Mercedes C 63 AMG Estate—Not Your Ordinary Station Wagon

For reasons that are mysterious to me, there is a resistance among U.S. car buyers to opt for station wagons. Arguably the last American wagon (actually built in Canada) was the Dodge Magnum, which went out of production in 2008. If minivans are thought to be the official vehicle of soccer moms, the Magnum could have been considered the vehicle of soccer moms in Blahniks. Kick that!

Alas, the sales of the Magnum were, in a word, pathetic.

Wagons are not so considered in other parts of the world. Like Europe. Consider if you will this Mercedes C. The term used to describe it is not “station wagon.” It’s “Estate.” And people in Europe drive the Mercedes C Estate and like it. And some of them really like it because the car in question is no mere C 63 Estate, but a C 63 AMG Estate that is equipped with an AMG 6.3-liter V8 that delivers 457 hp. For those so inclined, there is an AMG Performance package that boosts that number to 487 hp.

The vehicle is equipped with the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT seven-speed sports transmission that has four driving modes as well as double-declutching and race start functions. And for those inclined, one of the four selectable modes is the “C” mode, or “Controlled Efficiency,” for those who want the early upshifts that keeps the engine, comparatively speaking, loafing along, thereby saving fuel.

However, for those more inclined, know that the standard Estate goes from 0 to 100 km/hr in 4.6 seconds. Get the performance package and shave a tenth off that figure.

The base Estate, which will become available—in Europe—in July 2011, including a 19% VAT, has a sticker of €73,899, or about $100,000.

Presumably, German football moms don’t have a problem with this car.