S-Class

Mercedes S63 AMG Puts Jaguar XJR to Shame

Words Jim Davis | January 21, 2014
In a head-to-head matchup between the Mercedes S63 AMG and the Jaguar XJR, there can only be one winner
Words Jim Davis January 21, 2014

If you’re looking for the ultimate luxury car but secretly want a car that can take nearly any other car off the line, the Mercedes S63 AMG is the car for you.  But other brands have come out with their own version of luxury sport saloon, including Jaguar with the XJR.

Both cars offer the luxury and space of a fine limousine with supercar power that comes from a V8 and providing over 525bhp. With 577bhp and 900Nm of torque, the twin-turbo Mercedes already has a more powerful engine than the 542bhp supercharged XJR. But  the Jaguar is the lighter of the two.

Putting the two luxury sports saloons to the test, they were pitted them against each other in a head-to-head matchup.

Check out the table below for a direct comparison of the to models and then scroll down to the photo gallery or click here to go directly to the gallery to view the victor.

Mercedes S63 AMG L Jaguar XJR
On-the-road price/total as tested £119,565/£139,735 £92,370/£98,065
Residual value (after 3yrs/36,000) £54,283/45.4% £37,779/40.9%
Depreciation £65,282 £54,591
Annual tax liability std/higher rate £8,307/£16,614 £6,388/£12,775
Annual fuel cost (12k/20k miles) £4,062/£6,771 £5,025/£8,374
Ins. group/quote/road tax band/cost 50/£2,219/L/£475 50/£1,920/M/£490
Cost of 1st/2nd/3rd service £48 per month (3yrs) £299/£399/£299
Length/wheelbase 5,287/3,165mm 5,127/3,032mm
Height/width 1,501/2,130mm 1,456/1,899mm
Engine V8/5,461cc V8/5,000cc
Peak power/revs 577/5,500 bhp/rpm 542/6,500 bhp/rpm
Peak torque/revs 900/2,250 Nm/rpm 680/2,500 Nm/rpm
Transmission 7-spd auto/rwd 8-spd auto/rwd
Fuel tank capacity/spare wheel 80 litres/sealant 82 litres/space-saver
Boot capacity 510 litres 520 litres
Kerbweight/payload 2,070/370kg 1,870/480kg
Turning circle/drag coefficient 12.5 metres/0.24Cd 11.9 metres/0.29Cd
Basic warranty (miles)/recovery 3yrs (unlimited)/4yrs 3yrs (unlimited)/3yrs
Service intervals/UK dealers Variable/136 15,000 (1yr)/97
Driver Power manufacturer/dealer pos. 5th/5th 3rd/12th
Euro NCAP: Adult/child/ped./stars N/A N/A
0-60/30-70mph 4.4/3.4 secs 4.1/3.5 secs
30-50mph in 3rd/4th 2.7/3.8 secs 2.3/3.1 secs
50-70mph in 5th/6th/7th/8th 4.4/5.9/N/A secs 3.9/5.5/7.2/N/A secs
Top speed/rpm at 70mph 186mph*/1,500rpm 174mph/1,500rpm
Braking 70-0/60-0/30-0mph 41.4/30.1/9.3m 42.8/31.3/9.4m
Noise levels outside/idle/30/70mph 44/63/54/64dB 42/63/54/71dB
Auto Express econ (mpg/mpl)/range 18.8/4.1/331 miles 15.2/3.3/274 miles
Govt urban/extra-urban/combined 20.5/35.8/28.0mpg 16.7/32.8/24.4mpg
Govt urban/extra-urban/combined 4.5/7.9/6.2mpl 3.7/7.2/5.4mpl
Actual/claimed CO2/tax bracket 347/237g/km/35% 429/270g/km/35%
Airbags/Isofix/xenon lights Eight/yes/LED Eight/yes/yes
Adaptive dampers/adaptive cruise ctrl Yes/yes Yes/£1,275
Electric/heated/leather seats Yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/yes
Met paint/privacy glass/soft-close doors Yes/£400/£610 Yes/£255/yes
Sat-nav/DAB radio/Bluetooth Yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/yes

Via: AutoExpress.co.uk