We need 500 Yes for the new season

But we’ll get it out the way now: the CLE 53 isn’t powered by a wicked-up four-pot like the C63 S E-Performance, nor a compact V6. The beating heart of the CLE 53 is a pure, old-fashioned six-cylinder petrol – albeit with a bit of electrical assistance. Rejoice! 

At a glance
Pros: Sure-footed handling, performance packs a punch, comic book looks
Cons: Tyre noise, grippy but numb, where is the 63?

What’s new?Well, it’s not entirely old-fashioned, because it still features 48v mild-hybrid tech, which can provide an overboost of power and torque, as well as the ability to coast with the engine off while you’re slowing down. It’s also eerily quiet on tickover.

That’s because there’s a big problem this car needs to overcome. Previous range topping AMG C- and E-Class Coupes (cars the CLE is tasked with replacing) were distinguished by an ebullient V8 soundtrack. The flagship AMG C63 coupe was bombastic, brutish and yet stylish with it. While the 53 isn’t a direct replacement for those, it’s hard to separate the new model from that heritage, especially if it doesn’t rumble and shake on start-up.

What are the specs?
To give it the full title, the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe comes in two specs for the UK market: Premium (from £73,075) specification as standard or Night Edition Premium Plus (from £78,825). Both specs get 20-inch wheels (with the Night Edition design looking like it’ll be hilariously hard to clean), an AMG-tuned nine-speed automatic gearbox, and AMG Ride Control adaptive dampers.Inside it’s largely C-Class, all screens and LED accent lighting, but with sportier seats and an AMG specific steering wheel. Night Edition Premium Plus cars get darker exterior trim, carbonfibre on the dash, and added niceties such as a Burmester stereo and head-up display.

You can also upgrade this spec with the Pro Performance Package (costing £7,500) giving you the AMG Dynamic Plus Package (Race drive programme, Race Start, Drift Mode, and AMG dynamic engine mounts), plus a lairier bodykit, figure hugging bucket seats, and a Performance steering wheel. Outside there’s a subtle bootlid spoiler and red-painted brake callipers.

What about the interior?Mercedes says the CLE combines the best of the sporting character of the C-Class, with the prestige of the E-Class. In AMG guise the latter is turned up a notch, adding an extra special layer of extravagance, but there’s no escaping how distinctly C-Class the interior looks, with the 11.9-inch/12.3-inch display pairing.

The Pro Performance package cars certainly seem a lot stealthier than the standard CLE Coupe or Cabriolet inside, largely thanks to the extensive use of dark carbon fibre and suede, and the optional seats this adds look absolutely superb.



They are quite hard when you first sit down but offer a huge amount of support when driving quickly. I think they’d be best suited to slimmer frames, however, and there’s no way to move the bolsters in or out like in a BMW.
The driver’s screen offers a couple of different display modes that you don’t get in the standard car, not least one with a huge gear shift display in the centre of it, which is curiously (and annoyingly) absent in the standard car.

We’re also still big fans of the customisable buttons on the wheel that can be set to adjust things like the exhaust sound or traction control. The only slight issue was getting use to the fact they are touch sensitive, and if you brush past one or jab it by mistake, you have to cycle through all of the functions to get back to the one you want.

How does it drive?
Well, it’s certainly not slow – the 3.0-litre six-pot under the bonnet is a heavily reworked M256 like you get in the CLE 450, but now features 442bhp and 442lb ft of torque, thanks to redesigned combustion chambers, new piston rings, a new large single turbocharger.This is boosted by an electric compressor to help fill the torque gap at low revs and increases boost pressure from 1.1 to 1.5 bar, so you get all the flexibility of a twin-turbocharger set up, and all the power of one big one. The 0-62mph sprint drops half a second to 4.2 seconds, and the CLE 53 tops out at an electronically limited 155mph.

The nine-speed automatic gearbox has a specific AMG tune for shorter shifting times and better responses from the steering mounted paddles.

These are noticeably larger than those in the standard coupe, more tactile to use, and deliver the type of punchy, urgent shifts that you want in a car like this.

Inside the cabin there’s plenty of engine noise in the sportier modes – it’s more evocative than the similarly powered CLE 450, with a pleasing (if not slightly synthetic) burble and bass at low to mid revs.

It’s less muscular towards the redline though, which sort of eggs you on to keep it in the mid-range and let it purr and surge rather than thrash it all the way up.

It’s quick, but not alarmingly quick in the way that the older 63 models tended to be. Instead, the CLE 53 gathers pace in a suitably confident way, pulling hard all the way through the rev counter’s sweep.

All cars get 4Matic+ all-wheel drive, which gives confidence-inspiring grip and ensures all driving the CLE 53 is very much ‘point-and-shoot.’

So far, so user-friendly. We tested a model with the optional Pro Performance pack in Europe, but tested a model without in the UK.

You can liven things up with the AMG Driving Dynamics modes, by pushing more torque to the rear wheels. This adds another dimension of adjustability – in fact the character of the car can be suitably shifted, through Basic, Advanced and Pro settings.