2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4MATIC: Nothing Exceeds Like Excess

Some cars simply defy logic and reason - not to mention the laws of physics.  The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4MATIC is one such vehicle, a lavish four-door luxury car that accelerates at a rate its two-tonne curb weight indicates shouldn't be possible.  Of course, 'impossible' is a word that has no real meaning to the engineers at in-house tuners AMG, who have made a career out of building freakishly quick examples of almost every single Mercedes-Benz model.

The CLS63 AMG 4MATIC is exceptionally fast, and it exudes a stylish malevolence that attracts attention absolutely everywhere it goes.  What's it like to live with this Mercedes-Benz on a daily basis?  Surprisingly easy, as I found out during my week with the turbocharged monstrosity.

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All-Wheel Drive Joins The Party

Power is nothing without control, as the old cliché goes, and sensing that the never-ending horsepower escalation underway between German and American luxury brands was showing no signs of stopping, AMG elected to install standard all-wheel drive with its next-generation wave of Teutonic hot rods.  Scooped up in this sweep towards four-wheel traction was the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4MATIC, and those five letters appended to its new name indicate that incinerating the rear tires is no longer in the car's playbook.

That's not to say that Mercedes-Benz hasn't preserved at least some of the CLS63 AMG's rear-wheel drive dynamics despite the presence of all-wheel drive, as the system splits enough torque to the back axles to make hanging the tail out around a corner possible when one is overly-exuberant during throttle application.  Truth be told, 90 percent of drivers will be happy that the 550 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque produced by the CLS63 AMG's bi-turbo 5.5-liter V8 have been given an all-wheel drive assist, as those are daunting figures to have to corral in daily driving - particularly in the winter, or on rainy roads.

Remarkably Civilized

It's a feather in 4MATIC's cap, then, that puttering around town in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG is a relatively drama-free exercise.  Of course, the deep bellow thrumming from the car's quad exhaust tips is a constant soundtrack to any trip taken in the AMG, but other than that there's very little sense that your right foot controls more thrust than the rockets that first took Apollo astronauts to the lunar surface.  Even the car's air suspension system, which features three stiffness settings, didn't rock my world on rough pavement.

All is not perfect with the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG's casual demeanour, unfortunately.  The vehicle is shifted via a seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox, and as with other applications of this unit that I have sampled, low-speed response (such as when accelerating away from a stop) can bog down and hesitate.  The paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel frequently see their input ignored by the transmission, giving it a numb feel. The car's steering is also much louder than it should be in such a high-priced model, particularly when parking.

Hammer Down Heart Attack

Of course, at its core the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4MATIC is meant to deliver the kind of thrills that the still-impressively-endowed CLS550 can't, and it does this to the point where I became fearful of the consequences of mashing the gas pedal to the floor.  The CLS63 AMG is too fast.  There, I've said it.  It's too fast for responsible use.  Off the line, with the transmission set to either Sport or Sport+, you're looking at a four second sprint to 100 km/h, including a scary surge of boost once third gear has engaged that regularly caught me off-guard.  Engage the car's 'Race Start' feature - something I was only able to do after much consultation with various Internet gurus regarding the arcane rites required to engage the launch control gods - and you're looking at 3.6 seconds, which is bonkers for such a heavy automobile.

AMG provides beefed up brakes for the CLS63, as well as a sticky suspension tune and huge 19-inch rims and rubber, which means that the car is never out of control in the corners despite its considerable mass.  Still, this isn't a track day special by any means - the vehicle is far happier to unleash its ridiculous acceleration in a straight line than it is trying to stuff it between bends on a road course.  This is well in keeping with owner expectations, as the CLS63 AMG isn't something you would regularly come across at your local miler.

Luxurious, But…

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4MATIC comes with all of the expected luxuries, and a few surprises, given the $121,400 MSRP of my tester.  Heated and cooled leather seats, a sunroof, adaptive cruise control with collision avoidance, and the COMAND vehicle interface system are all along for the ride, and I was pleased to discover that the driver's seat also featured dynamic bolsters, which automatically inflated and deflated in harmony with the car's steering in order to keep me firmly in place.

The CLS63 AMG suffers for its sleek styling, unfortunately, as its plunging roofline - far more severe than one would find in a traditional sedan - limited rear headroom to the point where six-footers would rather walk than ride.  There's a full-length console in the car, too, which means that only four passengers at a time can sample the Mercedes-Benz's brutal might.  Other miss-steps include seemingly useless phone buttons on the steering wheel (which never once activated COMAND's phone features for me) as well as difficulty processing voice commands when using Bluetooth linked to a mobile device.

No End In Sight

It seems as though turbocharging has opened up a limitless horsepower frontier in the premium space, and the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS64 AMG 4MATIC is a clear indication of just how terrifying performance cars are becoming as a result.  Even more frightening is that one can order the AMG-S package for this model and jump to 577 horses and 590 lb-ft of torque, numbers which are frankly absurd for anything with four doors.  Mercedes-Benz is to be commended for making such a capable car so easy to drive 'normally,' and while this type of beast is in no way necessary in anyone's driveway, I am happy that there's still a cadre of designers out there willing to build automobiles that fly in the face of logic for those who can afford the price of admission.