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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Most of us can only dream… In the meantime, it would be a wonderfully received (at least by me) article if you featured a price-bracketed ‘best wagons’ comparo sliding from fun to practical to cheap to maintain (i.e. $10k-$20k: 2015 328d, 2018 V60, 2019 Outback XT, etc.). Cheesy and predictable as it is to talk wagons here – there’s a reason – we love ’em!
If I was in the group for whom a car this expensive makes sense, I’d give up this long roof’s beauty and practicality for a comparably priced Air. If they’re both in view when I’m at a stop light my eyes will be firmly on the wagon.
I like long roof’s and I can not lie…
One of these in 2027 or 2028 with a good oem backed CPO warranty might be the jam – until that warranty runs out… Let someone else take the depreciation hit, but still get a warranty for if (when?) something expensive goes wrong… My future self is interested…
If I’m spending more than $40k, I want a full EV drivetrain. Drivetrain aside-this looks amazing
I thought about replacing my previous gen E63 wagon with while my E63 still has good value and then trade that in on the new E63 whenever mercedes gets around to it. I went to the builder, got settled in and decided I want that nice green mercedes offers this time only to find that the color choices frankly suck this time around. Verde Silver? It’s Seafoam green! Why?!
It’s really making me not want one!
I kinda can’t wait to see how these are priced off lease in 2-3 years.
I love my Allroad but considering the window sticker was only about $15K less I am intrigued…
See you in three years, my Certified-Preowned Beauty.
exactly!
I think I’m capable of buying one, but not sure I’m ready to pony up around 100 kilobucks for a car yet.
But if I decide I am, it’ll probably look like this: https://www.mbusa.com/en/share/build/A4GYPN
And heck, maybe that one will be available in 3 years at around 50%-60% of the original price.
50-60% residual assumes there’s $25K cash in the glove compartment
If the value is even lower than my guess, I’m all for it. More care for less money.
Nice spec, although I’m personally over the dark wheels. I really love the bronze wheels on things like the M5 CS, but I suspect those are not going to age well either.
Platform is solid. Exterior looks great. Interior, what the fudge?
It’s a lot of money, and not the V8 of the outgoing E63 Wagon, but if AMG wagon residual values show, this thing over a GLE 53 is a complete no brainer. Equal practicality, better looks, better driving experience, PHEV benefits, and less depreciation. Mercedes will sell tens of them, maybe even hundreds!
Your fellow commenters will be eagerly waiting at the pre-owned lot!
I was in till we got to PHEV. Just don’t trust it yet.
To be fair, I don’t think the 4Xe stuff is a great introduction to the PHEV life
Agreed, but I’m also skeptical that MB is going to get it right compared to say, Toyota
Now imagine a world in which you can buy this, but with power nothing in it. Crank windows, reach-across locks, a sturdy pull bar under the cloth seats. Strip out as much as possible. Sell it for $15,000 less and make it a track star.
Or take the Porsche route- strip it out and charge $15k more for it with a “Black” badge on the back and a crazy wing. They’d make a killing.
Rather than buy this six figure German wonder wagon, or any similar chariot, just wait three years and get one for $30-40K less. I love station wagons, and I understand the attraction of German build and tech (though I think I’ve had my fill of it for a lifetime) but even though this may be a ‘bargain’ compared to some peers, it’s insane money unless you have it to burn. Plus (it should go without saying) this thing is going to be a royal PITA to keep running in its second and third decades (again, unless you have money to burn and a very patient/competent mechanic).
My home has been paid off for a few years despite the inconsistent income of three decades of self-employment, and I’m not quite 60 yet. This would not be the case if I gave in to impulse and spent money of things like Mercedes uber wagons. I bought one of their cars new once (in the late ’90s) and trust me, there’s no better way to burn money/lose equity other than maybe paying cash for a Maserati or Alfa or something like that.
Sorry for the old-man rant, but cars like this: $100K more or less, loaded with a lot of flashy but mostly pointless tech and performance limits unreachable on public roads, are just not for me. Fine for some, but not me. I’ll shut up now.
I appreciate your old man rant as a 35 year old. As a previous BMW owner, I do NOT understand the appeal of German build or tech these days. These cars are meant to be leased for 3 years, not owned for a lifetime like decades ago.
Everyone I know who owns German tells me ‘it’s reliable’ but only take their car to the dealer, and don’t keep track of how much it costs each time. Of course it seems reliable when you take it to the dealer, get a loaner, and come pick up your German sled 2 days later not having to worry about how much was charged to your platinum card they have on file. Point being everyone’s idea of reliable is subjective.
Sincerely, me: also not the target audience for this vehicle.
I’d be surprised to see any of these running around in their third decade of life. The people who buy these do have the money to burn – whether it’s their money or the company money. And MB will have a new toy for them to burn that money on every 2-3 years.
A couple will live on in the care of very devoted enthusiasts. Most will get a repair quote that sends them to the scrap yard in their first decade or soon after.
Hey, maybe the next generation of enthusiasts will be entirely comfortable troubleshooting electronics on old hybrids and they survive in large numbers.
For the sake of all the hybrids on the road now, and EVs to come, I do hope that future mechanics and DIYers have a confident grasp on all the tech.
They will have to. I didn’t seek out mechanical abilities. I was broke and my cheap very used cars needed repairs.
The EPA tells me that the Toyota Crown Signia is a wagon; I’m not so sure. But if it is, I’ll take a pair of them for the same money as this Benz.
THIS!
I went to go see one as soon as it hit my local dealer’s lot and was very disappointed with the small cargo space. And as per usual, the dealership experience was shitty.
Compared to the other two German uber-wagens, that is actually shockingly good value. To the point the price almost seems like a mistake.
Now why can’t I get the “small” engine one (that still has 375hp and does 0-60 in 4.5 seconds) without the Outback treatment also? It’s about 600lbs lighter too.
Screen, screens, screens, screens interior is just so awful though. Yuck.
Agreed.
I’d be content with the E300e plug in hybrid that Europeans get.
No 4Matic
No soft-roader drag.
And is it too much to ask for an interior that isn’t 75% black?
Exactly. The soft-roader drag in particular just pisses me off. It’s just so incredibly stupid.
How about an interior that isn’t 75% screens!
Because the broke commenters who clamor for the low end don’t buy wagons, and the rich dudes buy AMG wagons.
Except some of us, who are very much not broke, have bought brand-new German and Swedish wagons when we could, and would again. I would have bought a new Mercedes wagon when I bought my ’14, had they offered it in non-ruined form.
Friends who I visit annually in Europe (who live in a country many uneducated yanks decry as “socialist”) have a beautiful longroof Benz, about 2 years old, not an AMG and I’m not sure of the model, but it’s a black plug-in diesel hybrid, and awesome. All power to the proletariat!
Since the exhaust tips are round and not in a 3 pointed star shape, I’m going to have to pass. Simply not enough stars for my taste.
Just too bad you don’t get the third seat anymore 🙁
The AMG versions haven’t had the third seat for a bit, sadly.
Yeah, that suxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
First, they took it out of the black series/AMG-S, then they took it out of the AMG period, and they might not even have it in the non-AMG anymore 🙁
Man, the exterior styling on this thing looks great. But that interior is pretty bad. The Benz badge on the steering wheel looks really awkward, there’s a ton of stuff going on to the left of the steering wheel, and the center screen with its giant bezel and colorful icons looks like a my first tablet toy. I’m sure its very comfortable, but the interior certainly doesn’t retain the clean elegant lines from the exterior.
Maybe a lightly-used model in 10 years for 1/3 the price.
It is very nice looking and the specs are great.
So Mercedes can still make a decent-looking car!
5,200 pounds
For fuck sake.
These German super PHEV things are the worst of both worlds IMHO. If the only way they can get me this level of ICE performance is to saddle it with batteries and electric motors that make it weigh as much as a half ton truck I’d rather not have it at all and just drive an EV. It’s not like you’re missing much sound wise anyway. Nothing that can meet European emissions for the next several years sounds good.
I guess I’m just not understanding why they can’t either do a turbo 4 or just make these regular hybrids?
They do.
For Europe.
Theres even a diesel Plug in hybrid.
Sehr großer wagen.
Crazy that weighs more then any vehicle I own. And I own an EV and a truck hah
This weighs approximately one Lotus Elise more than my crossover
I rented the diesel hybrid version of Mercedes E Class wagon last Christmas in Sweden and was seriously impressed.
It drove really nicely. The hybrid system worked great in hybrid mode (less well in full electric) and the car was just generally calm, composed, and a pleasure to drive. It also coped well with snow and ice.
I imagine the petrol version is even better if a bit thirstier.
It wasn’t really sporty but more of a solidly engineered autobahn cruiser. I really liked it.
Added to “glovebox”. Now that I have this to show my wife why this is a great deal (Step 1), I just need to find an extra $100k lying around to complete the deal (Step 2). Step 3, profit?
“See, the sedan will be worth $45k in 3 years, but the wagon will still be worth $65k. That’s a profit of $20k, sweetie!”
I’ll try this out and report back