Car reviews

When Mercedes-Benz's AMG division acquired the 2002 E-Class it dropped a supercharged 5.4-litre V8 in the engine bay, giving the car 476bhp and making it a formidable straight-line rival to the previous 4.0-litre V8 BMW M5. But times change, and the pace of engine development is rapid. The latest BMW M5 has a 5.0-litre V10 with up to 507bhp available, so the old E55 Kompressor was beginning to look a little lacklustre on paper. However, the E-Class now comes with an AMG developed 6.2-litre V8 (although Mercedes calls it a 6.3, perhaps in homage to famous classic ancestors with 6.3-litre engines) with 514bhp. With 465lb-ft of torque the new E63 AMG also has the M5 beaten for pulling power, and, of course, the E63 AMG estate also shares its industry-leading luggage capacity with the rest of the E-class range. May not quite have the measure of the M5 on a racetrack, but you'd be hard pushed to pick a winner on the road.