MSL are leaders in the AMG tuning field. I do wish people would not make comments when they know nothing about the company or the situation. That car is their test mule, it's not a customer's car and the video is their to show the ECU has been cracked not that is how they would leave the tune or supply the car to the customer. Now the hard work really begins.

They are agents for both Eurocharged and Weistec who are hugely respected in the AMG tuning scene and would not have endorsed MSL unless they felt they knew what they were doing.

 

wait till you get yours, try opening the bonnet after a run, cant even get near it its that hot, bit of a bad design I must say.

 

The comments have been made about the sky rocketing water temps, and the effect this could have on the engine and ancillaries.

When you see a video like that, it can leave an impression about the company that has posted it (which could be positive or negative). Nothing more and nothing less, which is exactly why you need to be careful what and how you publish information.

I don't know MSL from TNT, so I'm certainly not going to take what you state as being the absolute on them!

Obviously to "crack" the ECU takes skill and knowledge, so hats off to them for that.

 

I do agree with what Shaun is saying here, water temps in the video were the first thing I noticed. I'm surprised a 'tuner' would subject a car to that, doesn't inspire much confidence when you imagine how they may tune your pride and joy. Doesn't take a lot to do damage, damage that may be done at the time of remap and to rear it's head one day for you soon after.

I will say though, Mercedes seem to be one of a few manufacturers where the temp gauge actually moves about. But showing that can only have a detremental effect on business IMO.

 

I normally sit on the AMG screen as this tells you water oil and Gearbox temps, once white you can in essence boot it..or so the manual says.
Gearbox takes ages to go white, but a flick to manual moves that along a little quicker, leave it in C and you can drive 20 mins before your good to go

 

Shaun, when do you pick the car up?

 

I agree that the video should not have been posted without some explanation and I only know what the situation is as I know MSL and the guys that have their cars tuned there.

I am not asking you to take my word on them, talk to them for yourself. Join MBClub and see their reputation there. All I am asking is for you not to make a judgement based on one video which is pretty much what you seem to have done.

I wasn't going to point this out as it will no doubt open a can of worms, but quite a few Mercs run around at 110 degrees from the factory ... several E and S class models being a case in point. That does not make what we saw in the video right, but it seems AMG and Merc engines are more tolerant of higher temps than many other engines.

 

F1 Fan,
Point taken.

Ted,
Yes... I remember the person that took me out for a test drive said we needed to wait until everything went white, prior to giving it a fistful.

Steve,
Tomorrow morning mate. Perhaps then I can stop looking at YT videos of the exhaust noise. lol

 

Shaun, stop looking at things that do this and that and just relax and have a nice car that is what you want. We all know its not a quick car but its a bit more luxury that crappy Impreza.

 

The first thing I noticed was that the driver did not seem to be wearing a seatbelt

 

Steve,
When it's in your blood, it's in your blood.

It is a quick car you tit...... it might not be 500+bhp quick, but it's still bloody rapid. When I test drove it, I certainly never thought it was "slow". I bet it would stay with your car down a B road..... the AMG would be round the next corner before you came on boost!

 

WTF!!!

 

Shaun my car is just shy of 700bhp I doubt your AMG would come close to mine on any road apart from say holding top end for more than 5 seconds


What your car is is a nice car that is out the box better than the average car, I wish I had the sense to do this years ago instead of wasting cash on an Impreza

 

It's not all about power Steve.

We all waste cash on Impreza's....... it's the key thing we have in common on here. At times though you need to sample other fruits of life.... there is life beyond an Impreza, and life is way too short.

P.S. I'm off in 15 mins to catch public transport, to get to the dealers for 8am.

 

Public transport occasionally when getting a new car is good for the soul. It reminds you why you have worked hard so as not to be a bus ******. OTOH, some seem to get a free car for being morbidly obese nowadays so that kills my argument somewhat.

 

That made me literally LOL

The Inbetweeners created several new phrases, but that one is the best

 

Well you didn't tell us that, no A45 is worth pbķlloic tdanspore...... i cant even type it.

 

I have sampled other cars as I have a BMW 530d I also know we are frjggin mad for the amount we have spent on our cars as you could buy something like you have bought instead

Have fun driving the car home

 

I did a thousand miles in my first week when i was 16 and got a 50cc moped. Great times when you get a new toy. It did only cost about £3 to fill the tank though, maybe £4 at a push.

 

It's still just an impreza,an old shed loved by chavs.

The amg is a premium product.

 

To paraphrase Viz's one-off Slipknot cartoon:

"Careful you don't damage anything, Shaun!"




Seriously, can't wait for you to post pics and vids of the beast... Such a desirable motor.

I bet right here, right now, you feel like a 7-year-old on Christmas Eve night!

 

There's no reason a Scooby Scoop cant be fitted to the bonnet to help with the cooling surely ???



Your Welcome...!!!

 

Do you reckon Evo owners/Impreza-haters refer to them as the:

"Scooby super duper pooper scooper"?

 

Well yeah true....

Shaun should have it now, wonder what he's doing.

 

Hooning his head off, I expect (I know I'd be!)...... I don't reckon we'll hear from him till circa midnight...

 

'Kin ell Shaun, come on where's the day 1 review lol

Is it gonna be gone in 3 months? Planning the next 500bhp Impreza yet? Or are we all pissing in the wind with these old Jap 5hitters.

 

He has probably crashed it with that power going thru the front wheels

 

Anyone know what the steady state torque split is of its 4WD?

 

I'm knackered!

In bed at 12:15 this morning, back up at 5:45am and at the dealers at 8am.

Vehicle Handover
I'm not sure if this is a MB, dealer specific or AMG thing, but the handover was like none I'd experienced before..... in a good way.

After the normal "running through the paperwork" bit, the sales person said she would "unveil" the car, which was in the showroom. I thought "showroom? - it's a used vehicle". At the front right-hand side of the showroom was a sectioned off area, with (what looked like) a car covered in a black satin cover. I did notice this when I walked in, and thought it was some kind of marketing thing for a new car model or something.

The sales person said that "we" will unveil the car, and would she like it to be filmed! LOL I looked at my mrs and burst in to laughter. I politely declined.

We walked over to the car and she asked me whether I would like to unveil the car, or whether I wanted her to. I was starting to get highly embarrassed by this point. lol

With the car unveiled (I was expecting a trumpet fanfare by this stage tbh), she said that she would let us admire the car for a while and then she would go over the in's and out's of the car. This was awesome! However I quickly said "Shall we get in the car now then and go through the functions." I don't want to admire it..... I just want to thrash the pants off it.

So what's it like then?
You never really get a proper chance to put a car through it's paces, and really get to grips with it, until you're able to spend some decent time behind the wheel. Even after driving around 200 miles today, whilst I'm getting there, I still need more time behind the wheel. First impressions though are that I'm very impressed and happy.

Key Points
Engine
Awesome power plant.

It's amazing how this thing pulls from so lowdown (2k rpm) and just keeps pulling past 6500 rpm, and it's so responsive as well. Just instant. Anyone that has driven a JDM Twinscroll of the OEM VF will know how this goes, but this is better imo.

These engines are running 1.8bar of boost, which is quite a figure, but when you drive this car you know they have done it right. It's clear they have chosen the best sized turbo, to achieve their power goal, whilst maintaining brilliant driveability. To achieve that they've chosen a smaller turbo running higher boost, and based on what I know about the engine, they've spec'd that to cope with this type of set-up. Not what some other manufacturers do.... use a big blower, which drives like crap on a 2ltr (I'm thinking about cars like the MR400 here).

This is how you do it imo.

This is exactly what the current UK Scoob should be like!

The power delivery is just so so smooth. You don't get that pure speed sensation (like you do in an agricultural way like the Scoob), but then after a few seconds of acceleration, you realise you're doing insane speeds.

These engines certainly want to rev as well, which adds to that driving enjoyment for me.

That exhaust noise......... it's going to be marmite, but I think it's ****ing awesome!!!!!

Gearbox
I've had virtually zero experience with dual clutches or even auto's, so this is taking some getting used to for me at the moment. Gear changes are seamless and very quick imo. The three modes "comfort", "sport" and "manual" give a good choice depending upon your mood.

The gearing feels good, although you feel there are torque limiters in the first few gears. Not a box issue, but more of how the car has been mapped. It's not a problem, but I can feel it there.

This car has a 7sp box and the ratios feel fine to me, but I do need to spend some more time down some windy and tight B roads to be fair. 7th gear on this box is nuts.... at 2k rpm you're doing 80mph. lol It's a proper overdrive gear by the looks of it.... that will push the economy up on any long motorway runs.

I haven't tried the launch control yet.

Handling
Personally, I'm very impressed. Front end grip is awesome and the car doesn't appear to show any signs of roll. I was a bit wary about the Haldex system, but I don't care what it is or not doing, the car has tremendous grip..... especially as the roads were very greasy today. I did manage to light the fronts up once nailing it just coming out of a sharp bend, but it was a nanosecond and then it gripped..... I suspect the Haldex threw torque to the back at that point.

I noticed very minor understeer on the road..... but were talking minor and imo, less than the Hatch STI.

Steering feels good..... feels quick and very precise.

The backend will neutralise though, if you give it a fistful mid corner which feels nice.

The suspension is firm, not as agricultural as the Scoob, but it is firm (I'm also on 19's with 35 profile tyres). For me it's exactly what I wanted.... I can see it not being for everyone if it was a daily driver. Although it has a firm ride, the control is excellent and even on our roads it really does feel connected. I remember Chris Harris commenting that the harder you drive it, the better it becomes...... I'd totally agree with that. It's very well damped.

Brakes
For a road car..... the best I've personally experienced in this class. Positive action and they really do haul you up. Very confidence inspiring.

Interior
Recaro seats are tremendous...... proper bucket seats these. Again, if it were a daily driver I suspect I may think twice, but for my use....... perfect.

Overall, interior is good and functional..... they perhaps could have made it slightly more premium, but I suspect this model is about fun.

Overall
Personally I think it's a fantastic vehicle as it does everything I wanted. Will it be the same for all..... of course not. Is it better than the Scoob - for me, 100%. I'll say it again, this is what the STI should be like in the UK.

For a first attempt by MB at this type of car, they've done an unbelievable job.

If you get the chance or opportunity...... take one for a drive.

 

Happy days then! Can't beat that new toy feeling for a petrolhead.

Lol at the unavailing though, I'd have been equally as embarrassed.