe might be a better fit here, but it's not available yet. And either way, if you take into account that this has comfortable rear seats, lots of trunk room, and full-on luxury amenities, you have to ask, does the balance of performance and luxury get any more ridiculous than this? Mercedes thinks yes. If you were ever worried that your E63 S was overshadowed by the more powerful M5 competition, here's your answer. For only a house-down payment more, you can get an AMG GT 63 S. It's a car that hits 100kmh before you can even finish saying its name. Watch. Mercedes AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC PLUS 4- It's rated at 3.2 seconds, as opposed to the M5 competition's snail pace of 3.3. Aha. But yeah, so they're basically the same acceleration. But the AMG has more horsepower than the M5 competition. 630 horses in total from its hand-crafted biturbo V8. And is the most aggressive four-door that Mercedes offers. So yes, whilst the E63 S is the slated rival to the M5 competition, we wanted to see how much more a Falterbach's best gives you on the road. If you're new to Throttle House, we do car reviews, track tests, and quite a lot of messing around. So subscribe and hit the bell. AMG GT 63, launch. Some cars make you feel like you're you on a racetrack. Some cars make you feel like you're Usain Bolt on a racetrack. This makes you feel like you're Usain Bolt running downhill away from an explosion. It's absurd. Okay, the first thing you need to know about this car is that it is supercar fast. Supercar fast. That V8 just hauls. Unbelievable. I've got the exhaust in the loudest mode, so it pops and bangs and just makes a racket on the outside. On the inside, though, I don't really like the sound. It's quite synthetic. But as soon as you are pushed back into the seat, you kind of forget about everything else. It just becomes a G-Force experience. All right, let's get down to it. This is a ridiculous, ridiculous four-door supercar coupe sports thing. I can't categorize it, and apparently neither can Mercedes. But it is an amalgamation of all the things that make AMG great right now. It's sharp. It's stiff. It drives like a sports car. This is not a faster S-Class. Don't think that for a second. Everything about this car is theater and fanfare. There's even an emotional start, which doesn't just involve me crying and turning the key. You hold down the left paddle shift, and it starts with higher revs. Again, not something you need, but something you want and deserve for the price tag. This has a torque converter automatic. It's not a DCT like that AMG. I still get unbelievable gear changes. And most importantly, when I put everything in comfort mode, really smooth transitions between the gears. This car becomes very, very civilized. It's actually lovely to live with. It's quiet. The ride is smooth. Everything is easy. The nine-speed transmission in comfort tries to be as economical as it can be. In fact, if you pull away from the light, even at about 60 kilometers an hour, so like 40-ish miles an hour, you'll find yourself in seventh gear. However, despite its attempt to be economical, I've been doing 20 liters per 100 kilometers. So yes, it's crazy fast, and it handles unbelievably well. The steering is like nothing I would have expected from something of this size. It makes it feel like such a small vehicle. This has the rear-wheel steering, so it turns the opposite way to the front wheels at low speeds and the same way at high speeds. It makes the car feel small, which is a weird compliment, and we use it a lot. But the ability to make these cars feel small is key to making it feel sporty. And when it turns, I have the active bolstering like we experienced in the CLS, which allows me to stay in my seat better. It's coming in even now, even if I hit a pothole. And that's something that M5 does not have. So you may already know that this isn't based on the AMG GT platform, but rather the E-Class platform. And with the E63 S, we've got the 4MATIC Plus all-wheel drive system, which this car also has. And that allows it to have variable torque distribution. More importantly, it means that this car can become rear-wheel drive only in something called drift mode. Unfortunately, we won't be able to do that today because we're on public roads. I'm sure James is telling you how his car can become only rear-wheel drive. Well, this one can too. And I've actually drifted one of these. This thing is unbelievably competent, especially on a back road like this. It's lively. It is. It's just so impressive. It almost feels magic. Because it just does everything so well. It turns in and it steers and it handles like a small sports car. It's crazy. BMW has not cut any corners with this car. The engine mounts are stiffer. The front suspension is a double wishbone. The rear is a five-link setup. The sway bars, the springs, the dampers are all stiffer. All to keep the car a linear feel at the limit. And of course, it has an entire gamut of assistance technology, including DSC, ABS, ASC, MDM, CBC. And of course, J-A-M-E-S-I-S-D-U-M-B. But the thing about all those systems is that they almost feel like they're doing a lot of the work for you. It's a little bit muted. It doesn't quite feel as raw as I want it to. The steering, for example, is very, very numb. I'm not getting any feel of that contact patch up front at all. And honestly, the sound is too synthetic. But it's not all good. In fact, the ride, even in comfort mode around the city, has been very harsh. And not harsh to the point where it's a deal breaker. But for whatever reason, the way it impacts the road and hits the undulations, it reverberates through my head and my ears. And I found myself getting a headache driving this. Out on these lovely back roads, I'm not having that issue. This is just such an impressive machine. But it's almost too impressive. It's missing a little bit of the fanfare that I have a feeling that AMG has. So I can't wait to drive it. I do have a lot of love for that M5 competition when I last drove it. So I'm looking forward to getting into the driver's seat again. First, though, Thomas and I are going to talk about the styling. These cars are so fast. This is a monster. And it looks like one. It's got these aggressive lines. It's got this giant Panamericana front grille. You mean the Panamera grille? No, they call it Panamericana. It's the new design language for the AMG. Sounds like a coffee. Does it? Yeah. Don't hate on this. People with 2018 AMGs are switching theirs out for this. It looks good. This is also a massive Mercedes. Look at the size of that. Dinner plate right there. This has the aerodynamics package. So we've got some aggressive stuff going on, including the giant spoiler at the back. Do we gloss over this completely fake vent grille thing here? Yeah, we do. What color paint is this? It says V8 Biturbo 4Matic+. It doesn't say anything on that. It just says M5. I don't need anything. Everyone already knows what an M5 is. This is paint that is special. It is how much? This is $2,500 paint. That's not bad for this. It is Designo Brilliant Blue Magno, which is like their version of matte. I think it looks stunning. And with these yellow brake calipers and hyper silver wheels. Those wheels are amazing. I've always loved that combo. This is a massive wing. I feel a little bit inadequate. Obviously, we have a sloping roof with a little lip spoiler. Yeah, what is that? I don't want to talk about it. That's not a real spoiler. What's the point for it? Anyway, this is the competition. I get lots of extra stuff. I get black badging. I get these really cool wheels. I have a carbon fiber hood, by the way. Do you have a carbon fiber hood? No, I have sunroof. Actually, I don't even need the competition to get a carbon fiber hood. Right, but look at you. Lower center of gravity. Vitamin D deficiency all over you. I think this looks stunning. I honestly think it looks stunning. No, it looks fantastic. Absolutely. It looks like an M5. This looks like it was meant to be exactly what it is. Yours, if I'm honest, well, it looks fantastic. Looks like it was, at one point, a long hood, two-door sports car. Oh, wait. It was. That's a good thing. And what do they call this body style again? What it is, in fact, not? It's a coupe. Yeah, it's not a coupe. Yeah, it's very much an E63S and a CLS and an AMG GT thrown into a blender. And it's a goose. It's very different. Let's chat about the interior. Yeah, let's do it. All right. Welcome to the inside of the GT63S. It's very fancy. And we get a lot of flack for saying that all the BMW interiors are the same. They're the same steering wheel and stuff, but not the Mercedes. But the reality is that this is a different specific AMG wheel. And you can get the same tech inside. This even has more stuff, which we'll go over in a second. Yes. But yeah, there are similarities here. Of course there are. Like the dual screen thing. I love the dual screen. It's very sharp. It's very good. All right, well, let's start with the steering wheel then, because that's the most obvious difference compared to the CLS we were in. Yeah. We have these extra buttons here. You have the turning wheel like on a Porsche. You get to turn to sport, sport plus, race mode. That's like supercar stuff right there. Yeah, it's awesome. These ones are nice because there's the suspension and the exhaust. But here, do me a favor. Just press that down. There's a little screen on here. It's screen, but it's like creaky. Oh, wait. Oh, you're right. I don't know why it feels like that. Maybe previous journalists have been pressing too hard on it with their carelessness. Oh, I can actually select which one I want and then turn it on or off. How cool is that? What? See? I can actually select exhaust. Oh, you get to choose the two. I get to choose the two options and whether they're on or off. Oh, I've had this car for a few days. I figured that out in 30 seconds. What's up? Well, you're smarter than me. Okay, so this is really cool. These are all individual screens as well. That's my exhaust button. Yeah, so I have a problem with this. It doesn't say whether it's on or off. It just goes orange or blue. Orange means on, blue means off. So if you're colorblind, you're screwed. But more realistic for most of the population, if you're wearing polarized sunglasses. Yeah, you can't see this. It doesn't even show the colors. Otherwise, other than that, I actually really like the setup and the push. Yep, and the materials in here obviously are absolutely fantastic. You know what? We've got some Mercedes creaking going on here. That's a $500 Walnut open-pored trim that's creaking. That creaks like crazy. Maybe it's authentic, like a tree. Trees creak. They do indeed creak. You're right. And as always, on the steering wheel, we have these lovely thumb buttons. You can navigate through all the screens, and they're very intuitive in my opinion. Incredibly intuitive. And I don't like these creak as well. Why? Okay, M5 competition. Now, straight away. What? There's nothing. You know where I'm going with this? You're probably going to say something about how it's got the older tech, and so you love it. And, you know, it's got the old iDrive, so it's amazing. Yeah. All of those things? All right, we're done. Yeah. No, yeah, the gauge cluster, I like this way better. I like that gauge cluster a lot. Come on. It's way better. It is still digital, but it looks like a gauge cluster. You can see sitting in here some of the price difference. You can see the price difference. This is not as extravagant. No, it's definitely not. And we've got some piano black here, which is a little bit creaky and shows fingerprints. But, otherwise, this is still very nice. Right? It's fine. The seats are fantastic. It doesn't... It's Malcantera. There is a jump. Got some leather stitching. There is absolutely a jump. Is there a $60,000 jump, though? That is the actual question. Well, it's not just the interior. Of the day. Yeah. This is the Harman Kardon sound system, by the way, which is actually quite good. Well, you can get this car with Bowers & Wilkins. Yes, but the Harman Kardon, as it is, is really good. Yeah. When I tested this car, I had the brown interior with the matte silver on the outside. Yeah. That was a very cool color. It was a very cool color. So, even though this seems dark now, we know you can get in some cool stuff. Yeah. Obviously, it all has the glowing ambient lighting. Yeah. I've got the M1 and the M2 button I can preset on my steering wheel. It's just the same steering wheel that you get in every BMW now. These cars love ambient lighting. They do. They both look so good at night. We're bathed in ambient lighting. Yeah. This looks great in the ambient lighting. The Mercedes looks great with the ambient lighting. Mercedes crushes ambient lighting. At night time, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. These seats are really cool, too. I like them. They're comfortable. My shoulders. There's no active bolstering, though. No, but do you really need it? Do you sleep at night? Do you really need it? That sounds like something that's going to break in five years, that's what that sounds like. Do you want to drive this? Yes, please. Okay. Both these cars are lunacy. The way they just put the power down, both all-wheel drive is nuts. Already though, and Thomas has left me in sport mode here, the ride is so much nicer in this. All right. Oh, it's so violent. Oh, my god. I love AMG engines. It's just like a howitzer on the upshift. OK, right away, though, I can tell you I agree with James. It's just a transference of vibrations and noise into your head. It's kind of a strange experience, actually. Like, I'm going over a bump right now. Yeah, it's really, really stiff. And I'm in comfort mode. But it's really easy to fall in love with that AMG soundtrack. I'm trying to think, who buys the AMG? Who spends $190,000 on the car that can do everything? And I think the answer is someone has a Huracan in their garage already. But for way less, this car, from a performance perspective, is incredible. But it doesn't have that theater. OK, yes, the steering is sharper. The chassis is more responsive. The car feels much more like a sports car. But it doesn't feel the same purpose as a sports car. So I don't know. I don't see a need for this. It's unbelievable and fantastic. But between these two, I think I'd probably take the M5 and then buy a sports car. Every time you drive along the promenade in that Mercedes, you're making a statement. This doesn't do that. And I think it's in a really nice, inconspicuous way. No one knows, other than car people, what this thing can do. I wouldn't call it a sleeper, because it still looks pretty mean. But knowing you can hit 100 kilometers an hour in just over three seconds gives you some level of road superiority. So on Instagram, we asked everyone which car they'd rather have. And the M5 took it. If you want to be a showman, and you want to entertain not only yourself, but every single person that you drive by, then this is definitely the car to have. But in terms of which one actually makes more sense, it's obviously the M5 competition. That issue that I talked about in the Mercedes with the ride, to me, unfortunately, is a one-issue deal breaker. And for that reason, I would get this car, and a Miata, and a couple of vacations in Florida. Excuse me, sir. Are you the home? No, I'm just raking. Is this a gentleman's sausage? Well, it was. Hold on. It's going to be. It looks way too big. I'm Italian.