In the coming weeks, there will be plenty of the new Mercedes-AMG E63 S to get your teeth into on PH: saloon and wagon tested, written and video reviews, the whole shebang. Because there's a sneaking suspicion there won't be many more 600hp E-Classes to follow these ones - at least not with purely V8 power, that is. Plus, well, they were awesome before, and not much has changed for this update - so why wouldn't we test both?
However, the usual caveats will surely apply when testing a very new and very fast car. First is cost: the new E63 will surely be an epic supersaloon, but as a wagon it costs £101,495 before any options are added. A prodigious sum of money. The second concern is, bluntly, driving a 612hp car in the UK and not getting into some trouble. The E63 was simply that good before that it was easy to be travelling far faster than you expected to be. Or ought to have been. There are worse problems to have, sure, but it's a problem nonetheless. Surely the ideal, therefore, would be a car with some AMG influence but at a rather less prohibitive cost - and potentially with a bit less power, too.
That car looks something like the E43. It's a curious car, the '43, for having spent so little time on sale. It was announced in 2016, launched in 2017 and then replaced by the electrified '53 in 2018, meaning fewer than a thousand are believed to be in the UK. It's perhaps a sign for the rate of progress at AMG that a car as good as the E43 was on sale for such a short period of time.
It really was worthy of attention, the E43. Power from the biturbo 3.0-litre V6 was increased over the C43 to 401hp, which still only trails the current '53 by 34hp. There was an AMG-specific 31:69 split for the 4Matic all-wheel drive, plus bespoke bits like new steering knuckles, stiffer bushes and geo tweaks for increased negative camber at the front axle. The E43 wasn't the full AMG overhaul, of course, but it was more than just an E-Class with a bit more power.
As such, it made for a very desirable performance offering, fast in all conditions, two-thirds the price of an E63, with a more accommodating ride to boot. Not the most thrilling of AMGs, yes, but then that was never really the point. For those who didn't fancy the idea of getting the family into an SUV, it was a very attractive alternative.
Five years after its launch, you'll find quite a few E43s for sale, with a pretty even split between saloons and estates - it's seldom that a coupe comes up. The highest mileage cars have now dropped to £30k from a new price nearer twice that, but this particular '43 wagon appeals for the opposite reason, as it's covered just 6,000 miles in three years. For a car so explicitly designed to carry plenty of things to plenty of places with plenty of performance, it's notable that it's been so sparingly used. But that means it presents quite an opportunity to the next owner: as a Premium Plus this E43 will have been in excess of £60k new, yet now is for sale at two thirds of that: £40,990.
Though white will not be everyone's cup of tea for a big estate, that sort of saving makes the E43 pretty hard to ignore. There are others available, of course, some for less money with more miles, or a little over £40k for those being sold in the MB dealer network. For those willing to buy from an independent dealer, this particular wagon is an intriguing option. That is, assuming the appeal of a V8 Audi S6 could be ignored, perhaps even more subtle and packing additional power from its 4.0-litre engine. Good luck finding one of those with so few miles, though...
SPECIFICATION | MERCEDES-AMG E43 4MATIC ESTATE
Engine: 2,996cc, V6 turbocharged
Transmission: 9G-Tronic Plus, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 401@6,100rpm
Torque (lb ft): 384@2,500-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.7sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
MPG: 33.6 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 197g/km
Year registered: 2018
Recorded mileage: 6,000
Price new: £58,290 (2017, before options, non-Premium Plus)
Yours for: £40,990
1 / 5
