Mercedes-Benz AMG E53 Cabriolet
In Selenite Gray Metallic with a dark-red fabric top and gray 20-inch twin-spoke wheels, the AMG E53 makes a subtle but powerful statement: “I am confident, balanced and quick.”
The E53 Cabriolet is as handsome topless as it is fully dressed. One button and a few seconds is all it takes to stow or deploy the roof, and screens (also automated) at the top of the windshield and behind the rear seats deflect wind rush.
The AMG E53 cabin, both sumptuous and highly functional, suits the car’s multiple personalities—boulevardier, long-distance cruiser or racecar, each is available at the push of a few buttons.
In Selenite Gray Metallic with a dark-red fabric top and gray 20-inch twin-spoke wheels, the AMG E53 makes a subtle but powerful statement: “I am confident, balanced and quick.”
The E53 Cabriolet is as handsome topless as it is fully dressed. One button and a few seconds is all it takes to stow or deploy the roof, and screens (also automated) at the top of the windshield and behind the rear seats deflect wind rush.
The AMG E53 cabin, both sumptuous and highly functional, suits the car’s multiple personalities—boulevardier, long-distance cruiser or racecar, each is available at the push of a few buttons.
The E-Class is my Goldilocks Mercedes-Benz: not too big, not too small—just right. It’s likely I’m not the only one who feels this way, as M-B has expanded its E-Class series to include three sedans, two coupes, four SUVs, one station wagon and two cabriolets—that is, convertibles—with all-wheel drive and AMG variations. The E53 Cabrio is one of the latter. Although it’s a not-large two-door car, access to the rear seats is easy and there’s more room back there than one might expect.
Two weeks ago, we recapped the Mercedes-AMG relationship and last year we drove an E-Class AMG sedan in the snow, so here I’ll add that this E-Class is no ordinary convertible. Motivation comes from a turbocharged 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine enhanced with M-B’s electric EQ Boost to 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. A 9-speed automatic transmission, pneumatic sport suspension with body control, customizable drive modes and 4Matic all-wheel drive are standard; so is one of the nicest cabins we’ve inhabited lately.
(Yes, the blind lady likes it, although she doesn’t understand why I’m so mad about this car. If she could drive it, she’d know.)
The interior hits all the marks for space, comfort, appointments, driving position, visibility, airiness and ergonomics. Everything is beautifully integrated and laid out. Every detail sparkles with the blend of sophistication and sweating-the-small-stuff that typifies Mercedes-Benz’s best work.
The one-touch power top even has me rethinking convertibles. On the Maine coast, if it isn’t snowing, sleeting or raining, it may be too hot to put the top down. But in this car, there are no clamps to undo—simply hold down the brake pedal and pull up the switch between the front seats. In scant seconds, the roof has undone itself and withdrawn silently and invisibly into its compartment (where trunk space is hardly compromised). Closing things up again is just as uncomplicated and convenient.
The fabric roof, much lighter than the folding metal tops of a decade ago, is fully sealed and triple-lined for warmth, weatherproofing and security; rear-quarter visibility is good; and the chassis feels hewn-from-billet stiff even topless. Two wind-blocking screens—one between the back seats and the other at the top of the windshield—rise silently at the touch of a button and automatically retract when the top is restored. It’s a ragtop that requires no sacrifices in convenience or concessions in comfort. With AWD, it can even serve as a winter car.
The base price of this chariot of the gods is $84,350; to that has been added $12,840 in extras. If I were ticking the boxes, I’d delete the Cabin Air Fragrancing & Ionization (an $850 option) and the seat massagers ($$950), but I’d keep the fancy steering wheel, the augmented video, the comprehensive driver-assistance package, the tunable exhaust and every other add-on. On top of the already long list of amenities, they make this car—yes, it’s true—a world-beating bargain at $97,190.
