Dark Forces- E55 AMG vs M5 vs RS6

[GDIzen]

Dark Forces [thumbsup]

 

With its 469bhp supercharged V8, the Mercedes E55 AMG has the potential to make the Audi RS6 and BMW M5 feel weedy. But can you have too much of a good thing?

 

February 2003

 

 

E55 v RS6 v M5

 

 

It's fascinating to watch the speedometer needle of the E55 AMG. Not because it's spookily spindle-less but because it sweeps around the dial at such an incredible rate. Even into three figures the pace of the magically suspended orange needle is astonishing. If we had filmed it and you could watch it, you'd reckon the footage had been speeded up like a car chase in a bad film, but hammering along Millbrook's mile straight with an insistent, immense accelerative force at our backs, it looks very real to Jethro and me.

 

The needle is still going strong as it swings for the last marking on the dial, 160mph, when the acceleration abruptly but smoothly tails off - we've hit the 155mph speed limiter, and there's still a chunk of the straight to go. Jethro utters a raw expletive.

 

How fast would the E55 go if there was no limiter and the straight was two miles long? One eighty? Easily. 200? Possibly. A derestricted SL55 with essentially the same 5.4-litre supercharged V8 made monkeys of a bunch of supercars at a Nardo test organised by Auto Motor und Sport magazine, topping out at 202mph and proving the most accelerative up to 170.

 

A couple of months ago we attached our own VBOX timing gear to an SL55: 0-60 in 4.6sec and 0-150 in 24.0. Quick, huh? Yeah, but the more sober-looking E55 gets to 150mph in just 22.8sec... [insert your own expletive here].

 

In at least one respect, the E55 redefines the term 'performance saloon'. In this class there isn't a quicker or more powerful four-door; with 469bhp the Merc has 25bhp in hand over its most potent rival, the Audi RS6, and almost 70bhp over the iconic BMW M5. In the time the Mercedes takes to get to 150mph, the Audi and BMW have just passed 130mph. And in terms of torque the E55 is even more impressive, its supercharged V8 generating an incredible 516lb ft, over 100lb ft more than the twin-turbo RS6 and no less than 147lb ft (almost 40 per cent) more than the normally aspirated M5.

 

If this was a game of Top Trumps, you'd feel pretty confident with the E55 AMG in your hand. However, whether you'd feel so invincible with its steering wheel in your palms and a challenging road unfurling before you is more what evo is about. Having the power is one thing, making it effective, exploitable and enjoyable is quite another. 'Power is nothing without control', as Pirelli says.

 

Power has its price, too; at

[Saaber]

Great Article.....

[Saabss]

shiok

[Cool_jazz]

The Jag S-type R would be in the same league won't it? They (EVO?) should have done a 4 way shoot out...

 

 

 

 

S-type R meets M5

 

 

e rendezvous with the M5 an hour and a half north of Barcelona. The big, silver BMW has blasted evo's intrepid road test assistant, John Hayman, across Europe in classic supersaloon style.

 

Parked side-by-side, the square-jawed BMW looks cleaner and meaner than the tall, rounded Jag. But, and this is important, the S-type has more distinguishing details and a beefy, Q-car look that sets it apart from lesser S-types more effectively than the M5 distances itself from its own puny brethren.

 

Having just emerged from the Jaguar, it's clear the M5's interior just shades it for outright quality, but it is beginning to look its age. Optional Nappa leather looks and feels softer and more natural than the harder, artificially textured Jag hide, but it's the S-type that has the sportier ambience thanks to those excellent seats. One element of the M5 I do prefer is the instrument binnacle, which contains classier-looking round dials, as opposed to the crescent-shaped items in the Jag.

 

It's been a while since I've driven the M5, and it's funny how your memory can deceive. I would have laid large amounts of money on it feeling firmer than the S-type. I'd have been out of pocket. Not only does the BMW seem softer and more inclined to roll, but it also seems to have slower steering and spongier brakes. The engine, however, is as magnificent as I remember, and shades the Jag's motor for response and smoothness. It also sounds far more appealing, thanks mainly to the lack of supercharger whine.

 

It's nice to get stuck into the M5's six-speed manual 'box after a day of seamless self-shifting in the Jag, and the added control and instant accelerative punch make you feel immediately connected to the big Bee-Em, even if the gate isn't that precise.

 

On roads that didn't see the Jag's DSC light flicker once, the M5's stability system cuts in on several occasions, especially over slight crests. The chassis obviously has a harder time containing 400 horses than the equally powerful S-type, something that becomes very clear when you disengage its DSC. Select second gear (or third if the corner's a bit more open) and the M5's tail submits to the power much earlier than the S-type's. Perhaps as a result of this earlier breakaway the M5 is an even more natural and smoothly progressive oversteerer than the Jaguar, which in turn makes it more fun if you decide to be a hooligan. The downside is that you either have to tolerate the more frequent interruptions of DSC with the system engaged, or switch it off and remain ever ready to apply an armful of corrective lock.

 

We're attacking roads that I have become reasonably familiar with in the S-type. Hayman is up front, acquainting himself with the Jaguar but still travelling at a fair old lick. All feels fine in the M5. The normally aspirated V8's voice hardens to a deep, big-capacity bellow as it powers through the meat of third gear, but as we approach the braking zone for the first set of bends the M5 feels nothing like as keen as the Jag. The brakes lack immediate bite, which is never a good start, and while my right foot reaches for retardation the chassis has begun to lurch into the corner. It really does feel heavy and reluctant to turn in after the relative agility of the S-type, and this sets the tone for the remainder of the day's driving.

 

Though more entertaining through low-speed corners, the M5 just can't seem to maintain enough composure through the faster stuff to stay comfortably in touch with the S-type. Try to match its point-to-point pace and, while things remain relatively serene in the Jag, you're either itching to turn off the M5's intrusive DSC and cursing the soft brakes, or switching out the electronics and spending your time containing momentum understeer, controlling power oversteer and still cursing the brakes. Don't get me wrong, the Jag doesn't comprehensively blow the M5 into the weeds. Rather it enables a good but not exceptional driver to cover the ground at a speed that would require a committed wheelman to cajole the M5. Granted, the BMW is happier to be driven balls-out than the Jaguar, which could equate to it being the better driver's car, except for the fact that cars like this are rarely driven on the lock-stops.

 

In terms of outright evoness the S-type isn't perfect. Good though the gearbox is, we'd still like to see a manual, even if it sold in small numbers alongside the auto. Perhaps that's what Jag is planning for the upcoming X-type R...

 

But whatever the future holds, one thing is clear now: the S-type R is the best driver's Jaguar of recent years, one that can stand toe-to-toe with a car like the M5 and teach it a thing or two dynamically, without compromising Jaguar's traditional strengths of refinement, ride comfort and interior luxury. It doesn't possess the M5's raw appeal, but it's the better car, a true all-rounder. We predicted the S-type R had the makings of an evo hero. Now we know for sure. It was worth the wait.

[Assassin]

Very nice writeup !

 

Very long too..

 

[Cool_jazz]

Yeah, I like reviews by EVO, especially their cars of the year issue ... this is the site.

http://www.evo.co.uk/

[Saaber]

good reading material

[Assassin]

Yup...got that COTY issue a few months back. Think I posted a thread on it to have our own poll to see which cars we chose compared to the EVO results.

[Vtim]

good write up