Hey folks, I’m heavily considering ordering the new E53 but unfortunately I don’t have the option of test driving it since they just don’t have one at our local dealership or anywhere reasonably nearby.

I keep getting mixed feedback about the ride quality because it’s a pretty subjective topic. For reference I’m currently driving a Taycan on 21” rims and find it perfectly comfortable. Would the E53 be comparable as far as comfort goes or is it actually a harsher ride?

 

I have an e53 with the 20 inch wheels and it’s quite comfortable when the tires are gassed down to around 35psi front and 40psi rear. (Keep in mind this may be dramatically different from 21 inch wheels). I drive my car mostly in comfort and it’s such a nice experience. It’s soft but not floaty - if you’re used to driving sporty cars (911 / GTI / WRX) you’ll find it plenty comfortable. (I haven’t driven a Taycan yet but I imagine it will be equivalent to, or even softer based on what I have heard from others who have driven them).

It has softened up a little bit (~10-15%) after 2000 miles compared to what it started at brand new.

There can be quite a bit of road noise with the summer tires if you are on a rough road surface, but this is more of an inherent issue with the massive Pilot 4S tires than anything. I imagine switching to the Pilot Sport all seasons would improve this dramatically and I’m planning on switching to those once my summer tires are done. I also have the acoustic glass and it works well for isolating the cabin from wind noise but those meaty rear tires seem to “inject” noise directly into the cabin.

I have driven the w214 E class in Europe without the air suspension and I’d say it isn’t too far off from that regarding ride comfort. Sure, the E53 is “stiffer” but it’s a little more complicated than attributing it all to ride quality. For example, the entire car just feels like it’s machined out of a single piece of aluminum - it’s incredibly sturdy feeling but it’s not like chattering your teeth down the road like you’d get in a GT3. It’s a nicely balanced blend of comfort and power.

What really shines about this car is how nimble it feels despite its enormous weight.

Even in only electric mode I find it has plenty of power for passing, take offs from standstills, etc. It’s an absolute missile when in sport+ and if it’s fully warmed up - it gives you that face-melting, roller coaster feeling and will send you to 80+ mph way faster than you ever could expect. (I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing pulls 3.2/3.3 0-60 times and I’m of the suspicion that this was originally intended to be an E63 and they rebadged it due to the complaints about the c63.)

In short, I think the best way to describe this car is a “gorilla in a tuxedo”. It’s an extremely comfortable and elegant daily but it can absolutely rip when you want it to.

 

From what I can tell, the W214 E 53 suspension is more comfortable than the W213 E 53 despite the weight difference.

The things to keep in mind are tthe tire pressures are set lower, run-flats aren't present (I don't remember but E 53 probably never had run-flats), lower size wheels.

 

 

I switched to the Pilot Sport 4s from the stock Pirelli P Zeros the Taycan came with and it made quite a big difference, great tires! Ditto on the road noise though

That is actually really encouraging! I test drove a basic w214 E350 today without the air suspension, put it in sport straight away and found it immensely comfortable. I'd actually prefer it if it felt more grounded, sounds like I'll be extremely happy with the E53! You've been very helpful, thanks a lot.

Going to put in the order tomorrow, got the configuration ready to go with the car set to arrive around September.

 

If not talking about the E 53, I would say the W214 ride comfort is an improvement to the W213, I even want to say it is much closer to an S-Class than the predecessor.

 

That is what I gathered also, seems like a perfect car to daily. I was also pleasantly surprised by the build quality and ergonomics of the interior, just a really nice package all around.

 

They did a good job I agree.

 

Awesome! I think you’re gonna love it. Here is some advice I’d give regarding the options, just sharing some context as I purchased almost every option with mine:

Recommended
I’d highly encourage you to get the acoustic glass and the Burmester speakers if possible via the Exclusive package.

The Alcantara headliner is absolutely gorgeous and just so premium looking as it extends down all the pillars even below your waist.

The multicontour seats and ventilation options are nice. I use the fan on low with the seat heating on cold days and it just really makes the heat transfer farther to other parts of your body. It feels amazing with the massage feature too.

The driver assist package is great when in electric mode because it will essentially down-modulate the speed of the car when approaching a turn, a slower car, or even speed limit signs super smoothly. It just makes cruising around town effortless. The auto lane keeping when cruising on the highway is nice too but I don’t do that
much highway driving.

Energizing air control, only 150$ but it saves you from having to manually switch on recirculate when a diesel vehicle spews a huge cloud of soot in front of you.

Nice but not essential
I ordered mine nearly fully loaded with the Pinnacle, it is nice but I don’t really look at the heads up display as much as I thought would.

The 3d dash board is nice but it probably wasn’t necessary.

 

Keep in mind that on the E350 the suspension does not change from comfort to sport: Sport mode only changes the engine shift points.

The car you are considering the E53 will ride much, much stiffer than the E350 in sport mode.

Hope this helps.

 

Ride comfort was the primary source of concern as I worked to decide on the 2025 AMG E53.

My subjective conclusion after much investigation (and test drives): The 2025 AMG E53with the options and settings @Andreas123 mentioned, will likely yield a very comfortable and performant experience for you. The wheel size, tire pressure and the multi-contour seats make the biggest difference. That said, I was surprised at how just those last two were enough to make the ride comfort excellent. Even though I have 21" wheels (I ordered them before realizing ride comfort might be an issue), the reduced PSI and the nicer seats make the ride as smooth as I hoped. Subjectively, the COMFORT suspension mode also helps a touch, but surprisingly not as much as these other items.

Extra note: Most of my concern came from an early test drive of an Edition 1 which had the same 21" wheels, but they were at higher PSI and the seats were the Performance ones and not the Multi-Contour ones. The ride felt a little too stiff about 25% of the time (on the test). Just those two difference in my setup (lower tire PSI and softer seats) made a big difference. If you want to smooth things out more I recommend the 20" wheels which would give you more sidewall to soften it up. I found OEM AMG 19" wheels that fit the E53 Dynamics package front brakes (390 mm), but they are only sold in Europe and my local dealer's attempts to get them came up short because of warranty / territory issues. Might be resolved in the future if you want to check - that would give you even more sidewall.

 

I drove a Taycan CT 4 with 19" tires and air suspension for a year. It offered a more comfortable ride than my E53 with 20" tires set to factory recommended tire pressures for the first 6K miles. Like @Huleyman , I considered getting 19" wheels but decided against doing so for two reasons. 1) The sidewall height of the 19" tires was only about 1/4" more than the 20" tires because of the lower overall diameter on the 19" tires. 2) Lowering the tire pressures to 36/40 front/rear, similar to the pressures used by @Andreas123 , improved the ride quality enough that I did not think it was worth the cost to downsize the wheel size.

If I lived in an area with more severe Winter weather, I would reconsider getting the 19" wheels in order to get a better selection of lower priced A/S and Winter tires.

 

Double check that: going from 20" to 19" should increase the sidewall by about 1/2 inch not 1/4.

 

You would expect it to be 1/2" if the outside tire diameter was the same for the 20" and 19" tires. I admit I understated the difference a little, but not by much.

265 x 0.40 = 106mm
255 x 0.45 = 114.75mm
114.75 - 106 = 8.75mm = 0.34" = about 1/3"

 

Your math is correct: 8.75 mm = .344 inches

Keep in mind that an increase of 8.75 mm is a 8.25% increase in sidewall width, which is not insignificant.

 

I had a 2025 E53 that I traded in for various reasons after 2000 miles (wasn't a good fit for our needs). Mine also had the 20" wheels. I'd say it was stiff, definitely stiffer than the E450 I test drove, however it wasn't unbearable. The most annoying part for me was how the constant jolts triggered rattles throughout the cabin, just something to be aware of.

If you want to know why I traded it (for a GLC 43) feel free to PM and I can let you know my thoughts.

 

Do you have a thread on your experience and impressions going from one to another? If so, please link it : )

What tire pressures did you have on the W214 E 53?

 

The car is very stiff but still not responsive. One of the weakest point of the car is the very low riding comfort and still unresponsive suspension and low steering impression. .

 

Hmmm, that seems rather negative, do you mind sharing with us what tire pressures, tires and wheel sizes you have? Is Ride Control standard on this vehicle, if not, is it equipped with it? What are the ambient temperatures the car is driven in?

 

ARC is standard in W214 E53.

 

Forum member oncsy is not from the usa so not sure if it is still standard there.

 

Seems like they reside in Hungary.

 

I've had my E53 for about 1500 miles now. I find the ride on the summer tires to be a bit harsh on rough pavement - and loud, but it is very smooth otherwise. Have owned a few MBs and this, by far, is the best ride of them all, almost S-class like, especially when cruising on the highway.

 

Do you mind sharing with us what is the tire pressure you set it to? I am not sure if the breaking-in process affects the tire noise, but you probably already know, there is some coating (?) from factory during production that needs to wear off on the tires before they have maximum grip and stuff I am just not sure if that coating (?) affects the tire noise.

 

Oh it is a layer of anti oxidants, sounds like something that the human body needs but for the tire: https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-gar...lm-on-my-tires