The Mercedes E63 AMG could be one of the most significant super saloons for many years, but not for the reasons you’d think. Stuart Milne took to the roads in the South East, and Top Gear’s test track to explain.

Its 525bhp is impressive, but an awful lot less than the Audi RS6. However the Mercedes offers a better balance of power, grip and usability.

0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, 525bhp, 464lb/ft…it’s easy to look at the Mercedes E63 AMG simply in terms of numbers. After all, how many super saloons pack a 6.2-litre V8 and dump it all through the rear wheels?

But it’s easy to get big power from a big engine – the important part is how it delivers all that oomph. And in an executive express, it needs to be smooth and serene when the driver requires, and a balls-to-the-wall hooligan when its time to play.

They need to work hard and play hard.

And within a mile of driving the Mercedes E63 AMG, its clear Merc’s new thundersaloon is an exceptionally well rounded machine.

Driving an AMG is always an occasion. Turn the key and the engine fires with a revvy bark – enough to ignite the passion of any petrol head – and immediately rocks into a gentle boom. That’s the story from outside, at least. Inside the cabin its refined and quiet.

Like the BMW M5, there are a number of chassis settings to choose from. An AMG button allows the user to programme their favourite setting much like BMW’s M button does.

We experiment with the suspension settings, and unlike some cars there’s a noticeable difference between Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus. Comfort is the best on the fast-flowing A-roads around Surrey and Sussex -later we get to play with the Sport settings at the Top Gear test track.

The ride is firm but smooth, and the car corners flatly at speed. And it’s quickly apparent the steering is wonderfully direct with plenty of feedback. AMG’s engineers say they’ve increased the directness by 22 per cent, mainly 90 degrees from the dead-ahead in each direction, where most of the steering input happens. The result is a sure-footed drive without the need for the artificial weighting sensation added in some sport saloons.

It’s hard to think how you could ever tire of the engine. Each example is hand-built by a single engineer at AMG’s factory in Affalterbach, near Stuttgart and features the builder’s signature. That’s how confident AMG is about its masterpiece.

It revs hard and fast and sounds like a refugee from the NASCAR circuit. It’s fearsomely powerful and devours the road at a rate likely to end in jail, charging hard until its well into three figures.

It gets the power down through a seven-speed, wet-clutch automatic gearbox which can shift gears in 100 milliseconds. It has four modes – Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Manual – with the latter two the quickest to shift, and blips the throttle on the downshifts.

In practice, the gearbox is excellent, and is a much better all-rounder than BMW’s – especially around town where the Merc ‘box can creep and is easy to use smoothly.

The Mercedes E63 AMG can certainly do the long-legged cruiser bit, so we spent an afternoon on track to find out if it can hack it there.

Inclement weather made it a baptism of fire. The waterlogged track was no hindrance to the car’s launch control system, which is virtually guaranteed to get the E63 to 62mph in the claimed 4.5 seconds (and on to a limited 155mph). And even with the ESP in Sport or Sport Plus modes, which allow progressively more slip before activating, it can get its power down with minimal fuss.

On the track it offered more of the same. Enough slip to have fun, but with the huge safety net of it being there to help out if you overstep the mark. The car inspires huge confidence and on track is as flattering as it is exciting.

Don’t expect it to be a bargain though. It starts at a whisper under £70,000 and our test car had a further £8,000 of options; and unless you’re driving it with huge restraint, you’ll rarely see much more than 20mpg.

What you’re getting with the Mercedes E63 AMG is rarity value – the BMW M5 is traditionally the bigger seller – and character in spades. It’s a cut-price Mercedes SL 63 with more seats and doors and offers some of the best fun you’ll have on track – plus the kids can come too.

Key facts

Model tested: Mercedes E63 AMG
On the road price: £69,850
Date tested: November 2009
Road tester: Stuart Milne