2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE53 review: Australian first drive

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2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE53 4Matic+ Coupe

Inline six-cylinders. Is there a more iconic Mercedes-Benz engine configuration?

Over the last 101 years, the straight-six layout has underpinned more cars from Stuttgart than any other. Some 31 different inline-six engines have served time – and continue to underpin – all manner of cars from Mercedes-Benz. V6? A paltry three. What about V8s? A mere 13. And those apex predators of the engine world, the V12? Just eight.

It's fair to say, then, that the heart, the very essence, of Mercedes-Benz is distilled into six cylinders, all lined up in a row.

And that heritage is keenly felt in this car, the 2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE53 Coupe, which takes the inline-six formula and imbues it with the character and performance expected of cars emblazoned with the famed three-letter AMG acronym on the tail lid.

It's an interesting position the CLE53 finds itself in, replacing two cars in AMG's line-up of performance coupes – the C43 and E53. Like it has done with the regular non-AMG range, Mercedes-Benz has rationalised its coupe offerings, a symptom of dwindling buyer interest in two-door cars in the face of an onslaught of never-ending SUVs.

So does that make the CLE53 a compromise? Or is it a masterstroke of market positioning from the German brand's skunkworks? Let's find out.

Priced from $158,900 before on-road costs and options, the 2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE53 4Matic+ Coupe (its official and rather long model designation) certainly looks like a proper AMG with all the signature styling elements we've come to expect from Affalterbach.

That distinctive vertically slatted grille, a bulging bonnet with purposeful air intakes, steroid-filled wheel arches to accommodate the big coupe's wider wheel track both front and rear, an aggressively lowered stance, and out back is a rear diffuser sprouting quad exhaust tips, all lending the CLE53 a menacing and muscular profile.

That's only enhanced by the standard-fit 20-inch AMG Y-spoke alloys, and the inclusion of the AMG Exterior Night Package 1 and 2 (optional on many other Mercedes-Benz models) as standard fit, which bring a swathe of high-gloss black trim elements.

The list of standard equipment, as you'd expect from a car wearing the AMG badge, is generous. Highlights include leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats with heating, dual-zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging, an 11.9-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen running the latest MBUX software with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and satellite navigation, a 12.3-inch configurable digital instrument cluster, DAB+ digital radio, and a Burmester premium sound system.

In terms of driving dynamics, standard equipment includes adaptive dampers, and rear-wheel steering, while the standard-for-Australia (but optional in other markets) AMG Dynamic Plus pack adds dynamic engine mounts, a Race drive mode, an AMG Performance steering wheel wrapped in nappa leather and microfibre, and racy red brake calipers.

Advanced driver assist and safety technologies run to adaptive cruise control, active lane-keeping assist, blind-spot assist, traffic sign recognition, and autonomous emergency braking. There are 10 airbags across both rows of seating and a 360-degree surround-view camera.

Inside, the CLE53 borrows heavily from the C-Class range and to good effect. The materials throughout ooze quality. The seats, set low in the cabin, are nicely bolstered and set off by contrast red stitching while red seatbelts give off a race-car vibe.

The steering wheel has become a familiar hallmark of modern AMG cars – chunky, flat-bottomed and appropriately festooned with two dials on the lower spokes. The right-hand dial is for toggling through the various drive modes, and the left for altering all manner of the CLE53's settings including exhaust sound, suspension firmness, traction control and driving dynamics.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is excellent, with configurable views that can be tailored to provide as much, or as little, driving data as you want. My personal favourite is the classic view, which blends old-school dials that look like they've come straight out of a 1970s W123-series Benz with modern touches like fuel data and a digital speed read-out.

The second row is best saved for very occasional trips. It's tight back there, even behind my 173cm driving position. Getting in is easy enough, the front seats sliding and tilting forward generously to provide a good aperture. But once inside, and with the front seats back in their original position, every aspect – from toe, knee, leg and head room – feels compromised. It’s strictly a two-seater with the second row saved for short trips only.

Out back, the powered tailgate opens up to a generous cargo area measuring in at 420 litres, according to Mercedes-Benz.

But really, it's what lurks under the bonnet that gives the CLE53 its heart and soul, the latest version of Mercedes-Benz's M256 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six.

It's a complex unit, featuring a single exhaust gas turbocharger, but one augmented by an electronic compressor that increases boost from 1.1 bar to 1.5 bar. AMG stops short of calling it a twin-turbo, but does claim the combination of turbo and the additional boost provided by the compressor constitutes "double charging".

A 48-volt mild-hybrid system, working in tandem with Mercedes-Benz's "Integrated Starter Generator", can provide an additional 17kW and 205Nm for brief periods, resulting in sharper and more powerful acceleration.

Total outputs measure in at 330kW and 560Nm, or 600Nm with overboost for periods of up to 12 seconds. A nine-speed automatic transmission, tweaked and recalibrated to offer more responsive and quicker shifts, sends those outputs to all four wheels via Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system.

Mercedes-AMG claims the CLE53 can complete the sprint from 0–100km/h in 4.0 seconds, and that is plenty fast enough for most people to enjoy.

The 3.0-litre six provides plenty of push when asked of it, surging the big coupe forward with a predictable yet powerful shove. And it does so with a pleasing aural symphony, a gruff burble and rumble that, while not as intoxicating as the sound from a V8, is still satisfying.

Sure, the sound is enhanced inside the cabin, and can be enhanced further still via the left-hand dial on the steering wheel. But part of the joy of driving is luxuriating in the sound of induction and combustion, and the M256 inline six delivers.

The nine-speed auto has been reworked to offer more responsive shifts, especially when using the steering-wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, and the result is a delicious urgency to gear shifts that keeps the big AMG leaping forward.

Leaving the transmission in auto isn't nearly as satisfying, but the nine-speed is still intuitive enough to select the right ratio for the situation, bringing its own rewards but without the tactility afforded by the paddle-shifters.

It results in a coupe that feels rapid off the mark, faster still when on the move, but never in a manner that leaves you hanging on. The CLE53's acceleration never feels unwieldy. Instead, it offers a linear progression of power and speed, accompanied by a basso rumble from that inline six working away under the bonnet.

Grip levels are confidence-inspiring too, the CLE53's all-wheel-drive system constantly at work to ensure torque delivery to the wheels that need it most. It never feels unsettled, even during more adventurous cornering, the big coupe staying true to its line with aplomb, urging you on to push just that little bit harder next time.

That's augmented by the CLE53's four-wheel steering, which turns the rear wheels up to 2.5 degrees counter to the fronts during slower cornering for sharper turn-in, or 0.7 degrees in line with the front wheels for greater stability during high-speed cruising on winding roads. It can feel a little unnatural until your brain recalibrates the steering inputs needed to navigate a corner, the 4.8m-long CLE53 turning in sharply, belying its dimensions. It doesn’t take long to work it out, though.

The adaptive dampers in their softest setting provide decent ride comfort, if still a little on the firm side. Dialling through Sport and Sport+ modes results in a change in demeanour, the suspension firming up noticeably to provide better contact and feedback from the road.

It did feel a little edgy and tetchy in both of the sportier drive modes, to the point where I toggled through the Individual settings to select Sport and Sport+ for every driving parameter except suspension, which I left in Comfort. Not quite perfect, there remains a grating amount of road noise, but a far more pleasing package for some adventurous driving on some lovely rural back roads.

Here, all the elements of the CLE53 come together in a dance, which while not as frenetic as the jigs and reels offered by old school V8-powered AMGs of old, still rewards with its consistency and predictability.

The 2025 Mercedes-AMG CLE53 blends powerful and lusty performance with decent dynamics and a level of comfort and everyday driveability that some AMGs wearing the 63 designation after their model name willfully – and to glorious effect – ignore.

But, I'd argue, this altogether more mature performance package is all the AMG one needs. A mostly comfortable performance coupe with killer looks and, at its beating heart, the very essence of Mercedes-Benz history and heritage, that glorious straight six.

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