BMW M3 vs Mercedes-AMG C 63 S comparison

Traffic. Merciless traffic. Trucks, buses, rickshaws and bikes, coming at us from every direction. Also in the mix, overcrowded utility vehicles, impatient cyclists and loads and loads of ‘dumbwalkers’, sauntering across the road, their noses in their phones. It feels a bit like we’re in one of those complex, multi-dimensional paintings from one of the Renaissance masters, painted on a vast canvas, with hundreds of elements all fighting for our attention. What’s worse is that we are sat in cars that have a huge amount of potential energy, tightly coiled under the hood. Our average speed over the last half hour, a paltry 12kph; sheesh, what a waste! We should’ve left the city earlier, we really should have.

Then it ends. I have to edge past a broken- down bus, but once I’m through, the road ahead is as open as the savanna. Time to let off some steam, be a little irresponsible. I put my left foot on the C 63’s brake, place the accelerator on the carpet, and then let it go. And launch it does, like an artillery shell. The rear tyres spin away some of my angst and the rear does a bit of salsa, but once the tyres hook up, the AMG leaves the line like it’s been shot out of a cannon. I expect protest from the cars around, but all I get are a few thumbs ups and smiles; guess everyone enjoys a bit of a release after the traffic.

The road now is ours, and as expected, the hammer goes down. The contrast between using two and 100 per cent throttle is so huge, it initially takes my breath away. I’ve had the privilege of piloting the 503bhp C 63 S several times over but nothing really prepares you for that first stab of rabid acceleration. Like being drenched in cold water, it’s startling, refreshing and invigorating, all at the same time. What leaves a lasting impression, however, isn’t that single hit of early power, but the manner in which the AMG keeps pulling harder and faster as the motor winds up the powerband. There’s enough power from 3,000 to 5,000rpm to satiate most, but the Merc engine keeps pulling with brute force all the way to 7,000rpm. Nothing this side of a supercar pulls this hard. Enjoy blowing past slower traffic? This is the car for you then.