I think this 2025 Mercedes-AMG E 53 is the first boomerang in all the cars I’ve reviewed.

By that I mean, it’s not uncommon for me to not love a car at first. Sometimes, cars need a day or two to grow on me, like the Corvette E-Ray. Other times, I’ll like a car initially but steadily grow annoyed with it until I’m thrilled to give it back, like the GR86 Trueno. But the E 53 is the first occasion where both happened: I liked it initially, then grew annoyed with it, and finally came back around to it at the very last minute.

First impressions

I was actually looking forward to this. I haven’t had a Mercedes-Benz presser with this straight-six engine, and I’ve always really liked the idea of it. I’ve also always had a soft spot for Mercedes’ midsizer, and I think this new-gen E-class that launched last year is quite handsome. Even the matte white paint and black graphics on this First Edition tester grew on me; I thought they looked a little much in photos, but I liked it in person.

Climbing inside reveals a new dashboard layout that finally gets away from the cursed floating tombstone touchscreen plaguing Mercedes’ interiors for too long. Now that the dashboard and centre console aren’t joined by a flimsy sheet of curved plastic, it looks cleaner, and more importantly doesn’t creak. The new E-class is familiar as a Mercedes, but feels more modern and much more carefully crafted, as is befitting of the three-pointed star. I’m pleased. The E 53 and I are off to a strong start.

What’s under the hood?

I fire it up and it doesn’t fire at all. The E 53 is a plug-in hybrid that depends on its electric motor for much of the locomotion around town, if there’s sufficient battery charge. It’s a surprisingly large-for-a-PHEV unit that accommodates 28kWh worth of electric pixie magic; 21.6 of those are “usable” in the EV sense, whereas that last bit are kept aside by the powertrain management as hybridized assistance for the engine. It’s clever stuff, good for 75 kilometres of dedicated EV range — among the best in the field — and unlike most PHEVs currently, the E 53 can take a Level 2 fast-charge.

It’s also a completely different mechanical layout from the GLC 63. That car had its electric motor built into the rear axle, whereas this one is built into the transmission. As such, it isn’t divorced from the nine-speed automatic, but instead routes power through it and benefits from that added gearing. It’s very much like the new BMW M5, which if nothing else, is a feat of engineering itself. Impressive stuff.

When the 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six does fire up, it’s completely seamless and nearly silent in the E53’s default comfort mode. In fact, you probably wouldn’t notice it at all were it not for its AMG-tuned exhaust and augmented acoustics, giving it a subtly ominous bass line to ingratiate your ego. It’s a useful reminder of the slightly silly amount of power its $136,500 as-tested price tag gets you; skipping the rather spendy First Edition package knocks nearly 20 grand off that. All told, with a max combined output of 604 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, I’m into it. This is a cool use of energy-saving technology to have more fun; I averaged 8.5 L/100 kilometres, which is nuts for this amount of power, let alone this amount of car.

How much is too much?

But this amount of car is significant. The E 53 weighs in at 5,309 pounds — nearly spot-on with the much larger, much more powerful BMW M5 that was so mercilessly fat shamed on its debut. This is where some of the E 53’s drawbacks begin creeping in. By all accounts, the E 53 is a rapid machine, scooting from zero to 100km/h in four seconds. But it doesn’t feel all that fast, and despite having a dramatic launch control function which hijacks the interior ambient lighting with animated red pulsing, doesn’t launch quite as hard or dramatically as you’d hope.

The way the E 53 handles its heft is a little awkward, too. Like the M5, it displays the same slight uneasiness in transitions as the car’s myriad of dynamic systems all vie to control the situation while trying to hide their internal squabbling from you. Features like the AMG-tuned 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive, four-wheel steering, dynamic engine mounts, dynamic stability and traction control, adaptive dampers — the list goes on — can all put on quite the show and make superhuman stuff look effortless, but when you really start pushing, the cracks reveal themselves quickly.

The biggest issue here, especially with me personally, is that I’ve never liked how Mercedes calibrates four-wheel steering. It always feels a little weird, a little too eager to make use of the second steering axle. On the other hand, BMW, Audi, and Porsche take a less-is-more approach that dynamically enhances the car without feeling weird. The GLC 63 S seemingly solved this; I liked how it handled and I was hoping that would carry to this, but alas, no.

Satisfaction beyond the numbers

I was also hoping the E 53 would be more acoustically satisfying than the GLC 63 and its turbo-four, but that too was a bit of a let down. It’s not bad by any means, and credit where it’s due, the inline-six sounds serious from the outside. But the synthetic noises piped through the speakers make it sound more or less exactly the same to the end user as the four-popper that’s so derided for its lack of character. It’s better for sure, but not as revelatory as you might hope.

And whoever signed off on this brake pedal needs to drive an old Mercedes for a while. Unlike steering feel — I’ll just touch on this quickly; the E 53 fine, with numb-ish but precise accuracy, like anything else these days — which everyone in the enthusiast crowd mistakenly harps on ad nauseam, brake pedal feel hardly ever gets brought up. It’s just as important as steering feel. It’s the most important pedal in any and all situations. It needs to inspire confidence; it needs to be easy to read, modulate, and work with. Most races are won in braking zones; proper pedal feel is crucial for a complete driving experience. Good drivers will notice a well-dialed pedal; any driver will notice when something is off. The brake pedal matters, and Mercedes used to be the best in the world with them.

On top of all that, in the modern era of electrification, keeping the brake pedal feeling at least somewhat natural has been a significant engineering challenge. The calibration of that pedal alone was the reason why the Porsche 918 was delayed over and over again until Porsche got it right like the rest of their cars. Mercedes, on the other hand, has been completely lost with how to handle this, and I’m far from the first person to cast this stone. I don’t like to keep going back to the GLC 63, which has a completely different powertrain that may or may not have its days numbered, but Mercedes figured it out with that thing. They can do it. For all the weird science under the hood of that monster, the brakes didn’t feel weird do use.

Whereas the E 53 always feels a little off. Initial bite is grabby as if the brake pads are permanently wet, but not linear or consistent enough for you to be able to quickly adjust to it. Similarly, there’s no way to consistently bring the E 53 to a stop smoothly; there’s always that awkward unf as you come to an abrupt halt. In the Hybrid, Comfort, and Battery Hold modes, the E 53 lunges as the engine shuts off while coming to a stop. In Sport mode, the transmission downshifts are noticeable and ungainly. It’s the least bad in pure electric mode, but still incapable of a proper, Mercedes-tier, chauffeur-style smooth stop. It spoils the car for me because there is no reason it should be this much of a problem.

And another thing…

On the topic of things that shouldn’t be a problem, the infotainment is a mixed bag. The capacitive steering wheel controls are as capricious as ever. The new “zero layer” home screen layout is useless; the few functions with on-screen widgets don’t work and something as simple as changing radio stations is a disaster. Almost everything else needs to be accessed via a separate app screen.

Between the wonky brake pedal and inept infotainment, I found myself growing more and more annoyed with the E 53, to the point where I parked it and let it be the office errand car for the rest of the week. My colleagues noticed the same things I did, but it didn’t bother them. They all liked the E 53 and sung its praises. I had no ears for them. It wasn’t a bad car, but it was very much rubbing me the wrong way.

Coming around at the 11th hour

When it came time to return the E 53, I noticed someone figured out how revert the new layout to the “classic” shortcut-based layout — simply press and hold the home button. This is not only far more intuitive but also very well-suited to the new 14.4-inch widescreen. Not only does it work, but it works better than ever. Suddenly I’m starting to like this car again.

The brake pedal is still an annoyance, but not an insurmountable one. The chassis’ occasional indecision fades away if its many drive settings are set to maximum attack. Here, you respect that the E 53 is built to be fast, not foolish. It’s no weapon, but rather an effective instrument that can be fun to play with. Keep a window cracked, and the straight-six engine’s character is far more apparent, and rather lovely.

The new E-Class’ layout and apparent material and build quality of the cabin is terrific. It’s a sizable step forward compared to other new Benzes … or backward, depending on how far back you want to go. The E 53’s layout is less garish and outwardly gimmicky while keeping the class-leading rizz of neon-tastic mood lighting that the kids like so much. The core tenets of space, visibility, driving position, and comfort are all top notch; the E 53 is practical, roomy, has a massive trunk, supportive seats, impressive EV range, and even more impressive fuel economy.

The E 53 rides firm, but not overly so. It’s quiet and well insulated, and with the notable and significant exception of braking feel, it’s a very pleasant and refined experience overall. The engine and lag-less electric turbocharger are terrific, there’s tons of power everywhere all the time, and it is properly fast. It isn’t a full-fledged 63; the 53 is a halfway car and it does so in a strange way, delivering blistering performance but missing some of the finer points you’d think were a no-brainer. Like brake pedal feel.

Final thoughts

The 2025 Mercedes-AMG E 53 is an interesting conundrum of a machine. On one hand, it stumbles over staples, and also just like the M5, misses on some key intangible parts of the experience. On the other hand, it’s a sign of things to come, a promising return to form for the storied brand. The E 53 is just as much of a flex of engineering talent as BMW’s M5, but in a lot of ways, it makes a lot more sense because it has a little more electric capability and a little less raw edge. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so conflicted about a car that was so good.