Estate of Escape

What we like:

Superb Styling

Performance

Ride Quality

What we dislike:

Lower suspension makes access to some places a little difficult

The familiar 3.0 twin-turbocharged V6 which is found across the Mercedes AMG 43 range does not get the same treatment as the larger 4.0 V8 seen in the AMG 63 cars. While the latter, like the one in the C63 S Coupe we tested, is hand-assembled in small numbers, and is the sole responsibility of one engineer; the V6 is a little more mass-produced. But that does not mean it is a bad thing. Mercedes had made their AMG-tuned cars simply more reachable in doing this.

With 401hp on-tap, the Estate gets its job done, through a 9G-Tronic gearbox, driving all four wheels, with a lean to being rear-biased, with a ratio of 31-front and 69-rear, delivering a drive, similar to a rear-wheel driven car, but with the essential safety net of the front wheels offering a great deal of supporting drive.

With a natural negative camber to the front wheels when turning, there is very little roll, if not, none at all. Flick the car into a bend, and even with the extra bits of rear body, the Estate feels balanced, but with slightly more ‘shove’ from the rear, and you could simply smile from how accurate it is as you squeeze on the throttle while exiting a bend.

Down your right foot, and the Estate hits the 100km/h mark in an impressive 4.7 seconds, 0.1 slower than the Sedan. The sports suspension, based on AIR BODY CONTROL, does the car justice, in keeping it flat, and not allowing the rear to bog down under hard acceleration.

While peak torque from the V6 is a satisfying 520Nm, it does happen at a slightly late 2,500rpm. But pleasantly, the V6 builds up the torque, instead of giving you a sudden shove, helping to deliver a refined drive.

While the 43 is built to handle the demands of a sportier drive, there are four drive modes to choose from, from “Eco” to “Sports +”, with an addition of a fully customisable “Individual” drive mode. Insulation within the cabin is excellent, with just mild but satisfying growl from the sporty exhaust note seeping in. Ride quality in “Comfort” is appealing, despite its performance-leaning intentions.

We certainly like a car with its quirks, and the AMG E 43 does check this box. While the V6 is not specially hand-assembled like its larger V8 siblings, we cannot deny that there is plenty of engineering magic that has gone into this Estate.

While the interior may not be exciting to some, the quality of the build definitely is impressive.

Other creature spoils like the automated tailgate with automated cargo cover, and servo-assisted doors makes the E 43 package complete.

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