KTM X-Bow vs Mercedes-Benz Cle53

What's the difference?

Okay, so rain is not your friend. Neither is brutal sunshine, strong winds or any speed bump anywhere. There are probably a handful of times you'll want to drive it, and when you do you will definitely get hit in the face with rocks and bugs, and spend most of your time wondering just how the hell this thing is legal.

And yet, we are hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with it. It's an absolute weapon on a track, a joy on anything even resembling a twisting road and it is one of the few genuinely unique cars on the road today. And the fact it exists at all is a cause for absolute celebration.

The AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ is formidable yet friendly, ferocious yet refined and fun yet functional.

Yes, the price is edging up to previous 63 flagship levels, and it can become a bit noisy inside, but the four-seater coupe’s specification, speed, sophistication and balance are compelling reasons to consider this if your shortlist also includes an Audi RS5 or BMW M4.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The X-Bow R is built for purpose in the most wonderful of ways. From the visible suspension components to the rocket-style exhausts, to the stripped-bare interior, it's fairly obvious that form came a distant second to function in the X-Bow's design process.

And, for us at least, that's a tremendous thing. It looks raw and visceral, and a bit like Harvey Dent post-fire - you can see all the normally hidden components doing their thing. It's mesmerising.

Crisp and aero clean with a handsome fastback silhouette, the CLE’s design is very much in the mould of a modern-day C-Class coupe, but with larger proportions in line with what a contemporary E-Class coupe would look like.

It employs the same architecture as the W205 C-Class and W214 E-Class sedans.

Length, width, height and wheelbase measurements are 4850mm, 1861mm, 1423mm and 2865mm, respectively.

Wearing the AMG suffix means the CLE 53’s body differs in small but important ways to the regular C236 coupes.

The front end, for instance, adopts what Mercedes calls a ‘shark nose’ look, for a suitably more macho visage, with vertical slats in the grille and larger air intakes that ultimately aid cooling and performance.

Meanwhile, the tracks are broader by 61mm at the front and 45mm at the rear, and are matched by mudguards that are 58mm and 75mm wider, respectively. This certainly gives the AMG a hunky appearance.

Speaking of which, further AMG visual titivations include a discernibly larger bulge on the bonnet feeding into (functional) side air vents, along with 20-inch specific alloy wheels, as well as a 'Night Package' I and II, comprising black trim elements all around.

A model-specific wider body kit, lip spoiler, twin pairs of tailpipes, diffuser insert and 20-inch AMG alloy wheels complete the CLE’s gymnasium makeover.

Result? The sleek and muscular body’s extra girth, fatter footwear and darkened highlights make the 53 look as menacing as any AMG forbear, setting a very high bar for the CLE 63 to beat when it eventually surfaces. Great work, Affalterbach!

Short answer? It's not. People are unlikely to test drive an X-Bow R and start looking for cupholders and storage space, but if they did, it wouldn't take long.

Aside from the twin seats, a four-point racing harness, a high-mounted gearshift, a pull-lever handbrake, and detachable steering wheel, the cabin is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

Luggage space is limited to what you can carry in your pockets (though wearing cargo pants will help) and even getting in and out of the thing takes some fleet-footed antics. With no doors you need to literally jump in. And the side sills are only rated to 120kg, so heavier types will need to avoid stepping on them at all, and instead attempt a kind of running leap into the cockpit.

The interior dons a C-Class-in-drag-race do-over. Frankly, the latest – and much more modern-looking – E-Class sedan’s dashboard would have been preferable, however, given its tech-heavy panorama of screens.

For its AMG 53 outing, the cabin boasts an AMG-specific steering wheel with performance mode knobs, a 12.3-inch driver display brandishing a variety of instrumentation styles (including 'Race', 'Sport', 'Classic' and minimal screens) and a multimedia system with track telemetry data within a tablet-style 11.9-inch touchscreen.

There's also electric and heated ‘integral’ sports seats with memory, 'Anthracite' trim elements set against high gloss black inserts, 64 questionable shades of ambient lighting and banging Burmester premium audio with no fewer than 17 speakers.

This is a roomy and well-presented cabin, offering space to spread out up front, a superb driving position, exceptional seat support, quality materials and a decent level of practicality.

Storage is plentiful, most switchgear is within easy reach and the multimedia system is easy to fathom after you’ve taken the time to familiarise yourself with it.

On the other hand, the glossy plastics do not look or feel as elevated as, say, a Porsche’s interior, the air vents feel flimsy to the touch, while trim squeaks were occasionally heard over some rougher road surfaces. It’s not as solid as you’d expect from a Mercedes at this price point.

Rear access is tight due to a slim aperture, as almost all coupes are, but once sat on the contoured rear bucket seats, most adults should find it tolerable unless they’re especially long-legged or over 185cm or so tall.

Further back, a handy 410-litre boot is provided, with a folding rear seat backrest to boost cargo capacity even further, underlying the CLE’s family-friendly packaging.

Note, though, that this is 10L shy of the regular non-AMG models, and smaller than the Audi RS5 (465L) or BMW M4's (440L) boot.

Plus, no spare wheel is available – just a tyre repair kit.

Starting from $158,900 (all prices are before on-road costs), the 330kW/560Nm CLE 53 4Matic+ is an AMG product with a reputation to uphold. Thus, it comes with performance-enhancement items, like all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering (4WS), adaptive dampers and variable-ratio steering. 

Additionally, for Australia, the 'AMG Dynamic Plus Package' is standard, bringing a 12-second over-boost that bumps torque up to 600Nm and special engine mounts that harmonise with the adaptive dampers for better performance response.

There's also a ‘Race’ mode offering maximum power and traction-off settings for track-work shenanigans, a brand-specific steering wheel with fast-access driving-control buttons, performance telemetry data display, galvanised paddle shifters, and 20-inch AMG alloys shod with performance tyres, amongst other goodies.

These come on top of LED headlights (with 1.1 megapixels of light), a head-up display, panoramic sunroof, 12.3-inch customisable digital instrumentation, a driver-orientated 11.9-inch touchscreen display, 64-colour ambient lighting, heated electric front seats, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration, 17-speaker Burmester premium audio, powered boot closing, a 360-degree surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, 10 airbags and Mercedes’ 'Pre-Safe' accident anticipation system. More on that in the safety section below.

Fairly well equipped for the money, then. April 2025 brings a cabriolet version, as well.

Option packs include an $8900 'Carbon Package' with carbon-fibre exterior elements and 'AMG Performance' seats at $5400.

These features are in line with the equivalent Audi and BMW coupes.

And while the pricing is only about $10K shy of the 331kW/600Nm RS5 and around $15K short of the 353kW/550Nm M4 manual flagships.

The latter, in blistering 390kW/650Nm M4 auto guise, starts from $190K, neatly opening up the gap for the coming CLE 63 – and that’s going to come with a V8 hybrid, we hear.

The X-Bow R's power comes from an Audi-sourced, turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, paired with a VW Group six-speed manual transmission (and one of the stubbiest gearsticks in existence). That mid-mounted marvel produces 220kW at 6300rpm and 400Nm at 3300rpm, and ships it off to the rear tyres with the assistance of a Drexler mechanical limited-slip differential.

Thanks to its lithe and lightweight body, that's enough to propel the X-Bow R from 0-100km/h in a blistering 3.9 seconds, and on to a top speed of 230km/h.

Under the bonnet is a 3.0-litre, in-line, six-cylinder petrol engine. Mercedes-AMG calls it “double charged”, with a single, 1.5-bar turbo augmented with an electric compressor as part of a 48-volt Integrated Starter Generator (or ISG).

The latter makes 17kW of power and 205Nm of torque, for a system total of 330kW at 6100rpm and 560Nm from 2200-5000rpm. Up to 600Nm is possible thanks to a 12-second overboost.

It also recuperates brake energy, offers “almost imperceptible” stop/start fuel saving and allows for an off-throttle, engine-off ‘sailing’ mode.

Not interested in economy? Tipping the scales at a hefty 2015kg the CLE 53’s power-to-weight ratio is a sparkling 164kW/tonne.

All Australian-bound CLE 53s feature the Dynamic Plus Package, with a launch-control function that helps deliver an eager 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.0 seconds. Top speed is governed to 250km/h.

Drive is sent to all four wheels via a nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission. It can simulate double-declutching and offers variable shift modes according to drive settings.

The AWD system, meanwhile, varies torque from 50:50 front/rear to 100 per cent rearwards.

To aid handling, the 4WS system allows the rear wheels to turn in the opposite direction to the fronts, up to 2.5 degrees at up to 100km/h, and 0.7 degrees in unison with the fronts above that speed.

Keeping things in control is a four-link front and five-link independent rear suspension set-up, with AMG ride control featuring adjustable dampers and sports spring rates.

KTM lists the X-Bow R's claimed/combined fuel figure at 8.3 litres per hundred kilometres (though we were managing mid-12s after an, ahem, very spirited test), with emissions pegged at 189 grams per kilometre.

The X-Bow R is also fitted with a 40-litre fuel tank, accessed via a side-mounted inlet. Instead of a fuel gauge, expect a digital reading showing how many litres you have left.

Considering the performance on offer, the CLE 53’s 9.6 litres per 100km combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle fuel consumption rating is not too bad. That equates to a carbon-dioxide emissions figure of 219 grams/km. City/highway numbers are 13.2 and 7.6L/100km.

With a 65-litre fuel tank filled with 98 RON premium unleaded petrol, expect an average range of about 685km.

What did we achieve? Driven fairly hard on some of Tasmania’s most beautiful rural roads, the trip meter showed an indicated 9.5L/100km.

It couldn't be more Fast and Furious if it had Vin Diesel growling under its (non-existent) bonnet. We have technically driven faster cars, but we have never driven anything that feels quite so fast as this utterly insane X-Bow R.

Climb in, strap into the four-point harness and select first via the surprisingly easy-to-manage gearbox and clutch set up, and, at slow speeds, wrestle with the dead weight of the completely unassisted steering, and it's immediately clear that this is a driving experience like nothing else currently road-legal in Australia. Even at walking pace, the X-Bow R feels poised for an assault on the future, and it attracts attention on the road like nothing else we've ever driven.

Its road-scraping ride height and diminutive dimensions make tackling traffic an intimidating prospect, with regular hatchbacks suddenly taking on truck-like proportions and actual trucks now looking like passing planets. There's a constant concern that you're sitting well below the traditional blind spot, and that you could be crushed at any moment.

Combine all that with the bad weather that cursed our final day of testing, and the X-Bow R is all sorts of watery hell. It is truly homicidal in the wet, too, with the back end breaking grip at the slightest provocation. And the turbocharged 2.0-litre offers plenty of that.

But on a sunny day, and on the right road, it's pure driving bliss. The acceleration is brutal, the grip endless and the Audi sourced gearbox an absolute treat. And it pulls in every gear, tackling 35km/h corners in third and absolutely blasting out the other side.

Cornering is scalpel sharp, and the steering - so heavy at slow speeds - is light and efficient at pace, requiring only the most minuscule of movements to bite into a bend.

It is anything but perfect in the city, and even a light sprinkling of rain will have you seeking shelter (and a refund), but on the right road, on the right day, there are few if any cars that offer the kind of razor-sharp thrills and intoxicating excitement of KTM's monstrous X-Bow R.

The new AMG CLE 53 might look much like several of its AMG 63 predecessors, with its brutish stance and bulging bits, but does the German performance coupe drive and feel like an AMG flagship?

With a 63 range-topper (as yet unconfirmed) in the pipeline, that’s a bit of a moot point here, because that will be an altogether harder, faster and more expensive proposition.

But we can tell you that, even without the bellowing V8 of old, the 53 does a damn-fine impression of a charming high-performance GT with the straight-six .

At the heart of the matter is the inline six-cylinder turbo-petrol engine incorporating an electric compressor working the lower revs for punchy off-the-line acceleration and a big twin-scroll gas turbo for more-instantaneous responses further up the rev range.

This makes for an impressively rapid real-world tearaway. Not brutally fast in the way even middling EVs can manage to be nowadays, but still with an urge and character that puts you in the mood for speed.

The steering, meanwhile, is alert, faithful and remarkably reactive, with that 4WS rear end tucking in neatly through the tight turns and twisty bits, allowing a feverish pace with a pleasing grace to be maintained.

Assisting that immersive agility is an almost unshakable sense of grip – no surprise given the variable-torque AWD as well as the late-summer warmth and dryness of the roads we were testing on.

Yet, even beyond these factors, it’s clear the AMG’s immense roadholding provides a reassuring layer of confidence and control.

No opportunity was provided to unleash the CLE 53’s full fury on a track, so we can’t tell you how easily sideways or catchable this thing steers in Race mode with all the safeties turned off, but this coupe’s dynamic bandwidth was obvious during the all-too-few occasions we did manage to fang it.

Another positive is the suspension’s ability to soak up the bumps without too much disturbance inside, allowing for easy and effortless cross-country touring. No truly terrible roads were encountered during our half-day in this civilised beast, though, so we’ll have to reserve our judgement on whether this is the comfortable all-rounder that Mercedes claims it is.

What we can tell you is that there is too much road-noise intrusion inside an otherwise isolated cabin. And we’re no fans of the lack of a spare wheel – an absolute necessity in Australia.

Still, first impressions are very positive.

Its maker calls the CLE 53 the AMG for all occasions, and we cannot argue with this logic.

That there’s a decent wad of thrills and emotion on offer to counterbalance this car’s comparative refinement and civility just proves there is a place for the penultimate version of this series.

Unlike its maximum five-star ANCAP-scoring C- and E-Class cousins, the CLE comes with no rating.

But the brand’s boundary-pushing reputation on this front does hold the coupe in good stead, backed up by a slew of active, passive and driver-assist safety features.

These include wide-spread autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane-support systems, as well as Mercedes’ 'Pre-Safe' tech that anticipates a crash and prepares the car for impact.

Other tech includes 'Active Lane Change Assist', 'Active Lane Keep Assist', 'Cross-Traffic Assist', blind spot monitoring, active brake assist, traffic sign assist, active-distance-assist, adaptive cruise control, evasive manoeuvre support, 360-degree camera views, 10 airbags, adaptive high beams and a 1.1-megapixel LED lighting set-up.

In other contemporary Mercedes models, AEB operating parameters are roughly between 7.0-80km/h for pedestrians and cyclists, and from about 7.0-250km/h for vehicle-to-vehicle, while the lane-keep support systems operate between about 60km/h and 200km/h.

ISOFIX child-seat anchorages are located in the front passenger seat and two in the rear seats.

The X-Bow R is covered by a two-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and while service prices aren't capped, Simply Sports Cars estimates an average serve cost at about $350.

Somewhat average for most mainstream and luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz offers a five-year/unlimited km warranty, with five years of roadside assistance.

Intervals are every 12 months or 25,000km, and while no capped priced servicing is offered, pre-paid three-, four- or five-year service plans are available, ranging from $4190, $5310 and $7760, respectively at the time of publishing.