SUPER SEDANS
Close on the heels of the regular E-Class’ facelift comes the updated AMG and this time the thunderous E 63 S is joined by the E 53
The Mercedes-AMG E 53 joins the mental E 63 S in the E-Class AMG lineup. Can six-cylinders give you the same, unhinged AMG experience that eight do?
IIT’S HARD TO BELIEVE BUT IF YOU WANT VARIETY you don’t walk into a Maruti Suzuki, or Hyundai or Tata or Mahindra showroom. You go to Mercedes-Benz! Including AMG and Maybach there are 22 Mercs vying for your attention and wallet, in India today. And to those we add two more, the E 63 S and E 53 AMG.
The former we are familiar with but the latter is new for India, so it’s only appropriate to start there. Up front is the facelift that was recently applied to the E-Class and if it looks very familiar that’s because the nose of the E 53 is no different to the E 350d. The 6-cylinder diesel now gets the AMG Line body kit with the sporty bumpers that are shared with the E 53, so the only visual distinction is the toothy Panamericana grille that says this is an AMG along with a subtle power dome on the bonnet. The rear is slightly more differentiated from the rest of the E-Class range with the tiny spoiler on the bootlid, chromed quad exhausts and silver-finish for the mock diffuser. Of course you will also notice that this is not as long as a regular E, and that’s because all the AMGs are the regular wheelbase. You also get 19-inch wheels that are claimed to be aerodynamically more efficient though at first glance we thought the inner ring was some kind of protection to avoid scuffs in transport.
On the inside you get the updated cabin seen on the E-Class facelift including the updated MBUX operating system. The big differentiator is the fabulous AMG steering wheel and their split-spokes — gorgeous to hold, equally gorgeous to look at and with tonnes of functionality this immediately raises the cabin ambience over your regular E-Class. The digital cockpit also gets unique AMG layouts along with a Track Pace mode on the infotainment that includes stuff such as a lap timer. And there are AMG-specific sporty seats and red seat belts to go with the contrast red stitching. I’ll also point out that there’s plenty of space, despite this being the regular wheelbase, though you cannot recline the rear seats.
To the heart of the matter then, the straight-six partially electrified motor. While new to India, the E 53 was globally launched back in 2018 and it debuted the ground-breaking M256 3-litre straight-six petrol engine with mild-hybrid tech employing both a conventional exhaust-driven turbocharger and an electrically-powered compressor to crank up the output to AMG-appropriate levels. In fact this engine was the catalyst for mild-hybrid tech to percolate down the rest of the (6-cylinder) range, a sort of bridge between ICE and BEV.
While only mildly updated for 2021, for us in India, this is a new engine so let’s dive into the details. Replacing the old V6, this straight-six uses a 48-volt mild-hybrid system together with an integrated starter generator (ISG) to crank out an additional 22bhp and 250Nm of torque. That’s on top of the motor’s output of 429bhp and 520Nm of torque. And on the forced induction side, there’s a BorgWarner electrically driven supercharger that torque-fills before the traditional exhaust-driven twin-scroll turbocharger comes on boost. The result is near-elimination of turbo lag and a vast spread of torque, 520Nm peaking between 1800 and 5800rpm. At idle this is noiseless, so silent you have to look at the tacho to remind yourself the motor is running (and half the time it is actually switched off with automatic
EQ BOOST ON E 53 RESULTS IN NEARELIMINATION OF TURBO LAG AND A VAST SPREAD OF TORQUE
IF YOU WANT ADJUSTABILITY,
BRUTALITY, A WALL OF NOISE, SHEER TERROR TOO,
THERE’S THE E 63 S
start-stop). Throttle response is crisp and sharp, aided by the electric assistance, and there’s a wonderful linearity to the power delivery with plenty of mid-range torque thanks to the electric turbo and torque-fill effect. Post 4000rpm the motor really comes alive, spinning with a sweet smoothness that gives it a completely different character to the brutal thump of torque from the monster V8 in the E 63. The 53 even sounds good, both on the inside and also from the outside but it needs to be wound up to deliver on both noise and fury.
Keeping with emissions and fuel economy demands, the ninespeed automatic is always super-eager to shift into the highest possible gear. And while the shifts are quick, you still have to wait for it to go down two, three gears before the motor is spinning in the peak of its torque curve. Stick it in Sport, use the paddle shifters (wonderful galvanised metal items) to hold the gears and it delivers fireworks. 0-100kmph takes 4.5 seconds, top speed is limited to 250kmph and it is also plenty useable.
Air suspension is standard and it supports the body in a taut but supple manner. Leave the Dynamic Select in Comfort and it does a surprisingly close impersonation of the ride comfort of the E 350d. The E 53 is an everyday useable E-Class, of that there is no question, and for most speed breakers you don’t even need to lift the suspension. Stick it in Dynamic and there’s a significant tightening up of the dampers and body roll is nearly eliminated. And thanks to 4Matic+ grip is plenty, enough and way more for hooning on regular roads. The E 53 is surefooted and balanced but unlike the E 63 S, there’s no Drift mode and wild slides (for which there’s enough power from the engine) are never on the menu. You can’t even switch off ESP completely so you get a small tail wag and then not only do the front drive shafts engage but the electronic nanny intervenes to reign it all in. In fact the ESP nanny is so strict there’s not much in the way of chassis adjustability — and in that sense it feels very Audi RS
like. Safe and tidy. But frustratingly reigned in on the limit.
We’ve waited three years for the E 53 to come to India, and now that local assembly of AMG has begun one would assume this wait was to tool up for the E 53. Except that’s not the case, only the 35 AMGs (for now) will be locally assembled. Despite that though the E 53 is priced rather competitively at `1.02 crore — this is not a massive step up over the E 350d and a smart strategy to upgrade more E-Class customers (of which Mercedes have no dearth of) to the AMG fold; customers that would have baulked at the E 63 S’ asking price of `1.70 crore.
IF YOU WANT ADJUSTABILITY, BRUTALITY, A WALL of noise, sheer terror too if you haven’t swallowed your morning brave pills, there’s the E 63 S. Compared to the pre-facelift, there’s no more power. No more torque. But the E 63 S never lacked for power or torque. This is more, way more than needed. And it makes the E 63 S an incredible thrill. One of those cars whose driving experience can be safely termed as epic.
Step on it and there’s a volcanic rush of torque. 850Nm is 100 more than its nearest rival, the BWM M5 Competition (though the M5 has 12bhp more), and that inexhaustible, never-ending surge that you get is shattering. There’s no sane reason to have this kind of performance in a four-door luxury saloon but once you experience it there’s no going back. 0-100kmph takes 3.4 seconds, aided obviously by 4Matic+, and it tops off at 295kmph, though the speedo will swing past 300kmph if you have a track like the NATRAX to test on.
That’s on the numbers side. But the E 63 S is all about sensations. It is and has always been a hot rod. Violently powerful but in control of its temper ever since this generation got all-wheel-drive. But if you are brave — or mad! — there is Drift mode to go nuts. Drift mode, accessed via a complicated set of operations in Race mode not only disconnects the front drive shafts but fully disengages ESP so you are on your own.
THE E 63 S IS VIOLENTLY POWERFUL BUT IN CONTROL
OF ITS TEMPER EVER SINCE THIS GENERATION GOT AWD