IN THE 1980s it was regular family sedans that flicked rear-wheel drive for new front-wheel drive. In the 2010s, as performance sedans such as the Mercedes-AMG E63 S become increasingly more powerful, a push from behind is seemingly now no longer enough. All-wheel drive is the new go-to.

The latest E63 S is the first among five generations of flagship AMG-tuned E-Classes in Australia to send power to all four wheels.

It offers higher outputs and greater performance than ever before.

However, if more is somehow not actually more, then Mercedes-AMG has also engineered in a Drift Mode function that can disconnect the front driveshaft to return this large sedan to rear-drive. And the technology will soon be exactly followed by its arch rival, the BMW M5.

It seems like the best of both worlds: offer the latest luxury and technology from the new E-Class and combine it with a heavier injection of sporting ability while attempting to also retain the more purist format of old. But can the new E63 S thrust into the future while giving a nod to the past?

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