Nearly a year after the global reveal of the all-new W214 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the German carmaker has now finally unveiled an AMG version for it – in a “53” flavour for now. And yes, it’s a hybrid, but before you moan about how electrification is killing the soul of big performance cars, read this: not only does the all-new Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ still come with a big honking six-cylinder engine as before, it even makes more power than its predecessor – just from the engine alone!
In this new W214-generation E53, the 3.0-litre inline-six mill has now been uprated to make 449 hp and 560 Nm, compared to 435 hp and 520 Nm from before. Together with the additional electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the nine-speed automatic gearbox, the entire hybrid powertrain is capable of making up to 585 hp (or 612 hp in Race Start mode – the same as the outgoing E63!) and 750 Nm, translating to a century sprint time of just 3.8 seconds, or 4.0 seconds flat without the fancy Race Start mode.
You’ll be able to push the car all the way up to 280 km/h before the electronics kick in if you opt for the AMG Driver’s Package, and because this is a hybrid, you’ll also be able to drive in fully electric mode at up to 140 km/h, for up to 101 km (WLTP) courtesy of its rather large 28.6 kWh battery pack (21.22 kWh usable) mounted underneath the boot floor.
All of that power is sent through a reinforced chassis, paired to a wider front track, standard-fit rear-wheel steering, and adaptive dampers to ensure AMG-class handling. The bigger brakes are especially important considering this car here likely weighs over two tonnes, and the fully-variable 4Matic+ all-wheel drive system means you can do silly slides on it, like we did on the CLA45S…
And in case you can’t differentiate this from the standard E-Class, the all-new Mercedes-AMG E53 also gets a more aggressive bumper design, alongside an illuminated front grille, quad exhaust exits, and a sleek boot lid spoiler at the back. And yes, you (assuming you don’t stay in Malaysia) can also still get one of these in wagon form too.
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