Mercedes-Benz Cle53 vs LDV T60

What's the difference?

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 Max Plus brings a lot of welcome upgrades to the T60 range, particularly in its previously non-existent active safety suite, but it’s not all good news. There are still a few areas where this ageing ute could use a lot of polish.

Still, there’s something to be said for how refreshingly straightforward much of it is, and for the most part its specs and features are up to the task of competing with many more expensive alternatives.

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!

The T60 Max Plus takes the visage of a factory-kitted version of the existing T60 Plus. The most notable difference this time around is the unique gloss black grille design which features a new spot to hide the front radar array for the safety suite, alongside new gloss wheel designs and that huge sports bar fitting atop the tray.

To my eye at least the T60 looks a fair bit more rugged and industrial than most of its rivals, which with every iteration are looking more like passenger vehicles than work-ready utes. Still, there’s an aggressiveness to its contrast black trims and tall ride height which may appeal to some. For others it will be more function-over-form, with less bumper overhang than something like the SsangYong Musso and there’s something to be said for that, too, I suppose.

Inside is where this Max Plus version sets itself apart from the rest of the range with its abundance of screen real-estate, upgraded materials, and an almost EV-like centre console treatment.

It’s certainly more digital-feeling and contemporary than the rest of the T60 range, but it might lose some of the simple but rugged appeal of its interior as a result.

The screens look pretty slick, especially when you’re using phone mirroring to hide the otherwise clumsy stock software suite. It’s one thing to have nice big screens, it’s quite another to have slick, attractive, and customisable software to match.

Sadly, that’s not the case for the Max Plus, which offers one lacklustre look and feel for the dash cluster, paired with an array of confusing menus on the multimedia screen.

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.

There are some benefits of the new interior design, and there are some disappointments too. These begin with the seating position, which is still miles off the ground in its lowest setting. This might give you a commanding view of the road, which has benefits, but it also makes you feel like you’re sitting on the T60 rather than in it.

The steering wheel is also only pitch adjustable rather than also offering telescopic adjustment, and even then its range of movement is extremely limited. For me, at 182cm tall, this meant the wheel blocked the top of the digital instruments, and I also felt like I was far too close to the roof. It’s an awkward seating position to say the least.

However, the new cabin layout has quite a bit of storage to play with. There are functional bottle holders and pockets in the doors, a decent glove box, and the new centre console offers a huge tray underneath with a removable dual cup holder insert, which also has two little cutaways for storing your keys. This area also hides some USB ports and a 12-volt outlet, for a nice cable-free interior if need be. The armrest console box offers even more space, and the wireless phone charger perched atop the console area is a welcome touch.

Less impressive is the strip of touch-based controls for the climate which sits underneath the multimedia screen. At least it has some controls which don’t require a screen sub-menu to navigate, but it simply doesn’t compare to having actual buttons and dials.

The most puzzling part of this equation is the lack of physical controls of any kind for the headlights, and no way for the passenger to adjust volume without needing to go one or two sub-menus deep. Inconvenient at best, potentially dangerously distracting at worst.

Again, some rivals get an edge here. The Musso’s multimedia suite looks comparatively old, but has heaps of physical buttons, while the GWM Ute Cannon splits the difference, maintaining buttons but gaining confusing menus. Both are better to use than the T60.

The back seat came as a surprise, as it offers pretty decent legroom for a full-sized adult, something quite rare in this ute segment. It also offers pockets on the backs of both front seats, dual adjustable air vents and a USB port on the back of the centre console, two small bottle holders in the doors, and a further two in a centre drop-down armrest. Underneath the seats there’s access points to small storage areas below.

The tray area seems reasonably well appointed with a pre-applied spray-in tub liner and four tie-down points at the extremes of the bed. The tub dimensions come in at 1485mm long, 1131mm wide (between the arches), and 530mm tall for the standard version. The Mega Tub variant extends the length to 1800mm. Payload for the tray is 840kg for the manual, 830kg for the auto, and 800kg for the Mega Tub.

Interestingly, despite its new coil-sprung rear, the T60 Max Plus maintains its 3000kg braked towing capacity, which isn’t the 3500kg industry standard, but is pretty close.

These specs mean the standard tray version is slightly larger than the Ssangyong Musso with a slightly higher payload, although it can tow 500kg less. It has a lower payload and a smaller tray than the GWM Ute, although it can tow about the same amount.

The T60 Max Plus is the new top-spec version of one of Australia’s most affordable new utes. From the outside it looks very similar to the Max Luxe which sits below it, but hides re-worked suspension, an overhauled interior, and some extra safety kit behind its tweaked grille.

It also continues to be available as a manual at $48,411, an automatic at $50,516 and as an extended ‘Mega Tub’ version at $52,092. LDV deals in drive-away pricing, and you’ll note these prices are roughly equivalent to low-grade versions of the industry leading utes like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

The T60 is more likely, however, to compete with other low-cost ute options, like the GWM Ute Cannon also from China (from $52,990 in equivalent XSR form) or the SsangYong Musso from Korea (from $49,500 in equivalent Ultimate form).

Standard equipment is reasonably impressive, with 18-inch gloss black alloys, LED headlights, a sports bar out the rear, spray-in tub liner, a locking tailgate (for the first time), and an abundance of gloss black highlight trims to separate it from lesser models in the range.

On the inside the highlight of the overhauled design is the dual 12.3-inch screens which make up a dash-spanning digital suite. It comes with new-ish software which looks the part at a distance, although I was a little dismayed to discover it had limited functionality, only one ugly theme for the dash cluster, and minimal customisation.

You also score (very) synthetic leather seat trim with power adjust for the driver and front passenger, and an expanded array of soft-touch surfaces throughout. It looks modern and plush from a distance, but feels less impressive once you’re actually inside.

If you want a ute which does a better job of feeling more like a luxurious passenger car, the SsangYong Musso leans into this aspect harder, and if you want something that's bit more accessorised for the rough stuff the GWM Cannon XSR looks more the part. Ultimately it feels as though this new top-spec T60 is left in something of an awkward middle ground between the two.

Of course, the new safety equipment and suspension do add something to the T60 formula, but we’ll talk more about these later in the review.

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.

The T60 Max range lays claim to one of the most powerful 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engines - a bi-turbo unit producing 160kW/500Nm with peak torque arriving from 1500rpm.

It is mated to either a six-speed manual, or an eight-speed ZF-sourced torque converter automatic transmission.

It has a 2H, 4H, and 4L selector (alongside an automatic setting for the Plus Max), and is equipped with a rear differential locker (which can only operate below 30km/h).

For those looking to venture well beyond the tarmac the T60 Max Plus has a 27-degree approach angle, a 24-degree departure angle, 220mm of ground clearance, and a 19-degree rampover angle. Wading depth is 550mm, and it has a 12.7-meter kerb-to-kerb turning circle.

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.

The official combined fuel consumption of the diesel-only Max Plus is 9.3L/100km for the manual or 8.9L/100km for the automatic.

With over 500km of testing with plenty of freeway miles, our automatic example produced an as-tested number of 9.3L/100km.

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.

The T60 Max Plus has improved the formula in a few ways, but still feels a bit rudimentary in others.

The awkward seating position does provide quite a commanding view of the road, and makes it easy to gauge where the end of the bonnet is. This is useful parking in a city, but will also have benefits off the road. The 360-degree camera suite also helps with this manoeuvrability.

Interestingly the steering is quite good. This Max Plus is the only variant to score a fully electric power steering rack, as opposed to the lesser power assisted steering rack. It’s initially alarmingly light, but it also makes the T60 a breeze to steer unlike some utes in this class, and I was surprised to find it still had a sufficient amount of feel to give it confidence in the corners.

Yes, this is one of the most powerful 2.0-litre diesels, but it doesn’t feel particularly overwhelming to drive. The transmission, too, despite the brand bragging about its ZF sourcing, feels a bit transparent and rudimentary lumping through the gears with a degree of clumsiness. Still, it’s predictable and does what it says on the tin.

The same goes for the 4H and even ‘automatic’ 4x4 settings, which I found was surprisingly quick to activate if you started slipping on mud or wet tarmac.

Another less than impressive trait is the amount of sound produced. Supposedly this Pro Max version has additional sound deadening over the other variants, and yet the clatter of the diesel engine proved a constant in the cabin at freeway speeds or any time you needed to accelerate hard.

This particular version of the T60 should also feature an improved ride compared to its relations thanks to swapping the leaf sprung rear suspension out for coils, but I was surprised to find it was still quite stiff. No doubt this inherent hardness is down maintaining the same towing capacity. It makes it a bit jiggly when you drive it over the regular sort of road imperfections and corrugations. One wonders what the point of having coil spring suspension is at all if it’s going to feel more or less the same as leaf sprung alternatives.

One area that was particularly pleasing to me was the way the new active safety equipment wasn't overly invasive. There were a few moments where the lane keep tech intervened a bit too hard, but it’s pretty hands off as far as the rest of the systems go.

Overall then it does what it says on the tin, and is surprisingly easy to steer, although it doesn’t really excel at anything, which can be a hard sell in an environment where many utes are more passenger car like than ever.

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces of new equipment on the T60 Max Plus is the more competitive array of safety equipment than before. It includes auto emergency braking, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. It also gains a set of front parking sensors to add to its 360-degree parking camera suite.

Technically the LDV T60 range maintains a maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but it dates back to 2017 and is thus about to expire. It has a total of six airbags, consisting of dual front, side, and curtain.

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.

LDV continues to have a confusing array of ownership terms across its range. In the case of the T60, it’s seven years and 200,000km, with five years of roadside assist.

It is also one of the only brands on the market not offering any kind of capped-price service program, so it’s a mystery how much it will cost to run. Servicing is required once every 12 months or 15,000km.