It’s been a wait, but the Mercedes-AMG E53 Wagon is almost in American showrooms. As the calendar flips to autumn, sleek German longroofs are expected to start rolling off of car carriers across the country, finding homes in the driveways and garages of those with a bit of taste. It’s no secret that we’re in the performance wagon era right now, with Audi, BMW, Porsche, and now Mercedes-Benz representing, but the E53 Wagon might have all of them beat when it comes to what you get for your money.
Under the hood of the E 53 Wagon, you’ll find a plug-in hybrid powertrain comprised of a turbocharged three-liter inline-six and a 21.2 kWh battery pack feeding a single propulsion motor in the bellhousing. It’s a combination which, if you tick the right boxes, cranks out 604 horsepower in launch control and sprints from zero-to-60 mph in 3.8 seconds. It can also DC fast charge at 80 kW, rapid stuff for a PHEV. And although the whole wagon weighs a whopping 5,203 pounds, that’s 327 pounds lighter than a BMW M5 Touring. Plus, it’s not trying to be some hard-edged ultrawagon. It’s not a full-on AMG 63, which means it should be more liveable, more comfortable, and less expensive than the top-flight wagons of right now.
However, beyond the serious performance and the practicality of a wagon and even the lovely mix of leathers, metals, and woods that line the cabin, the Mercedes-AMG E53 Wagon actually seems strong on value. It’s not exactly inexpensive, but compared to the closest new alternatives, you’d be leaving the showroom feeling you got away with something.
First off, the Mercedes-AMG E53 Wagon is by far and away the least expensive performance wagon you can buy new in America. The Audi RS6 Avant starts at $131,995 including freight, the BMW M5 Touring starts at $127,675 including freight and gas guzzler tax, and the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo will run you at least $118,350 including freight for the base 4 trim. The E53 Wagon, on the other hand, stickers for $94,500 including freight, five figures cheaper than any of its competitors.
This means that the wagon is $3,650 more expensive than an E 53 sedan, and while that’s already a small delta for a significant boost in practicality, things get better when you read the fine print. For one, the Burmester 4D audio system is standard on the wagon but bundled into the $2,450 Exclusive Trim on the sedan, so if you like your tunes and don’t really need ambient lighting, extra-quiet glass, or even brighter LED headlights, the effective longroof premium for certified tune-bangers is minuscule. At the same time, the E 53 wagon only has 0.2 cu.-ft. less cargo space with the rear seats up than the slower GLE 53 SUV, and if my week with the sedan is anything to go by, the wagon should drive heaps better than its SUV equivalent. Sure, battery pack placement under the cargo floor means that a rear-facing third row isn’t available, but considering almost all comparable sedans and SUVs are five-seaters, that’s not the end of the world.
Also, here’s one more thing to consider. The E 53 Wagon is a plug-in hybrid with 41 miles of range, while most performance SUVs priced just north of $90,000 aren’t. You can’t plug in a GLE 53, or an Audi SQ8, but if you have a plug socket at home within easy reach of your parking spot, the E 53 Wagon will work out cheaper than most comparable SUVs in the long run. A few cents per kilowatt is a whole lot less expensive than a few dollars per gallon, and once you exhaust the electric-only range, you still have a boosted straight-six for overtaking with impunity.
So, if you have $100,000 to spend on one new car that has to do everything from the school run to the Costco haul to wrinkle cream-level acceleration to family Tail of the Dragon trips, the Mercedes-AMG E 53 wagon is looking like it could be the new king. Skip the optional massive screen, tick the box for the AMG Dynamic Plus package to get the full 604 horsepower burst, a limited-slip differential, bigger front brakes, and a 174 MPH top speed, and you should, on paper, have a brilliant all-rounder. Of course, we’ll still need to drive it to see how paper translates to tarmac, but based on my experience with the sedan, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Top graphic image: Mercedes-Benz
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I am curious about the financial demographics of people who frequent this site.
$93K is just not in a realm I feel like negotiating.
Spending that kind of money on a new car that I don’t need, won’t make me feel that much happier. Likely, sadder.
And seriously? Quad exhaust tips? A Camry V6 has quad tips, but only two of them actually exhale exhaust gasses.