WHILE Australia once had its own hotly contested performance sedan segment with the likes of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, and later their HSV and FPV derivatives, the local family bruisers have never really held a candle to their German counterparts.

Offering increased performance and genuine luxury, the likes of the BMW M5, Audi RS6/RS7 and Mercedes-AMG E63 have long been considered some of the best four-door performance options on the market.

Following on from the arrival of the updated E-Class range in October, the halo E63 S variant has now arrived on Australian shores underpinned by its monster 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

Does the E63 S have what it takes to come up trumps in the battle of the German super-sedans?