The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a masterclass in refinement. It offers sleek lines, a smooth ride and buttery engines, especially the straight-sixes. I was expecting more of the same from the current top variant, the E53, just with way more power.
Yes, it’s quick and clever with its plug-in hybrid powertrain, but it doesn’t punch you in the stomach and make your ears ring like I thought a proper unhinged AMG should.
The last gas-powered E63 I drove certainly did. You look at its flared wheel arches filled by aggressive black wheels and you think, “Oh, my! This thing is going to rearrange my internal organs,” but it stops short of doing that.
It’s not all that different than the four-cylinder E400e hybrid, just faster and with far more aggressive styling.
What Is It?
The E53 is a 585-hp plug-in hybrid sedan that combines a 3-liter turbocharged straight-six engine from the E450 with an electric motor, feeding its power to all four wheels. It’s the top end of the E-Class lineup for now, as there isn’t a more aggressive E63 (yet).
My tester had the Edition 1 pack, which brought several visual changes, including decals on the sides of the car. They look ok, but are a bit much on an E-Class. What I did really like was that Mercedes didn’t advertise that the E53 is a plug-in hybrid or in any way electrified. There is no silly blue detailing (usually associated with electric vehicles, for some reason) nor any badging denoting it’s also powered by electricity.
It’s a great plug-in hybrid at that, with a remarkably smooth straight-six engine that starts up almost imperceptibly and plenty of power in electric mode. It’ll go over 62 miles (100 km) on electricity alone according to the WLTP test cycle. That's an excellent number for a PHEV (although not in China), but its real-world electric range, I observed, is closer to 43-44 miles (69-71 km), matching its EPA range claim.
It’s really good around corners, too, with standard rear-wheel steering that disguises its 5,100-lb curb weight.
When the time comes to fire it out of a corner, there’s none of the drama you expect from an AMG. It just sticks and goes, and it’s not even that noisy. The CLE 53 that I drove before it—which has a version of the same engine but with a mild hybrid setup—had a much more brutal and exciting powerband than the E53 and it sounds better too. It's much closer to delivering the kind of experience I expect from an AMG, even without an angry V-8.
A Touch Of Class With A Dash Of Hard Plastic
Mercedes has been making some questionable decisions for the interiors of all its cars—like its usage of haptic and capacitive controls—but it also gets a lot of things right. Sure, I would have liked the soft-touch plastic to go all the way down the door cards and the center console, but the design was great, and the feeling of vault-like solidity was present throughout.
My well-equipped tester had the optional bucket seats. Don’t skip them, as the standard seats are better suited for appointments, not apexes. The steering wheel, which had suede grips, is absolutely fantastic to hold. It’s the kind of sporty wheel that makes you want to downshift for the heck of it, just to revel in the burble of the exhaust.
And even though I usually complain about touch controls on helms, Mercedes’ are the best I’ve tried of this kind, and they just seem to work really well. Not better than physical buttons, but close.
The third screen in front of the passenger is pretty pointless, though. I know this is a trend originating in China that is now sweeping the car industry, but I just don’t get the need for a third screen when the central one is well within the passenger’s reach and line of sight and it offers all the functionality they would need. The center screen in the E-Class is one of the best I’ve ever used.
Mercedes is definitely on to something with having the central touchscreen placed at such an angle. Since you can use it while resting your elbow on the armrest, touching the screen precisely is much easier than in other cars where it’s placed vertically and higher up on the dash, and your arm is dangling in mid-air as you try to adjust the climate control. Unfortunately, Mercedes is moving away from this design with its future models, which will be a step back in ergonomics. The layout in the new CLA is a sign of things to come.
Overall, the interior of the E53 looked and felt pretty special, especially with the strong yellow accents throughout the cabin, including on the seats, the seat belts and on the dashboard in my First Edition tester. With the scratchier plastics lower down in the cabin, it doesn’t quite feel like a vehicle costing almost €120,000 ($136,000) as tested, but it’s undeniably more special in AMG trim. In the U.S., a base E53 costs around $89,000, and a similarly specced example would cost around $120,000.
Quick On Paper
Scanning over the spec sheet and seeing it has 585 hp and a peak torque rating of 553 pound-feet (750 Nm), I was expecting the E53 to light my pants on fire with its performance. But it doesn’t.
That’s partly because it’s quite a heavy car, and even with that much power, it still needs almost four seconds to reach 62 mph (100 km/h). You expect fireworks to go off when you floor it, but you just get dynamic mood lighting. My passengers guessed 400 hp—nobody believed its actual power figure.
To unleash the full fury that the AMG badge demands, you absolutely need to specify the AMG Dynamic Plus package, which my tester, even though very well equipped, didn’t have. It ups the power to 600 hp and gives the car launch control, or Race Start, as Mercedes calls it, and I’m pretty sure it makes a difference. It also adds an electronically controlled limited-slip differential in the back, active engine mounts and upgraded brakes, together making this a more serious driver’s car and better through the corners.
Mercedes also needs to offer a louder exhaust for this car. It’s just too quiet and restrained for an AMG, even by 2025’s increasingly stringent and restrained European noise (and pollution) standards. I’d even take a bit more fake noise through the speakers to break the sublime silence that dominates being aboard any W214, even the E53.
Clark Kent, And Almost Superman
Switch off the creamy turbocharged six, and the electric motor, which lives in the nine-speed automatic transmission, does a surprisingly good job of moving the car and getting it up to speed. On its own, it produces 163 hp and 354 lb-ft (480 Nm) of torque. That's just around 10% less than a base rear-wheel-drive Volkswagen ID.4.
There’s plenty of punch for around-town driving, and it quickly gets the car up to highway speeds. It can drive only on electrons at up to 87 mph (140 km/h), which means you can commute on the highway at the speed limit in most European countries.
Driving the E-Class in EV mode suits the car’s relaxed character very well. This is a car that just eats miles like few new cars can, and not having the thrum of combustion power just suits it very well. The fact that you get two different cars in one (a quiet and civilized EV for sedate driving and a powerful gas-burning sports sedan for when you want to get a move on) makes it a great car.
Thanks to 21.2 kWh of usable battery capacity, you can get around 43 miles (70 km) of real-world electric range if you drive the car normally in EV mode. That’s less than Mercedes’ claim that you can get 62 miles (100 km) of gas-free driving in this on the WLTP cycle, but it’s a respectable number that should allow you to run most of your errands emissions-free.
One of the things that makes any current-generation E-Class PHEV unique is the ability to DC fast-charge, which is relatively rare among PHEVs. The E can draw up to 60 kW, finishing the 10 to 80% dash in around 20 minutes. You can also use the 11 kW onboard charger to replenish the battery, which will take a few hours.
Another rare trait among PHEVs is powerful regenerative braking. Mercedes says the E53 can recuperate 120 kW under deceleration, which is more than some lower-powered EVs. This means if you descend a mountain road, you could top up the battery very quickly, and the regen is strong enough that it helps lessen the load on the friction brakes, which need to be used less.
The Best E-Class But Not The Best AMG
Gallery: 2025 Mercedes-AMG E53
The E53 might be the best W214 variant specifically because of its dual character. There’s also the widebody kit that really makes it stand out in the shopping center parking lot, plus all the sporty interior touches that make both it and its occupants feel special.
In an age when automakers seem to be focusing more and more on crossovers and SUVs, Mercedes is staying true to what made it great and keeps making great sedans. It’s also great news that it’s doing the same with its pure electric sedans, which will be a lot more like its three-box combustion models than the jellybean EQ cars it sells today.
Having a traditional-looking Mercedes with classic sedan proportions and electric power is something we hope we’ll see very soon. Until then, the E53 is among the very best electrified Mercedes models that you can buy today—maybe the best—even if it doesn’t quite live up to the level of AMG lunacy that I expect from the brand.
