Mercedes-Benz C-Class vs Mercedes-Benz GT63

What's the difference?

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class C200 is such a stylish sedan and I would totally have one. The driving performance, luxurious features and practical size made it a winning combo for my family. The price point is definitely up there but you do get a high-end build for the cash. I've seen bigger boots in other sedans and not being able to fit a third child seat will limit some families, but this still easily earns an 8.5/10 from me.

My son really loved this one. The ambient lighting was the highlight for him and he thought it looked like a "space car" inside. He gave it a 9/10.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe fulfils the brief for an ultra-fast, ultra-luxurious, four-door weapon. The theatre that surrounds it will be enough for some, and those that want to a have a serious crack won’t be disappointed.

The C200 is a sleek and elegant steed.

Initially, you may think this is just a standard Merc showcase. There's the nice big badge on the pronounced nose. Beautiful sleek lines in the body... but it's the attention to detail that make this feel special.

There's a repeated badge motif in the grille and a cute cursive Mercedes logo tucked into the corner of the windscreen. The puddle lights on the doors project the badge at night time and you can often spot a badge etched into the LED lights.

However, it's the interior that's the highlight for me and I feel like it's a big step up from previous models I've been in.

Our model has the grey 'Artico' synthetic leather trim (says grey but it's really white) and a lovely mix of piano black and shiny chrome inserts that are set against soft touchpoints throughout.

The quality of the build oozes through every stitch and join. Don't even get me started on the cool customisable ambient lighting system inside, which makes this feel like you're on the set of Tron and really elevates the interior.

It's quite fun to build one of these in Mercedes' online configurator. You can customise your trims to make it feel like your own and their blue paintwork options are great (I do love a blue car).

At a fraction over 5.0 metres long and just under 1.9 metres wide, the GT 4-Door Coupe is substantial, but an overall height under 1.5 metres sets up an aggressive stance that screams speed.

Fat guards are filled by dark 21-inch rims, and the low-set, bulging bonnet sits behind menacingly angular ‘Multi-beam’ LED headlights sitting either side of AMG’s now signature ‘Panamericana’ grille, looking ready to chew up and spit out lesser machines.

It has to be said that calling this car a four-door is a bit cheeky because technically it’s a hatch, and to my eyes at least the gentle rearward slope of the turret and large cargo door enhances the design’s understated power.

Inside is a sea of top-shelf nappa leather, with the twin-widescreen cockpit layout (two 12.3-inch hi-res displays) dominating the dash. Carbon-fibre is applied liberally (in the 63 S), and the grippy sports steering wheels and seats look and feel close to track grade.

Turbine-style air vents (four in the centre, and one at each edge) are now a Mercedes design signature (used in the back as well) and they combine with the brushed metal finishes around the broad centre console and on the pedals to deliver a sense of occasion and anticipation just sitting in the car. Fit and finish is flawless.

I'm not going to lie – there are sedans out there that have an almost limo-like space inside but the C200 isn't one of them.

It's not small by any means and all occupants enjoy the comforts of decent legroom and headroom but it's not cavernous considering the specs (1437mm high/1820mm wide/4751mm long).

The optional panoramic sunroof does cut into the headroom for back seat passengers, which is something to consider if your family is very tall.

The storage is maybe a tad leaner-than-average for a car of this size. The glove box and middle console aren't massive but will suffice.

The cupholders up front can be removed if you need extra storage space for larger items and back seat passengers enjoy retractable cupholders in the armrest.

The way the front doors curve out creates a larger than normal storage bin and drink bottle holder – which help make up the difference. There is a dedicated phone pocket, to tuck it out of the way.

The boot space is 455 litres (VDA), which isn't as large as some others on the market but it was plenty big enough for my family's needs.

There's a handy under-floor storage pocket for smaller items, like the puncture repair kit, because you don't get a spare tyre in this.

When it comes to ease of use, my six-year-old loved not needing my help to get into his seat and he still enjoyed a decent view out of the wide back window.

The amenities in each row are good but not class-defining. Still, creature comforts have be well-thought through.

Front occupants enjoy heated seats and fantastic lumbar and under thigh support. Dual-zone climate control sorts out the temp, and the cool circular air vents that make loud audible 'clicks' when manoeuvred give the interior a jet cockpit vibe.

While I've never had an issue opening or closing a sedan boot, the powered lid was a nice feature to have this week.

The tech throughout is great and intuitive to use. The massive 11.9-inch touchscreen multimedia system is cool and is easy to use once you become acclimatised to Mercedes system.

The customisable digital instrument panel makes the driving experiences feel individualised.

The interior is a chilled out space with gentle scrolling touchpads taking the place of most 'push' buttons and dials.

Think of each surface as being a bit like a touchscreen tablet in how you operate it. I was a little worried the touchpads would be laggy but they're very responsive.

There's only one USB port in the whole car, which limits charging for other passengers but I did enjoy the easy connectivity of the wireless Apple CarPlay.

The electric heated front seats are a nice touch but I was amused by the 'kinetic' function on both. It's what you might call a 'massage' function on another car but here they don't really work. It's best to think of them as a way to do some (very) gentle stretching on a long trip.

The 360-degree camera view is super clear and crisp but the dynamic guidelines (which tilt the camera angle) are a bit too dynamic for my liking and I relied mostly on the bird's eye view to park.

As I've mentioned, the ambient lighting system creates a stellar atmosphere inside. I've often wondered why other car manufacturers haven't jumped on that bandwagon because it's a relatively cheap way of creating wow factor. And it generates massive wow factor in here.

At surface level the GT 4-Door Coupe is a more liveable alternative to the GT Coupe, for blazing fast road trips, and obscenely rapid grocery runs. But the fact is it’s sooo much more practical than its two-door stablemate.

Space in the front is generous with storage running to twin cupholders in the centre console, as well as a modest glove box, decent sized door bins (with room for bottles), and a lidded storage box between the seats.

Connectivity and power options include 12-volt outlets, multiple USB ports and NFC (Near Field Communication) tech for easy Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection of enabled devices.

Rear seat room is healthy. At 183cm I was able to sir behind the driver’s seat set to my position with plenty of leg and headroom to spare. Although anyone travelling in the rear centre position will have drawn the short straw, because the back seat is sculpted with bolstered positions for the two outer positions only.

A fold-down centre armrest offers more storage with a lidded box and a pair of cupholders and twin vents in the rear of the front centre console can be adjusted individually as part of the four-zone climate control system.

Hit the button, near the driver or on the key fob, to open the tailgate door and you’re presented with 461 litres (VDA) of cargo space, with the rear seat split-folding 40/20/40 to increase flexibility and liberate considerably more room.

There are tie-down hooks at each corner of the boot floor, an elasticised cargo net is included, and 12-volt power is provided.

Don’t bother looking for a spare wheel, the tyres are run-flats, and both GT 4-Door Coupe models are a towing no-go zone.

So, the GT 4-Door Coupe can’t just be about staggering performanmce. The GT 53 kicks things off at $249,900, before on-road costs, and at that price you’ll want a handsome load of standard features to go with all that performance potential.

We’ll cover active and passive safety tech in the Safety section, and aside from that the GT 53’s standard equipment list includes, performance front seats (heated and ventilated with electronic adjustment and memory), sports steering wheel (trimmed in nappa leather and ‘Dinamica’ microfibre), ambient interior lighting (with 64 colour choices), nappa leather upholstery, open-pore ash wood trim, sliding glass sunroof, four-zone climate control, a head-up display, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, Burmester 14-speaker, 640-watt audio, the ‘Comand’ multimedia system (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), 3D sat nav, the previously mentioned ‘Widescreen Cockpit’ and wireless charging for mobile devices.

The GT 63 S shifts things up to $349,900, before on-road costs, adding interior carbon-fibre trim, even more leather around the cabin, the ‘AMG Light Display’ (shows the AMG logo under the side of the car), dark-tinted privacy glass (from B-pillar back), and power closing doors.

On the more technical side the GT 53 features, 20-inch alloy wheels, the ‘Dynamic Plus’ package (specifically tuned steering and suspension), ‘Dynamic Select’ (individual set-up for engine, transmission, suspension, steering and exhaust), a rear limited-slip diff, adaptive suspension, active parking assist, metallic paint (with nano ceramic paint technology) and yellow-painted AMG brake calipers.

The GT 63 S tips in the full-fat powertrain, 21-inch rims, and rear axle steering (an element of rear counter-steer up to 100km/h).

And if you want to go further there are eight option packages, from exterior chrome or carbon-fibre, to a luxury rear seat set-up incorporating two elaborately sculpted individual chairs with a touchscreen, extra USB ports and heated and cooled cupholders.

There are also more than a dozen individual cost and no-cost options, as well as multiple alternate wheel designs to choose from.

Plenty of dollars and plenty of fruit to go with the fire and fury. And thinking about the upcoming V8-powered BMW M8 Gran Coupe (likely to launch in the first half of 2020) it will need every bit of it to stay competitive in this ultra-exclusive market niche.

The C200 has a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine with an integrated starter-generator. 

What's that, you ask? So, glad you did. It's basically an electric battery that also acts as your starter... or alternator.

It smooths out vibrations from the engine and generates some power from braking. Making this a very mild hybrid. Note the 'mild'.

Is it powerful? Surprisingly, yeah. It has a maximum output of 165kW and 300Nm of torque. Combine that with the starter-generator and we have a powerful little engine that can push the C200 from 0-100km in 7.3 seconds, while still feeling like there's power in reserve.

The nine-speed auto transmission is damn smooth and there's no clunky gear changing at any speed. It's got great pick-up, too, for when you need to overtake or zip across traffic.

The V8 volcano generating this car’s prodigious power is the same all-alloy, direct-injected, 90-degree 4.0-litre (M178) unit used in the two-door GT coupe, in this case with dry rather than wet sump lubrication.

Its two turbos are located in the engine’s ‘hot vee’ to improve under-bonnet packaging and reduce the distance exhaust gas has to travel to reach each twin-scroll turbo, and that charged air has to travel to the cylinders (minimising throttle lag).

Maximum power of 470kW is available between 5500-6500rpm and peak torque of no less than 900Nm is delivered across a broad plateau from 2500-4500rpm.

The GT 53’s 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder unit produces 320kW at 6100rpm and 520Nm from 1800-5800rpm, with an ‘EQ Boost’ starter-alternator unit between the engine and transmission adding an extra 16kW/250Nm.

Drive goes to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission, in the 63 S featuring a wet, multi-disc start-off clutch, and a conventional torque converter in the 53.

The ‘4Matic’ all-wheel drive system sends drive to the rear axle permanently, and the front wheels variably, with the torque split continuously adjusted according to conditions and driver input.

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 6.9L/100km. Real world testing saw my figure at 7.2L, which was awesome for the heavy driving I did this week on a combo of urban and open-roads.

The light regen braking probably helps this coast comfortably into being a very efficient sedan for its size.

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded and you'll need 66 litres of it to fill the tank.

Driving range using the official consumption figure is around 950km, and 915km using our real-world number.

At the time of writing, Mercedes-Benz Australia hadn’t issued Australian Standard combined cycle fuel economy figures for the GT 4-Door Coupe, but NEDC Euro standard numbers are 9.4L/100km for the GT 53 and 11.3L/100km for the GT 63 S. NEDC CO2 emissions for the combined cycle are 215g/km and 257g/km respectively.

Despite the GT 63 S’s stop-start system (with glide mode) and eight- to four-cylinder deactivation tech (available from 1000-3250rpm), over close to 280km of mainly open road driving on the launch program we saw a dash-indicated figure of exactly 16.0L/100km.

Minimum fuel requirement for both models is 98 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 80 litres of it to fill the tank.

The steering feels solid and concise. The tyres seem like they're glued to the road, making winding roads downright fun to tackle. Oh, and the sharp 11 metre turning circle is wonderful.

The handling makes this your best friend in a car park. The lower ground clearance did elicit some unladylike grunts when I parked on a hill, but otherwise the wide door apertures makes it easy to get in and out of.

The only thing I would note is the low-profile ground clearance. Just be aware of your speed and angle when you handle car park ramps or road bumps in this. They are not your friends.

Okay, so first up this is one fierce four-door, claimed to sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds, which is properly supercar fast, and if you’re game and have a driveway long enough, able to blast up to a maximum velocity of 315km/h. Wow.

And behind the wheel it feels every bit of it. A flat-chat, launch-control assisted take-off narrowing your field of vision ever-so slightly and inducing an involuntary tensing of the abdomen.

The accompanying soundtrack is suitably ferocious, with a full-noise pass delivering a satisfyingly sharp spike on the decibel meter.

With 900Nm available from just 2500rpm there’s always an ocean of torque available, and by the time you’re into the upper rev range in anything above third gear you’re either headed for licence loss or the first corner of your favourite race circuit.

The nine-speed ‘MCT’ transmission in the 63 S features a (wet) take-off clutch and the big four-door puts its power down beautifully, the rear axle LSD and carefully tuned ‘4Matic’ all-wheel drive system seamlessly distributing torque between the axles and individual wheels able to make best use of it.

Slip into manual mode and the fun factor dials up a few notches with sharp and positive moves between ratios. But if you prefer leaving it in drive the transmission will sense what you’re up to and pick up ratios at just the right spot to keep things on the boil.

The electrically assisted steering delivers good road feel and the 63 S’s rear axle steering helps with precise and predictable turn-in on cornering.

The adaptive damping system helps keep this roughly 2.0-tonne weapon in check on twisting backroads, the optimal setting for our launch drive being engine, transmission, steering and exhaust turned up to 11, with the suspension in ‘Comfort’ mode. Spot-on.

A monster brake package comprises big ventilated discs (390mm fr / 360mm rr) with six-piston fixed calipers at the front and single-piston floating units at the rear. They wash off speed quickly and calmly time after time.

But dial things back to a less aggressive, more everyday mode and the ride comfort remains a stand-out trait. Even on big 21-inch rims the GT 63 S turns coarse-chip rural bitumen into a smooth carpet, with very little noise filtering into the cabin.

The front seats are super-supportive and comfortable for long stints behind the wheel and ergonomics are top-shelf with all major controls ideally placed and easy to use.

And if you want to get into the nitty gritty the AMG ‘Track Pace’ function in the Comand media system captures and analyses over 80 vehicle-specific data points as well as circuit lap times. Fun

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe offers in impressive suite of active features including ABS, BA, EBD, stability and traction controls, a 360-degree camera and reversing camera (with dynamic guidelines), ‘Active Brake Assist’ (Merc-speak for AEB) with cross-traffic function, ‘Adaptive Brake’ (with hill-start assist and brake drying in wet weather), active cruise control, ‘Active Lane Change Assist’, ‘Active Steering Assist’, ‘Attention Assist’ (drowsiness detection), and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

If all that fails to prevent an impact ‘Pre-Safe’ arms various systems to minimise damage and injury and you’ll be protected by nine airbags (front, pelvis and window for driver and front passenger, side airbags for rear seat occupants and a driver’s knee bag). The standard ‘Active Bonnet’ automatically tilts to minimise pedestrian injuries in a collision.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP for crash safety performance.

For kids there are three child restraint/baby capsule top tether points across the back seat, with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.

The C200 comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is standard for the market.

There are multiple servicing options and on the five-year plan, the services average $1090 annually, which is quite expensive.

Servicing intervals are pretty good at every 12 months or a longer than usual 25,000km, whichever comes first.

Mercedes-Benz covers its AMG range with a three year/unlimited km warranty, like the other two members of the German ‘Big Three’ (Audi and BMW) lagging the mainstream market where the majority of players are now at five years/unlimited km, with some at seven years.

On the upside, Mercedes-Benz Road Care assistance is included in the deal for three years.

Service is scheduled for 12 months/20,000km (whichever comes first) with pricing available on an ‘Up-front’ or ‘Pay-as-you-go’ basis.

For the GT 63 S pre-payment delivers a $1230 saving with the first three services set at a total of $6450, compared to $7150 PAYG. Fourth and fifth services are also available for pre-purchase.