THE COUPE THAT WANTS TO BE AN AMG

A coupé that nails the brief but misses the goosebumps

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MERCEDES-AMG

CLE 53

ENGINE: 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six with 48V mild hybrid

POWER: 449bhp @ 5,800-6,100rpm

TORQUE: 560Nm (with brief 600Nm overboost) @ 2,200-5,000rpm

TRANSMISSION: 9-speed automatic, AMG Performance 4MATIC+ AWD

0-100 KM/H: 4.2 seconds

TOP SPEED: 250 km/h (electronically limited; 270 km/h optional with AMG Driver's Package)

PRICE (INDIA): ₹1.35 crore (ex-showroom)

FOR: Handsome, high-tech coupé with strong pace and huge grip.

AGAINST: Competent to a fault, but lacks the wild AMG soul.

"THERE ARE PULSE SOME CARS THAT IMMEDIATELY SET YOUR RACING THE MOMENT YOU CATCHEYES ON THEM."

Big arches, swollen haunches, an AMG badge dangling from the boot lid like a warning sign. This is supposed to be one of those cars. The Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+. It arrives as the spiritual successor to both the C-Class Coupé and the E-Class Coupé, a sort of two-door consolidation exercise dressed in the language of AMG.

On paper, it looks right. Wide stance, a nose full of anger, quad exhausts that hint at something unsociable lurking beneath. Mercedes will tell you that this is the place for the old C 63 and E 53 crowd to look, if they still want their AMGs with just two doors and a bit of muscle. And yet, there’s a catch. It’s not a V8. In fact, it’s not even a charismatic straight-six in the way we remember them. It’s a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine, nudged along by a mild-hybrid 48V system. The spec sheet reads 449bhp, 560Nm, a 0-100kmph time of 4.2 seconds, and a 250kmph top speed. All fine numbers, but this is AMG, where “fine” has never really been the brief.

A FAMILIAR FACE WITH EXTRA MUSCLE