22 MPG on a E63 AMG is pretty impressive, since the epa rating is only 12 city and 19 highway.

 

Slightly different beast, but ML55 got 14mpg combined on 75/25 (fwy/city) daily commute driving. It was the fastest production SUV, which prompted Bmw to come out with the 4.6 X5 and Porche with the Cayenne Turbo. I would still choose the ML63 over the 4.8 X5 and Cayenne turbo today...

 

I was pleasantly surprised as well Henry. MPG on the freeway isn't as bad as I expected, as long as you don't drive too crazy.

However, when I do my daily commute (which is all local driving), the MPG gets ugly...real ugly.

 

typical high power v8. back in the old days with the gs400 and sc430, whenever i was in traffic or local, it was horrible

 

wow....nice car, I agree the E63 will be the only car that I would be willing to trade it for.....

 

Maybe you should dyno the motor, something sounds fishy. Even C&D said they averaged 10mpg on a '08 E63 that they tested. It's just that 22mpg avg for a full tank is really hard to believe (unless you did a road trip to Vegas with cruise control set a 65 and no AC). . .

 

Since you seem to be obsessed with the MPG issue, the majority of the miles were from a round trip from Santa Monica to Palm Springs. Any more questions???

C&D? Ever think they are consistently stomping on the gas to guage their performance numbers? I'm sure C&D numbers are indicative of real world numbers

Something fishy with my car? Sorry to dissappoint you, but everything is fine with my E63. And believe it or not, I didn't get the E63 for it's MPG attributes.

 

^ Hey bro, it's all good, no need to get defensive. I just recall my experiences with the ML and it would suck gas like a drunken sailor. Glad you're enjoying the E63. . .

 

i can vouch for the highway mpg. the sticker says 19 but i get low 20's (max of 23). this is just for a regular drive from oc or la to sa diego. a/c was on too. local driving is horrendous. if you do a short drive to the grocery store or something, it's going to be between 10-14mpg.

we haven't put too many miles on the car (less than 600mi) but so far it is doing great. like jay said, the engine roar is intoxicating! i love lexus for being so quiet, but i have to admit the first time i ever started the E63 i was like

the car begs to be driven hard and fast. a little lexus IS pulled up to me the other day and the guy was trying to race me i guess. i was in the outside left turn lane and he was on the inside left turn. i didn't race him b/c i'm 8 mos pregnant but i did give it a little gas for fun (not more than 1/2 the pedal though - still breaking it in sorta) and i pretty much whooped him around the turn and to the next light. not to say that i shouldn't have beaten him badly, but it was just an example of the beast inside the 63, even at 1/2 the effort

it's not really fair to compare the E63 to a GS430, but overall the driving experience is just that - the driving really becomes interesting and less commuter-like. it handles pretty well and the body roll is barely noticeable compared to the GS. it can get a little squirrly on you if you don't have the suspension at the firmest, but nothing the car can't handle. the seats that come on the 63 are really nice, they are so supportive yet comfortable.

the only gripe i have so far, which isn't really a gripe but a mixed-emotion, is that the freakin front dam/lip is so low and the new front bumper with the pointed nose causes some serious scraping issues!! we haven't scraped it badly (only on the underside of the lip where you can't see it), but even moderately sloped driveways are a doozy to avoid scraping. we have settled on raising the car with the air suspension button whenever entering or exiting parking lots because we are so paranoid... but it looks like a 4x4 when you raise it

other than that, the electronics are a pain at first but fine once you get them set up the way you want it. the display is nice on everything except the nav, and it's wonderful to finally see the full song title and artist on Sirius rather than 10-digits. but honestly we drive around alot just having conversation or without music because the engine noise is so soothing. not sure how long that will last, but we haven't had the urge to load any CDs or hook up the iPod yet ... LOL

 

Ha, if the IS driver only knew he had been whooped by a pregnant lady! Are you sure you don't go looking for races?

Yes, the "rise" button is a useful feature. I tend to use it to avoid those pesky cement blocks in parking lots.

The Ipod interface is underwhelming. Everything has to be controlled via the instrument cluster and not the COMAND display. Not much info on the cluster, only the song title. Very basic compared the Ipod interfaces found in other new cars.

However, yes, there is nothing like driving with the Panny roof open, and then stepping on the gas...what a glorious sound

 

i think you're right. lexus has been great to me but recently i've been craving more in terms of looks. i feel like a lot of the cars have converged in the way they look, although the GS is still pretty distinctive in the lexus lineup. we prob would've gone with the 450h if the lease rates weren't so awful.

i've taken the liberty of testing out the german brands on our 2 leased cars and it's worked out pretty well. the Audi has been very solid and will likely be replaced this fall with the S5 or A5. we will have to see how the mercedes does over the next 3 years and how we like the designs compared to what lexus is offering. i wish the GS460 had come out with more power too. hopefully they will up the ante on the V8 GS.

i still love lexus though. the RX is still one of my favorite SUVs on the road and does just about everything i want it to do, so we don't plan on giving it up anytime soon. plus it still pleases the eye - but i need to get my black pearl emblems on and turn signal mirrors installed to give it its midlife facelift

 

LOL! i guess i do every now and then - have you seen that VW commercial where the baby sleeps when the car is revving and then cries when at a stoplight? i think my little one craves speed too -- he doesn't seem to mind when we get a little "spirited" with the car we will have to see how he reacts once out in the real world!

those cement blocks are freakin scary. one time my friend had an SLK and parked over the block and there was an inch or two of rebar (sp?) sticking out of the block and it pulled off the undertray when she backed out. i don't want that to happen to me!

yes the pano roof is one of the top 10 BEST parts of the car. i can't get enough of the way it looks both open and closed. if it would stop raining for more than a few days i would post a pic. it looks so awesome open. post a pic if you have one!

 

Lexus Lover, it must be nice to be able to take the AMG when you feel like doing a little spirited driving and be able to take the Lexus out when you want some quiet time. You must admit though, these 2 cars are in different class. The high end MB is very well built and well design, but when you buy a MB in Lexus' price range, the MBs just dont compare.

 

the GS gets picked up by the leasing bank in another 10 days or so we are sad to let it go!

you are right about the car classes though. we never intended to get an e-class, let alone the AMG. we actually were looking at CLS's (although price-wise that is a step up from the GS as well), but then realized what kind of lease rates were available on the E's, including the AMG.

ordinarily the 95k AMG would price out at least 300-400 more per month than what we are paying, so we really thought of this as a possible once-in-a -lifetime splurge on an AMG MB that we never would have considered otherwise. in fact, from the first quote to the time we got the 63, the payment was reduced over $500/mo.

from a car perspective, you are absolutely correct that the GS 430/460 should not be compared to the E63. but from a leasing perspective, we were comparing the $62-$65K GS450h to the $95K E63 and it was within $50/mo. so to us it was a an easy choice. it also didn't hurt that the E63's can be had for $11k+ under MSRP.

if we were buying, it'd be a completely different story. but i'm all for the germans inflating their lease residuals and offering all kinds of incentives to get into their higher end cars. perhaps that is exactly their strategy, to lure people like me to try the brand in a "safe" way with full warranty coverage and attractive lease pymts, only to suck me into the brand later on even still, i don't feel comfortable buying a german car after all that has happ with my friends' cars.

 

guys and gals, you make me want to get an amg