Plug-in hybrids and AMG have had a difficult history. The S 63 E Performance pumps out some outrageous figures, but the four-cylinder plug-in hybrid C 63 S E Performance was instantly unappealing to just about everyone on the internet, from V8 fans mad about it dropping four cylinders to PHEV fans wanting more than a single mile of EPA range. On the heels of blowback like that, surely the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid has to be really good to make up for criticism of other models, yeah?
On paper, it’s promising. Not only does it keep a straight-six under the hood, it can put out up to 604 horsepower, and it uses a torque converter instead of a fiddly clutch pack arrangement. Electric-only range seems quite good, pricing appears reasonable, and because it’s not meant to be the ultimate in performance, a curb weight north of 5,200 pounds doesn’t seem as egregious as it would on a top-shelf super sedan. That’s all interesting, but theory will only take you so far, which is why I borrowed one for a week to find out what it’s like to live with.
[Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz Canada let me borrow this AMG E 53 Hybrid for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it with a full tank of premium fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: Three-liter turbocharged twin-cam 24-valve inline-six.
Battery: 21.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Drivetrain: Nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission, all-wheel-drive, optional limited-slip rear differential.
Combined output: 577 horsepower (604 with launch control), 553 lb.-ft. of torque.
Curb weight: 5,269 pounds.
DC Fast Charging: 60 kW, CCS port.
Fuel economy: 59 MPGe combined/23 MPG combined (4.0 Le/100km combined/10.2 L/100km combined)
Electric Range: 41 miles (66 km).
Base price: $89,150 including freight ($108,500 Canadian).
As-tested price: $118,170 ($140,000 Canadian).
Why Does It Exist?
Think of the AMG E 53 Hybrid as an intermediate trim, something between the more standard E 450 and the previous hairy-chested V8-powered E 63 S. The old E 53 paired a three-liter straight-six with a mild hybrid system, but we’re in a new age now, and this latest model uses a plug-in hybrid system to augment the power and surprising efficiency of the familiar straight-six. The result isn’t a direct BMW M5 competitor, but that also means it doesn’t come with super sedan expectations or a true super sedan price tag.
How Does It Look?
In a world where almost everything feels a need to shout, the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid looks fairly restrained. I’m still coming around to the new grille and the three-pointed star elements in the taillights seem a touch garish, but the fundamentals here are right: classic luxury sedan proportions, clean surfacing, and an evolutionary silhouette that looks good without appearing stale.
Some of the details are a bit fussy, like the motorized flush-fit door handles and the litany of daytime running light elements in the headlights, but I’ll take slightly fussy over slightly too minimalist, given that this class of car requires gravitas. Also, kudos to Mercedes for thinking about the most aesthetically pleasing way of mounting a front licence plate on this thing.
What About The Interior?
Sliding behind the wheel of the E 53 Hybrid, the build quality feels great, but the cockpit feels like it’s designed for drivers with two left legs. Due in part to the width of the transmission tunnel, the accelerator pedal sits to the left of where your right foot would naturally go, and the brake pedal is so far left, it’s almost positioned like a clutch pedal. As a result, you really aren’t sitting square to the direction of travel, and that’s an odd feeling.
However, you soon forget about sitting somewhat sideways, partly because the seats themselves are quite comfortable and partly because most of the hard materials you see in the E 53 Hybrid are gorgeous. From the abundance of stitched textiles to the proud brightwork to the HVAC vents forming an elegant arc over the face of the dashboard, not only does the cabin feel luxurious, it serves up a vibe that encourages the lean. You know the one I’m talking about, elbow on the armrest Matthew McConaughey-style, relaxed, in your own lane, flourishing.
As for practicality, you get all the space you’d expect from a midsize luxury sedan in both rows of seats, and solid forward visibility. In-cabin storage is great for the segment, but there’s a compromise. Because the hybrid battery pack is under the trunk floor, there’s no concealed storage for the tire inflator kit or charging cable, meaning those two bags just hang off a rope in the back.
How Does It Drive?
A few years ago, Mercedes-AMG angered everyone when it announced that the new C 63 S was a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid. Wisely, the performance divison then reused approximately none of that wildly complicated system for the E 53 Hybrid. In this midsizer, there’s a torque converter in the transmission, a motor between that and the engine, and a 21.2 kWh battery pack in the trunk, all working to augment the three-liter turbocharged straight-six under the hood and offer 43 miles of all-electric range.
The result is single-malt smoothness and serious punch, amplified by the AMG Dynamic Plus package on my test car. In addition to bigger brakes, magnetorheological engine mounts, and a proper limited-slip differential, this package takes peak power up from 577 under most conditions to 604 with launch control activated. Unsurprisingly, the official zero-to-60 mph figure of 3.8 seconds is underrated. Figure an actual time in the low-to-mid threes, BMW M5 territory in a far less expensive package. However, instead of the typical chest-beating super sedan mannerisms, the E 53 Hybrid simply fires itself toward the horizon without the need for excessive fire-and-brimstone theatrics, marking its elevated heart rate with a classic straight-six ripping-silk soundtrack. It just feels effortless, keeping a stiff upper lip while remaining ferociously effective.
Sooner rather than later, you’ll need to slow down, and that’s where some of the satisfaction wanes. It starts with a pedal that makes you search for the bite point. The actual friction braking engagement point is down there somewhere, but the amount of pedal travel dedicated to regenerative braking seems to be chosen by Magic 8-Ball. While I’ll take that over the hand grenade finesse of the brakes on the GLC 43 any day of the week, it feels reasonable to expect better consistency through the pedal’s entire travel from a European performance sedan. In addition, the pads on my test car dusted as you’d expect from those of a European car, and under light braking, they’re genuinely louder than raccoons mating on the roof of a shed. Once you really get into friction braking, the optional six-piston front calipers will bulge your eyeballs, but it’s not unreasonable to expect a more cohesive braking package in a luxury sedan.
Don’t let this fly in the ointment turn you off completely, however, because there are more strengths worth noting. The suspension tuning is seriously good for something in the same weight class as a medium-sized archipelago. The E 53 Hybrid handles its mass with remarkable precision, never heaving sideways over mid-corner bumps or requiring more than one vertical motion over an expansion joint, yet it also provides the sort of dignified, bountiful comfort you’d expect from a proper Mercedes. Some light tire slap might make it through the acres of sound deadening, but potholes will never jostle you. You can still feel the weight if you push this sedan down an on-ramp, and especially under hard braking, but in everyday driving, the added efficiency feels worth the tradeoff. Even with the battery pack run down, I still saw 23 MPG in the city and 29.5 MPG on the highway. That’s fantastic for something this quick. Do I wish the steering offered any real feedback? Sure, but the weighting’s good enough to feel confident really getting some pace on when the tarmac bends.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Because the E 53 Hybrid is a modern Mercedes-Benz, it can be specced with anywhere between all the tech you want and way too many gadgets. Let’s start with the good: Heated armrests are still some of the greatest things ever fitted to a car, the optional massaging seats are powerful, setting lumbar support through graphic curves in the infotainment is genius, and having a floating screen for your gauges with excellent black levels close to your line of view is a big plus over relying heavily on a HUD that washes out when viewed through polarized sunglasses. Smart uses of technology like that enhance the mission of luxury by actually making life easier and more comfortable.
However, it is possible to take things too far. My test car featured what Mercedes calls its Superscreen setup with a main infotainment screen and a passenger screen under one panel of glass. It doesn’t look as expensive as wood veneer, produces some serious glare, and adds somewhat limited functionality, so it’s probably an option worth not getting. Happily, skipping the Superscreen will save you $1,500, and means you won’t have a somewhat gimmicky selfie camera perched atop the dashboard. That sounds like a no-brainer, but it still leaves you with some nits to pick. The ambient lighting strip right at the base of the windscreen can be dangerously bright at night, the capacitive touch power seat controls are hilariously imprecise, the capacitive touch steering wheel controls still aren’t great, and rear USB-C ports are optional.
As for the optional Burmester 4D audio system, it’s pretty good 90 percent of the time, but it relies heavily on gimmicks. See, it uses vibrating elements in the front seatbacks to simulate sub-bass, and every so often, you catch a frequency from a kick drum being produced in the seat that absolutely doesn’t match what you’re feeling from the front-mounted subwoofer. In addition, sometimes the surround sound processing gets deeply confused by poorly mixed songs, resulting in lackluster staging, and the music drops out when a voice alert pops up in CarPlay, rather than merely fading low. It’s definitely worth the money as an upgrade, considering it’s relatively inexpensive by branded premium audio system standards, but don’t expect a world-beating system.
Three Things To Know About The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid
- Don’t let the small numbers in the name fool you, this thing’s seriously quick.
- You’ll need the optional AMG Dynamic Plus package to unlock launch control.
- It’s a plug-in hybrid that can actually DC fast charge at 60 kW.
Does The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid Fulfil Its Purpose?
Absolutely, and part of that is because it isn’t meant to be a V8 replacement, or a super hard-edged machine. It’s a silky, civilized road car with enormous pace that can get nearly 30 MPG even if you never plug it in, and offer 41 miles of electric range if you have a socket by your parking space. The sort of machine that makes polar bears want to take a break from eating people’s faces and congratulate you on a wise decision. Sure, the brakes don’t feel perfect, the driving position is crooked, and the use of capacitive touch controls everywhere is annoying, but those are relatively mild quibbles compared to the shortcomings of many competitors.
The BMW M5 is quicker and has a V8, but it feels cheaper inside, has contentious looks, weighs even more than the E 53 Hybrid, and costs nearly $34,000 more. The Audi S6 is due for replacement, so it’s probably not in this conversation for long and it’s not a hybrid, and a Panamera 4S E-Hybrid is a much larger, more expensive car. If you want a quick, hybridized midsize luxury sedan over something old-school like a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid really feels like the one to have.
If I were speccing one myself, I’d skip the $1,500 superscreen package, tick the boxes for Nappa leather, the advanced USB package, the Exclusive Trim, ventilated front seats, and the AMG Dynamic Plus package to arrive at a price tag of $98,490 including freight, or $116,000 in Canada. A lot of money, sure, but also a lot of car.
What’s The Punctum Of The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid?
It’s a well-rounded road-focused fast luxury sedan for the hybrid era, which makes me even more excited for the incoming wagon variant.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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this just seems like the worst of all worlds when it comes down to weight and cost.
“… the cockpit feels like it’s designed for drivers with two left legs. Due in part to the width of the transmission tunnel, the accelerator pedal sits to the left of where your right foot would naturally go, and the brake pedal is so far left, it’s almost positioned like a clutch pedal.”
I have no idea where you’re getting this unless MB have done something drastically different to the E53 from the new E300 4Matic loaner I had last month.
The ergonomics were faultless – and as a longtime MB owner, I would have been the first to note such an issue.
What drives me crazy is that you cannot get an E53 in old-man elegant Q-ship trim like you used to. One is confined to black interiors, carbon-fiber crap, tacky oversized black wheels and all sorts of Pep-Boys red/black ghetto badges, faux fender vents, spoilers, etc.
Some of us want the capability without screaming “Look at how much I spent on all the AMG things!”
Like the 6.9
No Thank You.
This may be a minority opinion, but I never liked the black wheels with the diamond cut silver rim that AMG has become so fond of. They look like they came off the display rack at a discount rim shop.
I’m not a fan either, but it is weird how some of the less expensive wheel options on the E 53 Hybrid fit the look of the car better than these black-with-a-silver-rim cross-spoke units.
Hot damn 23.5MPG city and 29 highway are seriously good numbers.
My old E90 M3 (NA V8) was rated for 14/20, was nowhere nearly as fast, and was already a porker at 40000LB+.
My current A6 Allroad is a mild hybrid, giving me about 22 city and 32 highway, and of course isn’t even in the same Postal Code in performance.
Credit where it’s due especially after that 1 mile EV range debacle. Well done MB.
My introduction to plugin hybrids has been rough in our Mazda CX-90 PHEV, but this package sounds really really good. I’d love to drive one and understand how it feels coming on and off gas power. Here’s hoping there are some nicely depreciated used ones coming up for sale in a year or two!
Oh these will depreciate like lead balloons. I don’t think any of the current in between ICE and EV German sporty cars are going to be considered desirable at all in a few years. They’re too heavy, they’re too complicated, and they’re worse at doing ICE stuff than a pure ICE car and worse at doing EV stuff than a BEV.
I’ll bet you’ll be able to get into a certified one of these for 50-60ish once they start coming off leases. That being said…these are not going to be fun to own long term. They’re loaded to the gills with a bunch of proprietary technology and have ridiculously complex powertrains. Stuff is going to go wrong, a lot. IMHO an extended warranty will be a must.
“The BMW M5 is quicker and has a V8, but it feels cheaper inside, has contentious looks“
Its not contentious at all, its ugly.
Also, great write up Thomas! Seems like Merc is on a decent path with this one, and yea, still gonna take that CT5 Blackwing over this, but good choices!
I’m not at all a person who would ever buy this thing. However, I presume that in order to keep a steady stream of buyers coming, you have to appeal to a population who is currently outside of your current buying demographic.
The look of this thing doesn’t do that. I can’t imagine looking at that mug every time I walk up to it with it’s giant black booper. A nose like that looks like it is a caricature of a car that you’d have drawn at an amusement park. I do NOT understand the front license plate location. That looks 100% like an afterthought. I think front plates are dumb, but that’s only because so few automakers are willing to modify their design to fit them. They’d look a lot less dumb if they would stop pretending like nobody is required to have them.
The whole affair looks, well, chubby. This is not the response I would be willing to pay $80k+ for. Great that it’s fast, but so is a Model S or an Ionic 5, etc. At least they are a cohesive design. This thing, I don’t even know.
Not sure if it’s confirmation bias, but the current gen 5 series / M5 drivers are even bigger a-holes than in generations past.
Maybe they enjoy the contentious-ness?
Marketing is a disease for which the German automakers had no immunity and it ran rampant through their product naming.
5,269 goddamn pounds
“It must veigh as much as ze Neutron star”-AMG, probably