2025 Mercedes-AMG C63 first drive: Who needs a V8?

If you want the most technology in your performance car, look no further than the 2025 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance, a plug-in hybrid super sedan that’s as complex as its name is long.

Plug-in hybrids like the C63 are how Mercedes’ legendary AMG performance division aims to achieve modern performance while it continues to develop the tech for true high-performance EVs. While it still burns some gasoline, the 2025 C63 is a big improvement over its predecessor in terms of efficiency, swapping a thirsty V8 engine for one with half the cylinders that’s assisted by electric power.

Car enthusiasts will be feeling a sense of déjà vu because this is the same powertrain used in the GLC63 S E Performance crossover SUV, which is also new for 2025. Mercedes actually announced the C63 first, but the nature of media event scheduling means we drove the GLC63 earlier — and found it to be impressive, but puzzling. But, as a sedan, the C63 has the advantages of a lower center of gravity and less weight, giving the plug-in hybrid powertrain and its attendant driver aids a better chance to win our hearts.

Design and interior

The C63 bulks up the styling of the current-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which arrived for the 2022 model year, but hasn’t been offered with a plug-in option until now. Ribs in the hood recall past Mercedes sports cars. The fenders are pushed out, and larger front air intakes hint at the hardcore hardware beneath the skin. In the best AMG tradition, it’s a subtle update of a handsome sedan that can still fly under the radar.

AMG tradition also dictates that cars maintain the luxurious interior appointments of the models they’re based on. As with the exterior styling, the C-Class was a good base. Its inclined dashboard is topped by large air vents, seat-adjustment controls float off the door panels on their own little islands, and touches like 64-color ambient lighting makes the interior feel special. The only hint that the C63 starts out as a cheaper model is some of the plastic used for the lower parts of the dash.

AMG-specific upgrades include sport seats that add more bolstering for aggressive cornering, without sacrificing comfort. They come standard with artificial leather and microfiber upholstery, but Nappa leather is also available. The AMG steering wheel looked a bit big at first, but it still allows for the full range of motion without the driver inadvertently elbowing themself in the gut.

The C-Class is still considered a compact luxury sedan, but it’s not a small vehicle. Interior space is comparable to rival sedans, and a wide center console separates the driver and front passenger for an added feeling of spaciousness. The mechanically similar AMG GLC63 S E Performance offers even more space thanks to its crossover body shell, but only very tall people will need it.

Tech, infotainment, and driver assist

The C63 comes standard with an 11.9-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster supported by the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) operating system used in the automaker’s other current models. MBUX includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as native voice recognition. Upgrading from the base C63 to the Pinnacle models adds augmented-reality navigation and a head-up display.

Despite the elevated price tag, this infotainment system is essentially the same as what you get in non-AMG C-Class models. If you’re buying a C63, you’re paying for performance, not more screens. But there isn’t anything wrong with this system, either. The physical layout recalls Mercedes’ flagship S-Class and the graphics and responsiveness give the interface a premium feel. The main touchscreen is easy to navigate, in part because Mercedes opts for tiles instead of endless menus, and the available augmented reality feature for the navigation system overlays arrows on a video feed, so it’s less likely that you’ll miss your turn. The C63 also upgrades to a Burmester 3D surround-sound system.

The C63 does get some hybrid-specific displays to help keep track of how the battery pack’s charge is being used, plus steering-wheel controls for drive modes, artificial sound enhancement, stability control, and the level of regenerative braking. They’re meant as a less-distracting alternative to the touchscreen, but we found memorizing their functions difficult and were thus never quite sure if we were increasing the level of regenerative braking or decreasing the level of stability control.

Most driver aids are bundled into an optional Driver Assistance Package. This includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and automated lane change functionality, blind-spot monitoring (which will also try to nudge the car back into its lane if it detects another vehicle in the blind spot), lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking, and forward collision warning, among other features.

Driving experience

Mercedes gives engineering nerds a lot to process, starting with the C63’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It makes 469 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque by itself — the highest output of any series-production four-cylinder engine, Mercedes claims. Itfeatures a small electric motor to keep its turbo spooled up, and is connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The electrified half of the powertrain comprises an electric motor that powers the rear axle via its own two-speed transmission and a limited-slip differential. It’s powered by a 6.1-kilowatt-hour battery pack also mounted toward the back of the car for better weight distribution. Mercedes claims a nearly identical 49%/51% front/rear weight split, although overall curb weight is a depressing 4,817 pounds. Electric input brings total system output to 671 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque — 168 hp and 236 pond-feet more than the last C63 generated with a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8.

This also makes the C63 vastly more powerful than its closest rival, the BMW M3 Competition, which extracts 523 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque (with the optional all-wheel drive system) from a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six without a hybrid system. That doesn’t make a big difference on paper, though, as Mercedes’ estimated 3.3-second zero-to-60 mph time makes the new C63 just 0.5 second quicker than its predecessor, and only 0.1 second quicker than what BMW claims for the M3. That’s still very quick, though, and impressive considering that Mercedes achieved this performance with a smaller engine than its archnemesis BMW.

The chassis is as complex as the powertrain, with adaptive suspension, rear-axle steering, and a sophisticated all-wheel drive system helping to manage the power and combat the C63’s copious poundage. The resulting driving experience may not be to the liking of traditional car enthusiasts, but will please anyone who simply wants to go fast. A car this heavy and this powerful should be difficult to manage, but all you need to do is point it in the right direction and trust that the technology will do its thing. We did feel a bit isolated from what the car was doing, though, which is always the case when a car leans this heavily on chassis tech.

A performance car first, a plug-in hybrid second

Official fuel economy and electric range ratings weren’t available at press time, but these were not the priority for the Mercedes-AMG engineering team. Mercedes estimates only eight miles of electric range when the C63 is driven conservatively. And while EV range is available up to 81 mph, it’s hard to use it consistently without waking up the gasoline engine.

Drive the C63 like it was designed to be driven on a road with lots of hills, and the engine and aggressive regenerative braking settings will actually do a good job of charging the battery pack — a trick the German automakers have mastered. However, that’s really helpful only if your favorite driving road is located next to main thoroughfares clogged with traffic. That admittedly was the case in Malibu, California, where we test drove the C63.

How DT would configure this car

Pricing for this wunder sedan starts at $85,050, putting it above most rivals. The $87,100 Pinnacle trim level adds augmented reality navigation, a head-up display, and digital light projections, while the $1,950 Driver Assistance Package is necessary to get the full array of driver aids, so you’re looking at $89,050 just to check all of the tech-related boxes.

Mercedes hadn’t released pricing for the mechanically similar GLC63 S E Performance at press time, but expect to pay a premium for that SUV. While the two models feature the same high-tech powertrain, we feel the low-slung C63 is better to drive. The lower center of gravity offered by a sedan really makes a difference. The C63 is also cheaper than the all-electric Mercedes-AMG EQE sedan and avoids that car’s polarizing styling.

In the C63 S E Performance, returning AMG customers will find impressive engineering and everyday usability. But new car shoppers who want a sports sedan have a lot of other options. The C63’s traditional rivals, cars like the BMW M3 and Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, offer a more engaging driving experience for less money. And while it isn’t as quick in a straight line, the Lucid Air Pure is a better fun-per-dollar proposition for shoppers ready to make the leap to an EV.

For now, AMG’s latest plug-in hybrid is a bridge between the combustion cars of today and the performance EVs of the future. It will go down in history as a remarkable engineering achievement, but whether it’s as fondly remembered by driving enthusiasts as past AMG sedans remains to be seen.