Review: Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic Coupé

Is this just a Mercedes-AMG C 63-lite?
1/16
Graham Scott|Autocar7 December 2016

This is the C 43 and it just isn’t the C 63. Glad that’s clear. To some, only the biggest and most expensive will do, but does a lesser version have more to offer?

Its twin-turbocharged V6 gives 362bhp, which is about 60bhp more than it used to when it first came out in 1998. That’s quite a lot, and it’s fed carefully through a nine-speed auto box and on to the 4Matic four-wheel drive system. A system which favours the rear wheels, so there could be some fun to be had here.

A 0-62mph time of 4.7sec indicates that you’ll be enjoying pushing the throttle down. but two things make it less of a thrill.

One is the sound. It sounds okay, particularly in Sport + mode, when the exhaust opens its switchable valve, so you get some popping and banging, but there’s something a bit contrived and unconvincing about it.

The second thing is that if you’re going manual with the paddles you’ll bang into the rev limiter before you’re expecting it. It’s a cruel trick. There’s the redline at 6500rpm, and you’re watching cooly as the revs soar upwards, and then instead of executing a smooth change you hit the rev limiter at just 6000rpm. How to look like a dork in one easy lesson.

However, that aside, it’s a good powerplant that gives you plenty of shove from all over the powerband, and if you leave it in auto it’s a slick as a very slick thing. What you shouldn’t do with another setting is leave it in Comfort.

You’d think that would give a ride that was, you know, comfortable, but they seem to have taken comfortable to mean a sponge with a soggy bottom. Unusually, you need to ramp the settings right up to actually get comfortable. True, it will be reasonably firm, but at least that bouncy elastic feeling will have disappeared. Sport + is where you need to leave it.

This means you’ll be neither shaken nor stirred in the luxurious cabin. What is quite smart for a coupe is that you can get two passengers in the back, and it’s even possible if they’re grown-ups. We always like the C-Class cabins and this is right up there, although some might argue that it ought to be better still in the C 43.

Overall the C 43 is a very fine bit of kit. You’re not going to get lairy in it like you can in a C 63, as it isn’t just a lesser C 63, it’s a different vehicle and one that is notably more sensible. If you’re wanting a comfy, powerful coupe that can cover the miles whatever the weather, then the C 43 makes a lot of sense.

Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic Coupé

Price £46,875
Engine 6 cyls, 2996cc, twin-turbo, petrol
Power 362bhp at 5500-6000rpm
Torque 384lb ft at 2000-4200rpm
Gearbox 9-spd automatic
Kerbweight 1735kg
0-62mph 4.7sec
Top speed 155mph
Economy 35.3mpg (combined)
CO2 rating/tax band 183g/km, 33%
Rivals BMW 440i, Audi S5

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