Reviews

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan and S-class offer Drive Pilot, the first SAE Level 3 autonomous-driving system. When specific driving criteria are met, Drive Pilot allows the driver to look away for long periods and keep their hands off the wheel. Drive Pilot will be offered as a subscription service for $2500 per year in Nevada and California. It’s rare to wish for more traffic, but we needed a slowdown so we could stay below 40 mph and keep watching Beyoncé concert clips. We were heading east on I-10 from Santa Monica toward downtown Los Angeles, and when the other cars sped up, the Mercedes EQS580 we were driving (riding in? overseeing?) would beep gently, requesting that we retake the wheel. Which meant turning our attention away from Bey and focusing it on the Honda CR-V in front of us. Are you rolling your eyes at yet another irresponsible driver using some poorly labeled “self-driving” tech and putting everyone around them in danger? That’s a fair assumption. In this case, though, we were on the right side of the law even as we drank coffee and turned around to chat with a passenger in the rear seat. If our EQS580 had been involved in an accident during that time, Mercedes would have been responsible, not us. Self-driving cars are probably the most egregiously mislabeled technology in the automotive sphere. Let’s be clear: They don’t exist. All the cars on the market at the time of this writing with any major drive-assist functions offer a Level 2 system. And yes, that includes Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and GM’s Super Cruise. With Level 2 tech, despite what you may have seen in YouTube videos, the driver is not legally able to turn their attention away from the road, whether that’s hands on the wheel or eyes forward. Mercedes Drive Pilot is the first approved Level 3 drive system, which means that when it is engaged—and all the drive criteria are met—the driver can legally stop paying attention. At least until the CR-V speeds up, and Drive Pilot beeps at us to take control. Drive Pilot: When Can It Be Used?This was our first chance behind the wheel (although we did a ridealong back in March 2022), and it’s interesting to tackle one of L.A.’s most tiresome stretches of freeway with the option of simply zoning out. Drive Pilot has strict parameters for its use. It’s available only on mapped highways and during daylight when there is no rain or snow and the traffic is below 40 mph. It will return control to the driver if it senses something out of the ordinary, whether that’s a pedestrian on the highway or an oncoming emergency vehicle. What’s It Like to Use?Most commutes in Los Angeles meet the sunny-and-slow criteria, so during our test, we were able to engage the system—a straightforward button press—and just . . . stop driving. Well, theoretically. It’s not so easy to release years of ingrained habits, and not only did we find it difficult to stop paying attention, but there also wasn’t really anything we wanted to do instead. Yes, you can watch videos or play games on the infotainment screen, and if we were in Germany, where using hand-held devices behind the wheel is legal, we could have scrolled Instagram. But something that’s sort of nice about driving a car is being forced to take a break from those things. If I-10 were our usual commute, we might feel differently. On the nonphilosophical side, Drive Pilot works well while all its conditions are met, but transitioning from Drive Pilot back to Level 2 adaptive cruise is still clunky. While in use, Drive Pilot won’t go above 40 mph, but it took some time to recognize that traffic ahead was moving faster and notify us to take over. In that time, the car in front of us could pull several lengths ahead—not a huge deal, but enough to irritate city drivers used to nose-to-tail spacing. Mercedes’s Level 2 features, such as adaptive cruise and automated lane changing, can operate at much higher speeds, and we were able to use them uninterrupted for more of our drive. However, during that time, it’s not legal to stop paying attention, so if we’d had a fender bender or a lane-change incident, it would have been our responsibility. Mercedes wants the tech to be safe. The company has logged more than 100,000 test miles in California alone. Drive Pilot combines information gathered from radar, cameras, and lidar and uses microphones to listen for sirens and sensors to detect wet pavement. The redundancy of systems includes backups for braking, steering, and much of the electrical. At the moment in the U.S., the tech is legal only in California and Nevada, and Mercedes expects additional states to approve its use. Drive Pilot will be offered on S-class and EQS models as a subscription service starting at $2500 per year. That’s a pricey add-on, but it would cost more to commute to your job via helicopter, and we can’t think of any other way to mitigate traffic in California’s big cities. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior Editor, FeaturesLike a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews.     More

From the November 2023 issue of Car and Driver.If you have a quarter-mil burning a hole in your Balmains, your automotive choices have never been wider. From fortress-like super-SUVs to road-scraping supercars, there are more $200K-plus vehicles available now than at any time in history. Astonishingly, there are now twice as many Ferrari models as Buicks.But none of these prancing horses are as pretty or as purely intentioned as the new Ferrari Roma Spider. None capture the romance and myth of the front-engine V-12 cars of the ’60s like this louche convertible 2+2. In the Roma Spider, you are Marcello Mastroianni rolling up to Cinecittà, Anita Ekberg in the passenger’s seat. You’ll get no such dolce vita energy from an F8.Sure, the Roma has four fewer cylinders than the legendary 250s and 275s, but eights are the new 12s, and this twin-turbo 3.9-liter produces a whopping 612 horsepower.It’s obviously the same V-8 found in the Roma coupe, linked to the same dual-clutch eight-speed transaxle from the SF90 Stradale. But in the droptop Roma, you can really hear it in all its glory. One-third intake noise, one-third reciprocating engine parts, and one-third unmuffled exhaust, the V-8 snorts and belches right into your ear canal. And my God, look at the thing. It is one glorious cursive swoop, perfectly beautiful with the top down or up. The rear hips rise to the decklid, which integrates a discreet three-position spoiler, and the shark-nosed front grins like it just found Nemo. The Spider accrues another 185 pounds, much of it due to reinforcements in the side sills and rear bulkhead. Here’s what you need to know about the interior: One can spec leather and faux-suede floormats laid over an entirely faux-suede floor. Talk about knowing your customer—these are people whose feet do not touch the ground. Also, the rear seatback hinges near the top edge to double as a wind buffer. It is surprisingly effective.We drove the Roma Spider on the scarped mountain roads of Sardinia, past ancient olive groves and aqueducts, and alongside lagoons full of shrimp-starved white flamingos. The car felt half its size and two-thirds its 3800 or so pounds. Ferrari is obsessed with managing inertia and loads, which is why even its biggest cars feel light.So, by some sorcery of physics, the Roma Spider darts into corners without feeling darty. It stops hard without being harsh. It floats without the slightest hint of floatiness. It masks its mass.The gearbox and chassis are always set up for the coming corner, and front-end grip is authoritative. The car’s dynamics are as crisp and fluid as its bodywork. This is a joy-delivery system. Even dogs yelped with glee as we roared past. More on the Ferrari RomaOne criticism is that the carbon-ceramic brakes squeak at low speed. The solution? Drive faster. Some might also carp that the Roma Spider is too expensive, but they’re missing the point. You give a dealer a piece of paper and then get this quicksilver convertible in return? Seems like you should go to jail for that.SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Ferrari Roma SpiderVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base: $277,970
ENGINEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 235 in3, 3855 cm3Power: 612 hp @ 7500 rpmTorque: 561 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm 
TRANSMISSION8-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.1 inLength: 183.3 inWidth: 77.7 inHeight: 51.4 inCurb Weight (C/D est): 3800 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.1 sec100 mph: 7.0 sec1/4-Mile: 11.1 secTop Speed: 199 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 19/17/21 mpg Chief Brand OfficerEddie Alterman is Hearst Autos chief brand officer, having served as Car and Driver’s Editor-in-Chief from 2009 to 2019. He enjoys decrepit old German cars, high-output American V-8s, and long walks on the beach. More

From the August 1989 issue of Car and Driver.If we had to characterize Chrysler’s Ea­gle Division, we’d describe it as “the new home of pretty neat alternatives.” You’d almost think that Chrysler had been working with a sorcerer lately: suddenly, the once-shaky Eagle lineup looks posi­tively scrumptious.Eagle’s dazzling new Talon TSi AWD (C/D, July) is a car with 90 percent of the abilities of the Porsche 911 Carrera 4—at about one-quarter the price. Eagle’s well-balanced Premier sedan flaunts nimble road manners every bit as good as those of the acclaimed Ford Taurus. And just to ensure that there are no ugly duck­lings in the Eagle aviary, Chrysler has mercifully retired the unpopular Medal­lion sedan.And then there is the perky new Eagle Summit, a car ready to take on the auto world’s most renowned purveyor of good stuff: Honda. The Summit is yet another product of the highly successful Chrysler-Mitsubishi partnership. This joint venture has placed several rebadged Mitsubishis in Chrysler dealerships, and it is also re­sponsible for the Diamond-Star Motors Corporation, the U.S. facility that pro­duces the impressive Laser/Eclipse/Tal­on sports coupes for the two companies. Unlike the Diamond-Star coupes, however, the Summit is wholly designed and built by Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi sells three- and four-door versions of the car as the Mirage. Chrysler/Plymouth and Dodge dealers sell their own version of the three-door under the Colt badge. Ea­gle gets the four-door version, which it sells as the Summit. Still with us? The Summit’s styling is a study in Japanese uncontroversial. The shape maintains the interesting slim-headlight treatment characteristic of Mitsubishi’s products, although the Summit’s hoodline is not as dramatically low as the Honda Civic’s. The Summit’s wheelbase is nearly two inches shorter than the Civic sedan’s, yet the Eagle is three and one-half inches longer overall. In all but two critical inte­rior dimensions—front legroom and rear hiproom—the Summit equals or betters the Civic. And the Summit has a greater than two-inch advantage in rear­-seat legroom over the Honda. That means that four passengers of adult size will easily fit into the little Eagle. Choosing the right trim level is crucial if you want to obtain the highest Summit. Both the base DX package and the costli­er LX trim kit offer an 81-hp 1.5-liter in­line four-cylinder as standard equip­ment. But only the LX offers the optional DOHC 1.6-liter four-cylinder. This en­gine cranks out 113 hp, a robust 32-hp increase over the base engine and 21 more ponies than you can get in a Civic four-door. Like all Mitsu twin-cam engines, the 1.6-liter dynamo revs with abandon all the way to its 7000-rpm redline. And it makes a satisfying growl all the while. Even with this willing engine, howev­er, the Summit LX—weighed down with such luxurious touches as power win­dows, power locks, and air condition­ing—feels chunky. The LX’s 9.6-second 0-to-60-mph run reflects how severely 2587 pounds of sedan can burden 113 eager horses.Driving the Summit LX is never a bur­den, though. The five-speed manual gearbox (the only transmission available with the DOHC engine) is a joy, so keep­ing the revs up is easy. And the LX’s stan­dard power steering makes maneuvering through city traffic a breeze. You sense that same lightness of oper­ation when hustling down your favorite back road. Fitted with the optional four­teen-inch alloy wheels and 195/60-14 Yokohama tires, the Summit feels nim­ble. The steering is accurate, and the sus­pension dances through the twisties with modest understeer and just a trace of en­tertaining off-power oversteer. This car doesn’t make you work hard for your fun. Good as it is, you’ll never forget that the Summit has an econobox heart. The suspension—struts at the front, a solid axle and coil springs in the rear—is limit­ed in travel and reaches its bump stops easily. A high-g run through a choppy bend can produce some pretty unsavory body motions.But for most driving the Summit is as easy to live with as any small sedan you’ll find—the Civic included. The interior displays the quality we’ve come to expect from Mitsubishi: the seats are supportive and attractive, the layout is airy and spa­cious, and the instruments and the con­trols are logically arranged and easy to operate. About the only gripe we have is with the chintzy-looking sun visors.In overall goodness and quality the Summit LX can match the Honda Civic four-door blow for blow. And the LX has more power than the Civic. So why hasn’t the little Eagle usurped the little Honda in our hearts and minds?More Eagle Reviews From the ArchiveCheck out the price, amigo. At $14,297, the Summit LX with the DOHC engine and all the goodies is hardly a fire­sale bargain. For that kind of money you can get into low-level versions of such considerably larger cars as the Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus. In fact, the Summit LX costs about two grand more than a fully loaded Civic sedan. There’s no question that the Eagle Summit LX is a fun, functional package. But before we’ll be won over, Chrysler’s sorcerer needs to say the magic words that will make a few thou disappear from the Summit’s bottom line. SpecificationsSpecifications
1989 Eagle Summit LXVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $10,639/$14,297
ENGINEDOHC 16-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 97 in3, 1596 cm3Power: 113 hp @ 6500 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual 
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 96.7 inLength: 170.1 inCurb Weight: 2587 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 9.6 sec1/4-Mile: 17.0 sec @ 80 mph100 mph: 36.2 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 108 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 200 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.80 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 25 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 23 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

Don’t drive the Porsche 911 S/T. That public-service announcement is for the owners of the 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring, two sports cars closely related to the new S/T. Owners of those cars should be delighted with the steering, brakes, handling, and performance of their cars and will remain so provided they don’t get a chance in one of the 1963 examples of the 911 S/T that Porsche will produce.The 911 S/T is the latest creation from the Porsche GT department (the engineering team whose resume includes heavy hitters such as the GT3, GT3 RS, Boxster Spyder RS, and Cayman GT4 RS). In all but name, the S/T is the long-awaited follow-up to the lightweight, manual-only 911 R that put a chef’s kiss on the last (991.2) 911 generation. Presumably to keep the last R a distinct once-in-a-generation thing, Porsche didn’t christen the new car the R. Instead, it wears the S/T badge, a link to a limited-production race-car version of the 911 S from the late 1960s/early 1970s.The new S/T isn’t a race car or even a track car. It’s a road-focused 911 with a lot of parts from the GT3 and the GT3 RS. A short-throw six-speed manual is the sole transmission choice, and tucked behind the rear wheels is the GT3 RS’s naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six. The S/T leaves the engine unaltered—output remains at 518 horsepower at 8500 rpm—but in the interest of quickening throttle response, the weight of the clutch and flywheel are halved, resulting in a weight reduction of 23 pounds. Let’s just say that the C/D staff didn’t think that this zingy engine needed faster responses. We joked that the regular GT3 used a fidget spinner as a flywheel; we’ll amend that to say that the S/T’s tachometer is like a fidget spinner. Taking the mass out of the flywheel does result in a rattling sound from the clutch and engine from idle to about 2900 rpm.The solution is to keep the revs up, which is easier thanks to a shorter 4.30-to-1 final-drive gearing that replaces the GT3’s 3.96 ratio. The speeds in gears drop, and responsiveness rises. Whereas second gear is good to 80 mph in the GT3, it maxes out at 72 mph in the S/T. Porsche claims 60 mph will arrive in 3.5 seconds, two-tenths quicker than the company’s claim for the 502-hp manual GT3. Our test team managed a 3.3-second run to 60 with a GT3 manual, so expect the S/T to knock a tenth or two off that time.The weight savings don’t stop at the flywheel and clutch. The carbon-fiber doors and roof are GT3 RS parts, the carbon-fiber front fenders are unique to the S/T, and the Touring’s carbon-fiber hood caps the spacious front trunk. A thinner windshield sheds a few pounds. Magnesium wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes are standard. A 6.6-pound lighter battery is fitted, the carpets go on a 4.4-pound diet, and the carbon-fiber rear anti-roll bar from the GT3 RS’s Weissach package shaves another 4.4 pounds. To shed 14.3 pounds and to purge technology from the chassis, the rear-wheel-steering system is axed. Total it all up, and Porsche says the S/T comes in at 84 pounds lighter than the lightest 911 GT3 Touring. We won’t be able to weigh an S/T until we have one in the States, but based on our test numbers for a manual GT3, we’ll play carnival barker and guess it weighs around 3100 pounds.According to the engineers who developed the S/T, removing the rear steering initially made a mess of the car’s handling. To set it right, a slower rack with a 15.0:1 ratio replaces the GT3’s 14.2:1 unit, the electric assist was extensively retuned, and the mechanical limited-slip differential locks more casually. The result is a pure, uncut steering feel. Bend the S/T hard into a corner, and the tugs and vibrations tell a story of the changing grip of the road surface and the stress placed upon the standard Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tires. The limits are high, but the S/T normalizes 1-g cornering by coordinating chassis and steering actions in a secure and easy way. Porsche confidently let us have a go in a GT3 Touring after driving the S/T, and it couldn’t quite match the fluidity and sensations coming through the S/T’s wheel.Driving a Touring makes the S/T’s chassis differences apparent. On choppy asphalt, the Touring tosses and skips over sharp impacts whereas the S/T smothers them. Springs and dampers are identical between the two cars—the difference is in the damper tuning. The S/T’s are slightly more compliant and dull sharp impacts. There’s no getting around the stiff spring rates, so this isn’t a cushy ride, but it’s a little more friendly than the Touring’s.Driving both cars reveals the little things about the GT3 and GT3 Touring that bothered the GT development engineers. While nearly all the changes seek to distill the GT3’s already-pure driving experience, one alteration points to the obsessive nature of the crew that made this car. The team didn’t like the way the retractable spoiler on the current 911 rises awkwardly into the wind, leaving the rear end looking like a Transformer mid-transformation. So, the S/T gets a subtle Gurney flap on the edge of its retractable spoiler, which allows the spoiler to rise at 74 mph rather than 56 mph and at a less jaunty angle.Upgrading to the S/T over a GT3 Touring requires a lot more cash, and that’s if you can secure an order for one. The S/T starts at $291,650, over $100,000 more than the Touring. Rare Porsches are always expensive, but the upcharge brings a lot of small, well-placed tweaks that improve the driving experience. But, if you never drive it, you’ll never know what you’re missing out on.SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Porsche 911 S/TVehicle Type: rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base: $291,650
ENGINE
DOHC 24-valve flat-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 244 in3, 3996 cm3Power: 518 hp @ 8500 rpmTorque: 342 lb-ft @ 6300 rpm
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 96.7 inLength: 180.0 inWidth: 72.9 inHeight: 50.4 inPassenger Volume: 49 ft3Trunk Volume: 5 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3100 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.1 sec100 mph: 7.2 sec1/4-Mile: 11.3 secTop Speed: 186 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 15/13/17 mpgEditor-in-ChiefTony Quiroga is an 18-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years. More

Lukewarm feelings about our experience behind the wheel of the latest Nissan Z-car left us anxiously awaiting the track-oriented model wearing the vaunted NISMO badge. That car has finally arrived in the form of the 2024 Nissan Z NISMO, but the automaker is asking for a couple of big concessions if you want to snag one of your own. Depending on the sting of inflation and your preferences as a driver, they might be deal breakers. That said, Nissan’s go-fast division has significantly upped the Z’s game over the heretofore top-level Performance model. Underfloor chassis braces add noticeable rigidity to the NISMO’s structure, while firmer bushings, larger passive dampers, and stiffer springs and anti-roll bars discipline its body motions and sharpen its reflexes. Larger 15.0-inch front brake rotors with four-piston calipers (13.8-inch, two-piston rear units carry over from the Performance trim) bring greater security in braking zones. Wider 19-inch Rays forged aluminum wheels wrapped with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 summer tires (sized 255/40R-19 in front, 285/35R-19 in back) greatly increase overall stick. Countering the 100 or so pounds of extra mass those upgrades bring is a hotter tune for the Z’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, now rated at 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque, gains of 20 horses and 34 lb-ft. Increased cooling capacity, including a larger engine-oil chiller, should help protect the engine and drivetrain during the track days this car was designed for. Which brings us to issue number one: NISMO engineers opted for a beefed-up version of the Z’s nine-speed automatic transmission, rather than its six-speed manual, because it’s simply the quicker way around a racetrack. That may be true, and this two-pedal ‘box does display impressively snappy and well-orchestrated shifts via a new Sport+ drive mode. But this misses the point of a driver’s car. With only steering-wheel paddles and an electronic shift dongle on the console to busy ourselves with, our attention often drifted to the antiquity of the Z-car’s switchgear. Still, back-to-back laps of the Performance model and the Z NISMO revealed the latter to be vastly better at instilling confidence. While forward thrust feels about the same (figure on getting to 60 mph in the low-four-second range), the new car’s steering responses are crisper, its cornering attitude is more stable, and it hangs on in turns with a tenacity its lesser kin lacks. Combine all of that with revised stability- and launch-control programming, and exploring this car’s limits is a breeze. Surprisingly, the civilized demeanor extends to the street, where a reasonably compliant ride, more relaxed Standard and Sport modes, and embracing support from the model-specific Recaro seats had us marveling at the car’s dual-natured temperament. You could drive this thing daily. The Z’s aerodynamics, and arguably its aesthetics, benefit from the NISMO’s aggressive bumpers, rocker-panel extensions, and slightly taller rear spoiler. Color choices are limited to black, white, red, silver, and a model-exclusive Stealth Grey, but you can’t delete the ankle-height red stripe that rings the body and kills some of the retro vibe. Inside, more scarlet touches grace the seats and the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, with bits of dark microfiber thrown in on the steering wheel and elsewhere for good measure. More in Nissan ZYet the root of the Z NISMO’s rub is its starting price, which at $66,085 is some $12,780 higher than the Performance model’s. It’s also a bigger outlay than what a BMW M2 or a Ford Mustang Dark Horse demands, and not far below the ask of a Chevy Corvette Stingray or a Porsche 718 Cayman. Nissan says it hasn’t ruled out a manual version if customer demand is sufficient, but even then this might be a tough sell. SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Nissan Z NISMOVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: $66,085
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 183 in3, 2997 cm3Power: 420 hp @ 6400 rpmTorque: 384 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 100.4 inLength: 173.2 inWidth: 73.6 inHeight: 51.8 inPassenger Volume: 52 ft3Cargo Volume: 7 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.1 sec100 mph: 9.6 sec1/4-Mile: 12.6 secTop Speed: 155 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 19/17/24 mpgTechnical EditorMike Sutton is an editor, writer, test driver, and general car nerd who has contributed to Car and Driver’s reverent and irreverent passion for the automobile since 2008. A native Michigander from suburban Detroit, he enjoys the outdoors and complaining about the weather, has an affection for off-road vehicles, and believes in federal protection for naturally aspirated engines. More

From the February 1995 issue of Car and Driver.We were in the new Mercedes C36 on Autobahn-8, following public-relations man Jürgen Hodel’s S500 from a hotel in Stuttgart to the Frankfurt airport. The morning commuter traffic was heavy and surprisingly like an American freeway in the way drivers hung in the left lane. But occa­sionally the road would clear and Hodel’s S500 would streak ahead. Trying not to let the big S-class escape from view, I’d floor the pedal and listen to the breathed-on straight-six wind up through its range, changing from a bass growl to a tenor whoop and back as the transmission (an adapted E420 mecha­nism) found new gears to explore. On sev­eral occasions, the pedal flattened the mat long enough for the speedo needle to stroke the 155-mph mark, the point at which the car’s electronics inhibit further adventure. At that speed, the C36 slashes through the air with a suppressed roar, its engine uttering a determined, hard-edged snarl. But the wheel remains unperturbed, almost restful in your hands, and the car tracks like a monorail. HIGHS: Tons of torque, bags of grip, loads of refinement.The C36 is the result of a marriage made in Swabian heaven. It’s a Mercedes C280 with some additional development work from veteran Benz-transformers AMG. Considering it’s the folks at AMG who gave us the Hammer and other pumped-up Mercedes monster-cars, their work on the C36 is remarkably subtle­—particularly from an exterior viewpoint. There is a new, deeper front air dam with foglamps and a slatted mouth that emulates the grille, new side skirts, and a new rear apron. All of it is tasteful and fairly restrained. Also added are AMG badges, dual chrome exhaust outlets, and distinctive 17-inch AMG wheels with tires so low in profile they look like rubber bands on cotton reels. When you examine the pedigree, you see classic thoroughbred inbreeding: parts from various Mercedes models combine to broaden the standard C280’s perfor­mance envelope. For the C36, the AMG guys found another 74 horsepower to add to the C280’s 194-strong stable. First they increased the bore of a stock C280 engine (known internally as the M104) from 89.9 to 91 mm. Next, they slid forged aluminum pis­tons into the bigger sleeves, bumping the compression ratio from 10 to 10.5:1. At the bot­tom end, they installed a specially machined and balanced S350 turbodiesel crankshaft, extending the engine’s stroke from 73.5 to 92.4 mm. That resulted in a displacement of 3.6 liters. Then they took a stock cylinder head, enlarged the ports for better gas exchange, replaced the exhaust valves with sodium­-filled units for better heat dissipation, installed an AMG intake camshaft with greater lift, and advanced the exhaust-cam timing. An intake manifold from the E320 was bolted on, along with a low-back-pres­sure exhaust system. That left AMG to fig­ure a ton of new software algorithms for the variable valve timing, the variable vol­ume intake system, the ignition timing, the fuel-injection pulse widths, and the elec­tronic transmission. When finished, AMG had an engine that makes at least 252 pound-feet of torque (90 percent of its peak) between 2800 and 5300 rpm. By twisting the drive­shaft that hard, AMG was courting final­-drive failure, so it installed a heavier-duty differential originally developed for the still-gestating new E-class car. It uses the same 2.87:1 final-drive ratio as the C280, but has wider gear teeth. With all the go-faster bits in place, some new brake and suspension disciplines were in order. Front discs come from the SL600—big 12.6-inch rotors with four-piston calipers—and the rear brakes are from an E420. Together, they claw the C36 to a stop from 70 mph in 163 feet. The car retains European Sport-spec spring rates but has upgraded anti-roll bars to increase roll stiffness by 35 percent in front and by 49 percent at the rear. Special AMG-tuned gas shock absorbers with degressive damping characteristics were installed to take the edge off bumps—like potholes and expansion joints—that pro­duce high damper-piston speeds. Despite the extensively modified pow­ertrain and firmer chassis, the C36 feels a lot like an authentic three-pointed-star car . . . albeit one that starts with a healthy bark and then struggles to run evenly for awhile, going rumpity-rump until it warms to a mildly surging idle. LOWS: Feels a bit numb at normal speeds. Costs $14,000 more than a BMW M3.As you get in, you see the telltale AMG doorsills, the initials on the 160-mph speedometer, the gray leather segment on the steering wheel, and “C36” embossed on the gear-selector knob. Apart from these clues, the interior is much as it would be in a C280, because U.S. customers get wood trim rather than the tacky fake car­bon-fiber surfaces European C36s are stuck with. The transmission selector is unchanged, jinking through the wiggly quadrant to find drive. As the car rolls off, it jiggles slightly on its springs, revealing a degree of firmness and roll control not found on the cooking C-class cars. Then, as you press the pedal floorward, the C36 thrusts forward with unmistakable energy, the exhaust growl full of deep staccato impulses from the bigger-bore cylinders. The acceleration figures are impres­sive, testifying to standstill-to-60 sprints in just 6.0 seconds and a standing quarter-mile time of 14.6 seconds at 97 mph. Top speed is limited to 155 mph, as we observed on the auto­bahn, although the elec­tronic watchdog on our U.S. car was slightly off and it averaged only 152 mph during top-speed tests. But that’s close enough, and more than most U.S. owners are ever likely to see. Anyway, the best thing about the new C36 is its torque. It’s a tide that picks the car up and washes it forward with relentless intensity. What more could you ask for? Not much, but we must confess that some of us found the car curiously schizophrenic. During relaxed motoring, you have the thick, syrupy veneer of Benz luxury, with its super-damped, slightly detached sense of isolation. Push through that and there’s fairly abrupt power delivery waiting beyond the slow throttle tip-in, and quick, decisive responses from the gumball tires just beyond the usual on-center steering dead zone. As the road bends ahead, you turn the wheel, and for a split-second nothing hap­pens. This despite a faster steering ratio than in the C280. Then the car turns in like a good sports sedan should. But sometimes it turns in more than you’d predicted from the slow off-center response, so you have to redraw your line. There’s a momentary absence of linearity, and it’s less than reas­suring. And yet, beyond the film of vagueness, there’s little to complain about. The C36 has bags of power and tons of grip. Once in the throes of a wide-open throttle blast, the car commu­nicates its intentions in no uncertain terms. And once you’ve swung into a bend and the car has taken a firm and determined set, the handling is wholly confidence-­inspiring. But still, there’s that moment of transition as the C36 wakes from its languor. This paradox arises, we think, because of the car’s parentage. Mercedes-Benz provided the layer of refinement found in all of its cars. AMG, on the other hand, prepares cars for competition and ampli­fies performance any way it can. For Klaus Ludwig, who drove a Mercedes-Benz in the ’94 German Touring Car Champi­onship, AMG produced enough to win. More C-class AMG Reviews From the ArchiveFor the rest of us, AMG has imbued the $51,750 C36 with the grunt to see off almost anything with four doors. And it has done so without harming the car’s social acceptability. While the aero body kit and big wheels speak of sportiness, they do it without demeaning the car’s image. Nor has any of the driveline or sus­pension work markedly compromised its versatility for everyday use. In that respect, the C36 is even better than a BMW M3. Perhaps because of that, it has less of the M3’s exuberance, expressive­ness, and communication. But for the kind of driver Mercedes is courting, it has about all it needs. VERDICT: So subtle the masses may miss the point. SpecificationsSpecifications
1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMGVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICEBase: $51,750 (est.)
ENGINEDOHC 24-valve inline-6, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 220 in3, 3606 cm3Power: 268 hp @ 5750 rpmTorque: 280 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 12.6-in vented disc/10.9-in vented discTires: Bridgestone Expedia SO-1F: 225/45ZR-17R: 245/40ZR-17
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.9 inLength: 177.4 inWidth: 67.7 inHeight: 55.6 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 49/38 ft3Trunk Volume: 12 ft3Curb Weight: 3458 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.0 sec1/4-Mile: 14.6 sec @ 97 mph100 mph: 15.4 sec130 mph: 31.4 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.4 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.4 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.8 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 152 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 163 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.83 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 19 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 18/22 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More