2014 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS63 AMG 4Matic Review

Never say never. That’s what should be written on the back of every 4Matic AMG model instead of its badges. Until not too long ago, we could’ve all sworn that all-wheel drive would never penetrate AMG’s ways too far. And yet it has.

That’s right. No longer will your throttle inputs turn the rear tires into hot rubber pie, especially if you live in America. While Europeans get optional four-wheel drive on the E63, CLS63 and S63, this has become mandatory in the US.

AMG boss Tobias Moers had previously hinted at an E63 with traction on all fours. At the time, Mercedes’ 4Matic system, with its 45:55 power delivery ratio, wasn’t up for the job. There was simply too much understeer on the table.

Well, AMG’s worked on its own 4Matic now, which feeds the rear axle with 67 percent of the muscle. Sounds like a brilliant plan, but it’s still a far stray from the smoky sideways path that used to come with AMGs.

We love the idea of being able to put our foot down mid-corner and feel the car pulling us out. Everyday drivability is the thing for this kind of cars. It’s just that since you can’t choose rear-wheel drive anymore (US), this means that the new system has to be really, really good.

To settle this matter, we grabbed the keys to a Mercedes CLS63 AMG 4Matic. Our tester was an Euro-spec model, but this is pretty much similar to the US version.

We had recently driven a bunch of supercars and were pretty surprised to see the CLS didn’t fall too much behind in terms of the wow factor. Enough people seemed to notice our test car on the street. Perhaps it was the rather meaty exhaust that did this. At least one thing’s remained unchanged. Good.