No doubt quite a few people, myself included, will miss AMG’s old V8s, now nearing the end of the road for big-displacement, high-cylinder-count motors. Still, downsizing isn’t all too bad, it seems, as AMG’s new 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-6 engines have proven a fitting and worthy successor. The latest model in the Mercedes stable to get this treatment is the venerable E-Class, now also featuring variable all-wheel drive and a hybridised powertrain.
The all-new Mercedes-AMG E53 HYBRID 4MATIC+ (totally not a mouthful to say), pairs a plug-in hybrid system for a mighty total output of 585hp and 750Nm of torque. That ought to yield an impressive 0-62mph time of 3.8 seconds, before topping out at 280km/h (about 174mph). The 120kW electric motor is mated to the E53’s 9-speed transmission, and quite a bit of work was done to make the packaging as compact as possible. Speaking of, there’s the battery.
Silence And Emissions-Free Drive (If You Want It)
The E53’s 28.6 kWh battery pack (gross capacity) is stuffed under the boot, and while a part of the battery pack is reserved to function solely alongside the inline-6 engine (such as providing some added boost or for high-speed driving), most of it is usable day-to-day. If you’re not keen on even having the engine running (or if you don’t want to wake up your neighbours), it’s good for a pretty decent 100 kilometres of fully electric driving. It even has fast charging.
Plug it into a 60kW fast charger, it’ll top up the battery pack in just about half an hour. All that extra performance compared to the outgoing E53 is mostly down to old-school engine tuning. That includes an updated twin-scroll exhaust gas turbocharger (with a higher boost pressure), an extra front cooler, and a wheel arch cooler, as well as re-programmed software. AMG has even put measures in place elsewhere, such as stiffening to chassis and reducing torsion.
Further Improved Dynamics And Handling
Another noteworthy highlight is the fully variable all-wheel drive 4MATIC+ system, which will come as standard fitment. To best leverage that extra traction, AMG further tuned the E53’s suspension and adaptive damping, which should offer the best of both worlds – comfort when you’re cruising around town, and stiff as you need it while you’re out on track. In addition to the revised steering, ESP, and brakes, I’d imagine the E53 ought to be a hoot to drive.
Plus, for improved agility, it also comes with rear-axle steering. As per usual AMG standards, it offers you an abundance of drive modes to tweak around, letting you fine-tune just how comfy or as sporty as you want it to be. Of course, additional settings now take into account the new hybrid, such as starting the car in electric-only mode, recuperating the battery, or keeping it on hold and working in tandem with the engine. So, let’s see if we truly miss the V8s after this.
