2016 Mercedes-AMG E 43 4Matic Estate first drive

The Mercedes-AMG E 43 4Matic is the latest in this year’s line of all-new turbo six-cylinder, medium-hot performance derivatives from the factory Mercedes tuner.

Available in both saloon and estate bodystyles, this one probably plays a more important role than the other ‘43’ models we’ve reviewed already this year. With the E 63 moving into even more rarefied and expensive territory, there’ll be a fairly strong demand for this E 43, you’d expect, from people who like the idea of a fast E-Class, but for whom a near-£90,000 price tag and a 600-horsepower V8 seem a bit over-the-top.

And so, for the more moderate AMG faithful, the E 43 4Matic is powered by a 396bhp ‘biturbo’ V6 engine; ‘only’ a V6, perhaps, but one more powerful than the V8s of both the legendary ‘W124’ 500 E and the original E 55 AMG.

The technical differences between an E 43 and the new E 63 run much deeper than that, of course. The six-cylinder car does without the V8’s ‘speedshift multi-clutch’ gearbox, without its special four-link front axle, with a different steering system, and without the ‘drift mode’ facilitated by the E 63’s clever four-wheel drive system.

The E 43 is still four-wheel drive, though – and both saloon and estate versions are available for a sub-£60,000 price tag, which is competitive with what Audi asks for an Audi S6, what Maserati asks for a Ghilbli S . No longer can we necessarily all say ‘AMGs are great, but aren’t they expensive?’.

In some ways, this is a car sprung from that familiar, demonstrative AMG mould. In some ways, it seems to miss opportunities to take the gnarly, serrated edge off that well-known AMG driving experience – which does suggest Affalterbach was keen we didn’t think of the E 43 as a soft option. Sure, it's a bit odd to drive a hot E-Class that doesn’t rumble down a dual carriageway like an extra from Days of Thunder, but that doesn’t mean the E 43’s V6 isn’t suited to this application, or isn’t one of the more effusive and characterful motors of its kind.

Unlike in other halfway-house V6 German performance cars of late, the E 43’s engine is vocal at all times: idle, town speeds and on the run. It isn’t as mellifluous as a V8, but it’s sweet and characterful to listen to and speaks clearly of a distinguishing level of grunt ready to be pressed into service.