For years now, the E-Class has been regarded by millions as the heart of the three-pointed star and is considered the classic midsize luxury car.

First Impressions Count

First things first, the E-Class has been given updated styling with a new front and rear end. The facelifted front end, with increased chrome content, shows the new E-Class means business, with two chrome louvres and vertical high-gloss black struts. Meanwhile the headlights and split taillights are significantly slimmer than before to invoke some sort of a sporty vibe. A vibe we quite like.

Step Inside

As with the models we’ve seen over the past year or so, the 2021 E-Class is home to Mercedes’ latest MBUX infotainment system with a pair of 10.25-inch high-resolution screens as standard. If you want you can upgrade these to 12.5-inch displays, which we highly suggest you do in order to properly enjoy the real estate.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with traffic integration, and automatic emergency braking all come as standard.

Also making its first appearance in the new E-Class is an all-new steering wheel with capacitive buttons. When we say capacitive, we mean the wheel is equipped with sensors and touch-sensitive buttons to control the media display and instrument cluster you see in front of you. A very high tech but welcomed addition to the model.

For those into technicalities, the E-Class comes in sedan, coupe and convertible form for this year. Starting off with the sedan version, there’s the E200, E220d and Mercedes-AMG E63 S 4MATIC+ to choose from. The AMG E63 S features a 4.0-litre V8 with direct injection and twin turbochargers good for 450kW and 850Nm of torque. The E220d has a 4 in-line motor with 143kW and 400Nm of torque. Meanwhile, the E200 also has a 4 in-line engine good for 145kW and 320Nm.

On the other hand both the convertible and coupe models are available in E200 and E300 flavours, producing 145kW and 190kW of power while peak torque comes in at 320Nm and 370Nm respectively.

Of course, the new Mercedes E-Class line-up also includes the AMG E 53 in Coupe and Convertible form. It has a more powerful turbocharged inline-six with EQ Boost producing 320kW of power and 520Nm of torque. That EQ Boost we mentioned before adds 16kW to the power output.

Worth noting is that for the AMG cars, there’s now all-LED headlamps with a new design, along with a reworked – and AMG-exclusive – grille and a larger central star. All AMG E-Class models will get the surround view camera system AMG Drive Unit steering wheel buttons for the 2021 model year, too. Pricing starts at R920 000.

Heeding that call, AMG is now offering a greener, more approachable alternative to its traditional big guns. The powertrain found in E53-badged cars combines a 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline-six engine with electric support and Mercedes claims they are still worthy of the AMG name.

TWFLD recently had the E53 Coupe on road test with us. It’s worth mentioning that Mercedes offers the same powertrain in the convertible and sedan variants of the E-Class, as well as in the CLS and the AMG GT – which we’ll be sharing more in in the new year. Let’s jump right into our review of the vehicle, supporting images are by none other than our very own Tshego Mmahlatji.

The truth is traditional two-door luxury coupes are becoming a rare unappreciated commodity, but the E-Class coupe shows exactly why they should stick around. The basic exterior design, which lends itself heavily from the larger S-Class coupes, is simple and well balanced, a benefit of the car’s two-door configuration and rear-wheel drive platform. Here the E53’s body style finally gets a sporty powertrain to match its sleek styling.

At first glance, you’ll notice that the E53 also gets an AMG-specific grille, front and rear bumpers, and rear spoiler. Bonnet bulges are present to complete the look

Like all two-door coupes, style comes at the expense of practicality. The four-seat E53 coupe’s cabin space is decent for a vehicle of this form. When sitting in the front-seat, you’re overwhelmed by all the generous space and the rear seats even seem like they would be tolerable for a around town distance. But the E53 coupe should never be confused with a family car (sedan best fills that role). The coupe’s 283 litre boot space is enough for a weekend’s worth of luggage, and that’s about it. Anything more should be couriered to your destination.

Don’t let the boot space throw you off, the interior does have plenty of character. From the elaborate Burmester speaker grilles and carbon fiber trim, to the red seat belts and purple mood lighting, I felt like I was in a very sporty nightclub. Some of those details may not suit everyone’s tastes, but they sure make the cabin distinctive as well as sumptuous.

The vehicles features the COMAND infotainment system used in many other current Mercedes models. Our car boasted a 12.3-inch main display screen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster merged to form one long screen. It’s not the most graceful solution, but it does create a lot of real estate for immersive graphics. Its compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Our test car was kitted out with the optional driver assistance package, which includes Distronic (adaptive cruise control), active steering assist, active lane change assist, evasive steering assist, and a number of other driver aids we’d be lost without.

In every sense, the E53 is like every other AMG model. Mercedes’ goal was to achieve high performance with high petrol mileage, and it seems to have succeeded. As mentioned earlier, the powertrain consists of a 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline-six engine bolted to a nine-speed automatic transmission, teamed with Mercedes’ EQ Boost mild-hybrid system. How does that work, you may ask? Essentially, an electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission.

he electric motor can’t propel the car alone, but it does allow the engine stop-start system to operate more aggressively, and even allows the car to glide with the engine off under certain conditions.
What about performance, then? Mercedes said the E53 will do zero to 100 kmph in 4.5 seconds. And that’s true. On the road, the E53 coupe doesn’t feel like a traditional AMG car. That’s both a good thing, and a bad thing.

The 2020 Mercedes-AMG E53 coupe is a great all-rounder, blending luxury, tech, and extraordinary performance. It lacks the raw force we expect from an AMG car, but that means buyers will also find it easier to go by with. Starting price for the AMG E53 coupe is R1.3m, but a host of optional extras, including a driver-assistance package, head-up display, and performance exhaust system, brought the price of our test car up drastically.