What's the difference?
You like performance, love a bit of luxury and fancy a traditional sedan. The budget is healthy and there’s a surprising amount of choice. But Mercedes-AMG believes it’s created the car that perfectly answers your new-car brief.
The Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ is a fresh expression of an established high-performance sedan formula mixing internal-combustion power with electric punch and all-wheel drive.
We were invited to its local launch, so stay with us to see if this newcomer is ready to fill that primo European performance car shaped space in your garage.
The SUV craze is such that high-riding wagons are increasingly being tasked with also doing the job of sports cars, despite the immutable laws of physics clearly working against them.
While the results have been mixed, Mercedes-AMG has some serious form in this area, so much so that it’s been confident enough to unleash the second-generation GLE63 S.
Yep, this large SUV is looking to do its best impersonation of a sports car, so we’re looking to find out if it’s a convincing Jekyll and Hyde. Read on.
The Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ is a superb blend of high-tech hybrid muscle and cossetting top-end luxury. Value is competitive, it looks (and feels) the business, despite the conventional sedan configuration it’s surprisingly practical (except for the modest boot), fuel-efficiency is a key benefit and safety is stellar. The ownership proposition is okay for the category but that’s not top of mind when an enticing series of corners ranges into view. It’s an impressive package.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
There’s little wonder the GLE63 S is back for a second go around, after clearly putting the frighteners on the Audi RS Q8 and BMW’s X5 M Competition and X6 M Competition.
After all, it’s a large SUV that sacrifices little in the way of practicality (especially the wagon) in its pursuit of high performance.
And for that reason, we’re itching to go for another drive – with or without the family.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel and meals provided.