R36 Wagon Alternatives?

[szikou]

In terms of driving, obviously the C63 is well up on the power of the R36 and it's in a different performance league - 4.5 sec 0-100 with the performance pack versus 5.8 for the R36. I found the C63 to be a bit firmer in the ride which I quite like given the power of the car though I didn't drive an R36 with the adaptive chassis control which would have given the option for a firmer ride when desired. The noise of the C63's V8 is fantastic whilst the R36 has a great note but left me wanting just a little more volume. Didn't really get the chance to throw either car around but you do notice the obvious RWD bias of the C63 whereas the 4Motion setup on the R36 gives the car a slightly more foolproof feel - probably better when driving around town with baby in the back.

Interior wise, the appointment level is pretty similar. Both cars have multi-zone climate control, keyless entry, electric tailgate, leather interior, electric seats with memory and heating, folding mirrors, reverse camera, navigation, iPod connection etc etc - the fact that all that comes standard on the R36 at roughly half the price of the Merc is a huge win for VW. I'm quite comfortable with the current gen VW interior and actually find it a nicer layout than the C63, but perhaps that'll grow on me as I've this is our first Merc. The Merc has a navigation screen that's mounted quite high under a rotating cover - looks great when the car is off and the screen is hidden but I don't really like the look of it when the screen is visible (which will be every time the car is being driven).

The R36 has a similar quality of fit and finish to the Merc - you can see the difference with the upgraded 'designo' leather trim appointments that come with the optional performance pack on the Merc but otherwise the standard C63 leather and other trim seems of similar quality to the Passat.

Biggest bug bear of the Merc is that it isn't capable of towing anything - the towing kits for the other C Class Estate models can't be fitted to an AMG for a variety of reasons. The R36's towing capacity would have been sufficient for our boat but now I'll have to pick up a cheap 4x4 ute to use as a tow car on the odd occasions that's required.

I started this thread as a consequence of not being able to buy a new R36 Wagon with the specs and options that we wanted, and in all honesty if I was given the choice of both cars I'd probably still pick the R36 - it's 70% of the car that the Merc is, at 50% of the cost and for a car that'll be predominately used as a family runabout that's a pretty good outcome. That said, I'm very happy with the price/performance offering of the C63 and I don't think you can get a better / faster 5-seater with large boot anywhere close to that price - the next closest vehicle in my comparison is the new Cayenne Turbo at about $260K.

Thanks for that Jamesatfish.

From the little of driving the C63, what was the fuel economy like?

And how does the inside space compare? From the outside, it appears the C63 is a smaller car but that may be deceiving once you sit inside it.

[jamesatfish]

Thanks for that Jamesatfish.

From the little of driving the C63, what was the fuel economy like?

And how does the inside space compare? From the outside, it appears the C63 is a smaller car but that may be deceiving once you sit inside it.

Absolutely no idea re fuel economy sorry - certainly didn't drive far enough to get any real indication of fuel usage. From memory I think the factory specs are about 13-14 l/100km combined cycle but I can't remember precisely.

As to interior space - the rear seats do have a little less legroom than what I remember the Passat having, and certainly less than the Cayenne we're coming from, but the back of the seats has cutout sections where your knees rest so there's a little more room as a result. The rear leg room seems roughly similar in my mind to that of the Tiguan, but without the plastic trays that fold down from the back of the Tiguan seats. Both my wife and I are under 5'8" so no real issues there for us.

The C Class Estate is a surprisingly small car - probably somewhere between a Golf wagon and an R36.

[CanberravRS]

Ill be able to give you a full run down on the V6 Superb Wagon in a week or two.. Mines arriving this week, its at Lennock at the moment waiting a body kit fitment and a detail...

If your interested that is?

[szikou]

Ill be able to give you a full run down on the V6 Superb Wagon in a week or two.. Mines arriving this week, its at Lennock at the moment waiting a body kit fitment and a detail...

If your interested that is?

Yeah that would be good.

How much do they retail for?

And what kind of discount is Skoda offering?

[jamesatfish]

If your interested that is?

Quite interested in your review once the car is delivered - those specs in your signature look pretty impressive. We didn't drive the Skoda ourselves so keen to hear your thoughts.

[CanberravRS]

Its a full maintained service lease.. so I dont see the purchase price sorry.. just get to choose the car.

[CanberravRS]

Quite interested in your review once the car is delivered - those specs in your signature look pretty impressive. We didn't drive the Skoda ourselves so keen to hear your thoughts.

Not a problem, im hoping to pick it up tomorrow, so ill be doing a few reviews for the Skoda guys as there are a stack who are interested to see what the dynamics of the V6 are over the 4's..

Ill post a stack of pics too.

[Msports180]

Funny how so many people have travelled this same path, were a performance family to. Took us 3 months to decide on a car, drove everything aswell. Wanted a wagon.

Came down to:
Skoda Octavia RS wagon (Mrs didnt like the side profile)
Volvo V50 T5 (boot to small)
R36 (ended up with this)

also considered the skoda superb wagon but was to far away.

[Leagle]

Jamessatfish, congrats on the c63. Your comments reflect my thoughts about the car when I evaluated it myself (I didn't like the pop up sat nav either for example). Ultimately though - for the money - u now have a car with super car performance yet practical too. I don't think it's worth twice as much as an r36 (thank you LCT) but at the same time it still represents fantastic value for money for that hot v8 (and tunable) motor. It's certainly the best value car in the MB catalog. Funnily enough I have a friend who recently bought a new Cayenne Turbo for the missus, and I agree it's probably the next best "practical car" with similar performance but at another $120K or so! I myself ultimately chose the CC because even though it's not as practical as a wagon (or 4wd), its still got heaps of space (massive boot) and more than suits my family needs. I probably put a bit more emphasis on styling (it looks way better than any Cayenne :p ). And i saved heaps! But I gotta admit, there are times when I still wished I had stretched for that c63, simply for that noise!

[jamesatfish]

Thanks Leagle - looking forward to the car when it arrives.

I would have liked to go with one of the '4 door coupe' cars - I looked at the Passat CC, Audi S5 Sportback, Merc CLS, Porsche Panamera et al - I even went partially mad for a moment and entertained the idea of an Aston Martin Rapide - but not having 5 seats would have been a major inconvenience at times. The boot space in all those cars is almost as good as with the wagons we looked at, and as you say the styling is much nicer than can be obtained from a wagon or 4WD body shape.