Driving on the tight mountain roads on the Spanish island of Tenerife, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 coupe chomps on the bit. Too massive to really feel comfy on skinny roads with brief run-off areas that fluctuate between steep drop-offs and close-set obstacles, the coupe might take flight within the worst methods. But it’s too highly effective to putter behind a spate of Toyota flatbed pickups and Citroen C3s toddling alongside on island time.
The AMG 53 coupe is probably the most excessive mannequin up to now within the new CLE lineup that mixes parts of the outgoing C-Class and E-Class coupe and convertible (Cabriolet) fashions. It’s the widest, strongest, and greatest performing mannequin but in a variety that features CLE 300 and CLE 450 coupes and droptops. Whereas it has some observe functionality, it’s nonetheless a grand tourer, and probably the most excessive, most track-capable is probably going but to return within the type of an AMG CLE 63 S E Efficiency plug-in hybrid.
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53: Faster, quicker, extra agile
Whereas it combines parts of compact and midsize vehicles, the CLE 53 coupe is squarely midsize, and its efficiency suspension requires it to be wider than the already substantial CLE 450. It’s 0.6 inch longer than the outgoing E-Class coupe on a wheelbase that’s 0.1 inch longer. Its fenders are 2.3 inches wider up entrance and three.0 inches wider within the rear versus the CLE 450 coupe to provide it a planted, severe stance and make room for a 2.2-inch entrance and a pair of.4-inch rear wider observe and staggered-size 265/35 entrance and 295/30 rear tires on 19- or 20-inch wheels.
My tester’s optionally available Michelin Pilot Sport S5 summer season tires present glorious grip to assist me place the automobile exactly within the moments I can dart previous the slowpokes. The most recent era of efficiency tires from Michelin, these S5s are a lot stickier and squawk loads much less in quick corners than the Continental EcoContact 6Q summer season tires I skilled on the CLE 450 4Matic Cabriolet earlier within the day.
AMG-tuned steering additionally helps. It’s a weightier, faster model of the acquainted steering in at this time’s Mercedes fashions: fast, sort of mild however firmer within the Sport modes, and with a good quantity of street really feel.
AMG additionally throws extra chassis know-how on the AMG 53 than it does at different CLE fashions. It comes customary with adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering which might be each not accessible on the CLE 300 and CLE 450. The rear-wheel steering can flip as much as 2.5 levels reverse of the entrance tires at as much as 62 mph, and it turns with the rears above that velocity. The chassis can also be stiffer because of a strut tower brace, a shear plate beneath the engine, and stiffer suspension mounting factors.
I can’t go all out on these tight roads, however the twists and turns present that the CLE 53 turns in faster, stays flatter within the corners, and responds to my steering, acceleration, and braking inputs extra readily than different CLEs as effectively. A efficiency display screen on the sprint exhibits that the rear-wheel steering shortens the turning radius solely barely, studying 0.2 to 0.3 levels of rear steering within the 40-mph corners, and perhaps as much as 0.7 levels within the sharper 20-25 mph turns. The total 2.5 levels can be reserved for car parking zone speeds. The dealing with feels balanced by way of these tight corners, and it’s enjoyable to push it regardless of the drop-offs and encroaching guardrails.
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
Stronger brakes come in useful right here, too. It will get 14.6-inch ventilated entrance rotors with 4-piston calipers and 14.2-inch internally ventilated rear discs with single-piston calipers. They deal with all I’ve to throw at it on uphill and extra importantly downhill runs with out fading or getting scorching sufficient to emit the odor I smelled within the CLE 450.
AMG says the CLE 53 is tuned for the efficiency and agility of the C-Class with the consolation and class of the E-Class. The adjustable adaptive dampers have three settings that change by the chosen driving mode, and Mercedes says they’ve a wider unfold of softness and efficiency than the final E-Class coupe. I discover myself going with the Sport and Sport+ settings within the twisties and dialing again to Consolation mode on the lengthy straights.
I can change the modes with a dial on the precise aspect of the steering wheel. I may also use an Particular person mode to personalize the dampers, engine, transmission, sound, and AMG Dynamics settings. A dial on the left aspect of the steering wheel additionally lets me regulate numerous management programs individually. I might see choosing the Sport engine setting with the Consolation damper setting in on a regular basis driving, however for now I’m letting the modes decide the automobile’s character.
The AMG Dynamics system controls the steadiness management and all-wheel-drive system. Its settings embody Primary, Superior, Professional, and Grasp, and so they additionally change with the driving mode. Sport and Sport+ enable for extra freedom to spin the tires or kick the tail out, and I detect no stability management intervention when utilizing both of these modes regardless of brisk driving. The sportier modes additionally ship extra energy to the rear wheels for the absolutely variable all-wheel-drive system that AMG calls 4Matic+.
An accessible Dynamic Plus package deal provides a further driving mode known as Race, a launch management characteristic known as Race Begin, a drift mode, pink brake calipers, and lively engine mounts that agency up in corners for much more physique rigidity.
What’s lacking is notable, too. A observe automobile would add a limited-slip rear differential to assist the automobile higher hook up when exiting corners and even greater brakes with the next caliper rely for sustained observe efficiency. With out these parts or high-strung tuning, this automobile doesn’t chase observe occasions like a CLE 63 would possibly, and that leaves it with sufficient consolation to drive day by day.
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53
Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53: Twin turbos however not the standard
The AMG CLE 53 shares its engine with the CLE 450, however right here it’s been AMGified. It’s a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 with an electrical turbocharger that fills in enhance strain till the exhaust gasoline turbo spools up. It’s rated at 443 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque that may rise to 443 lb-ft for 10-second bursts with an overboost operate. A 48-volt starter-generator positioned within the transmission can add one other 23 hp and 151 lb-ft at decrease speeds to assist with take-off. The ability flows by way of a 9-speed automated transmission with a torque converter (not the moist clutch like in AMG 63 fashions).
The engine turns into particularly talkative in Sport+ mode with snaps and crackles on overrun and refined burps between gears to accompany its clean growl. Energy comes on rapidly and builds strongly, which makes getting by these Toyota pickups a breeze. Nonetheless, the facility lacks the suddenness and unrelenting nature of an AMG V-8, and the 53 isn’t appreciably faster than the CLE 450, with an equal 0-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds. The Race Begin mode cuts the time to 4.0 seconds.
The transmission shifts easily in its Consolation setting, and it responds faster in Sport and extra so in Sport+. When it’s time to move the islanders or exit a nook to cost to the subsequent, Sport+ normally picks the precise gear to faucet into one of the best energy. Nonetheless, the transmission generally will get confused when corners comply with rapidly after one another, generally downshifting abruptly and disrupting the automobile’s steadiness.
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ coupe
Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53: Particular inside
The AMG CLE 53 additionally feels a bit of extra particular on the within than the standard-line fashions. It combines the C-Class’s dashboard with the area of the final E-Class coupe. It’s an expensive, high-tech cabin with some sporty extras that embody customary sport seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and a few AMG-specific efficiency shows within the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 11.9-inch middle touchscreen.
The digital shows embody a Supersport theme for the gauge cluster, and efficiency shows on the touchscreen that embody entrance and rear steering angle, damper motion, tire temperatures, brake and accelerator share, g forces, real-time hp and torque, and an IWC watch timer.
Leather-based upholstery comes customary, and the game seats present nice lateral help whereas leaving sufficient room for my too-wide bottom. Nappa leather-based is optionally available, as are extra form-fitting AMG Efficiency seats with suede inserts, a suede steering wheel, carbon-fiber trim, and pink seat belts. It’s all excessive in high quality and effectively assembled, with the choices or not.
The 2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 coupe is because of go on sale this summer season. Pricing can be introduced nearer to the launch, however count on at the least $10,000 greater than the $66,800 CLE 450 4Matic coupe. For that cash, consumers will get a robust, sinister trying, and significantly sporty automobile that isn’t too high-strung or too track-focused. If you will get into one, search for a twisty street that’s wider than what you discover on Tenerife, and you’ll want to put the slowpokes in your rearview mirror rapidly to unleash the enjoyable.
Mercedes-Benz paid for journey and lodging for Motor Authority to carry you this firsthand report.