Most reviews I've read or watched on the E53 Wagon are positive, and my recently arrived car certainly confirms most of what I've seen - including on this forum.

However, I was really surprised and disappointed to watch such a scathing review from these specific reviewers. I certainly don't agree with their assessment and can't understand
the source of their vitriol. These guys are missing the boat and are measuring this against something like an AMG GT. I'm really surprised they don't get it.


Overall, my impressions of the car are excellent. Sure, there are a few niggles with the haptic steering wheel controls (I prefer real switches), but not enough to make me avoid the
ar. And the battery integration with the engine is excellent. It completely meets my expectations of an executive performance wagon.

Regardless of my opinion, what do you think of this review?

 

Hmmm strange, these guys usually were pretty good with the in-depth and informative underbody/chassis reviews.

 

They seem to have a real hate for M-B right now ... for some reason.

 

Very strange but I know they are bmw fans, maybe that is why.

 

Many of the YouTube auto reviewers don't understand this car - it is NOT an E63 replacement.
And a lot of them are all still in shock from the current C63 making 4 cylinder sounds and being a hybrid no matter how well it performs!

 

Have never been a fan of these guys. They didn’t like my previous All-Terrain wagon either, which I liked a lot, so we clearly have different expectations for these vehicles. They express multiple times that they can’t understand who the car is for, which exposes how short sighted they are. The car is not perfect, but it is obviously a niche product and has some real benefits that they never bring up. Primarily for me, the desire for a performance car that I can shuttle four people and two big dogs in. Only other options were the RS6 and M5 for 25-30% more, and they have their flaws as well. The 50 miles of very usable electric range enabling me to fill up every six weeks while driving 10k/year is also never mentioned. At least we are all in agreement that it looks great.

Yeah, it’s heavy. Ideally it would achieve the electric range with smaller and lighter batteries that would not eat into trunk space and fuel tank capacity while allowing for more compliant suspension and tires, but the tech isn’t there yet.

Regarding the brake feel criticism, I am beginning to think this is a factor of aggressive pads on the Dynamic Plus Package not playing well with the regen braking, perhaps combined with testing the car a lot in different modes. I do not have the DPP, rarely use S, never use S+ and find the brake feel generally consistent. Only abrupt changes from trail braking to emergency braking sometimes catches it out with startling long pedal travel.

My biggest criticism of the car is the UI which it obviously shares with lesser W214s that they praise. Whatever…just two generally grumpy dudes’ opinion.

 

Exactly. I think the E53 occupies a rare niche - totally unique in the marketplace - which they seem to completely miss. The M5 and RS6 are a bit too tilted towards performance for me - and a little too "boy racer".

 

Someone posted this video on my e53 thread on G80 forums couple of days ago, I did not bother to respond...
I drive her everyday, and except UI have no complaints. Great vehicle and like someone mentioned, with my driving pattern I need gas once in 4-5 weeks, yet, if need be, in triple digits very fast... Oh and 150 lbs dog...
Except the UI I cannot relate to anything they're criticizing. Besides, they are many reviews by the professional journalists and they are positive. When he said it is not click and bait, I figured that's exactly the opposite. Genuinely curious, what is their background that makes them so opinionated about the car (s)? Literally, black and white!
In general, I don't watch and don't trust people who post on YouTube, most of them sit in their basement, don't have relevant background and knowledge, but tell us (pick the topic) how the professionals don't know what's (really) happening but they do and will tell us where's the truth, lol.

 

Good points.

There are parts of this review where I am wondering if they are driving the same car that I'm driving. They say, "The handoff between the electric motor and the inline 6 is super abrupt. You can literally feel the car go into a neutral state and then keep going." I've never experienced that. The way that I can tell that it has transitioned from electric to combustion is that I can hear the engine startup and I can confirm the startup by seeing RPMs are no longer zero. I'm not sure what they are experiencing there. The only thing that I can think of is that they are driving in electric, then punch the accelerator, the electric motor hits max power and then there is a slight delay as the combustion engine starts up. As they mentioned, if you mash the accelerator from stop, there is no "neutral" period because the combustion engine is starting immediately while you are still getting full benefit from the electric motor. In casual driving, as it switches from electric to combustion power, it is very smooth. I'm actually surprised that Mercedes can make it that smooth.

I have the Dynamic Plus Package and I don't think it makes the brakes worse. When he says that the brake pedal travel is part of the problem, I believe that is why they feel that the car isn't stopping, or when it is stopping, you have to release the pedal more. After driving the car for a little while the braking becomes automatic and you don't have to think about it. There's never a time where I "constantly feel that it's not going to stop", as they say in the video. When you come to a stop, you do have to let up on the brake pedal like you do on every other car if you want to have a smooth stop. I do find that with the long pedal travel, doing a slow creep below 1 MPH is harder since there is a large "zone" between go and no go. For that, I'd rather have minimal pedal travel for fine control. Stopping in a parking space is as easy as in any car. I'd prefer a faster brake pedal, but the brakes are not in my top 100 issues with the car. In low traction conditions it stops really well. I have experienced it straightening out by itself when stopping on ice with variable traction at each wheel. That was very impressive.

They say that the transmission is "jerky." In comfort and electric mode, the transmission shifts are smooth. When you put it in sport + the shifts are intentionally faster and there is a jerk on upshift during maximum acceleration. That is part of the AMG feel. If you are just driving in town in sport mode, the shifts aren't jerky. In sport mode it will rev match on the down shift, so even though it is shifting fast, it is still smooth on the downshift.

From my viewpoint, Mercedes did a great job with the drivetrain.

The UI, the door handles, the haptics, the center screen, which they call "stupid" are all shared with the other W214s which they love. If you don't like the super screen, it is easy to not option it. I have the non-shiny wood dash, which looks great. I find the single center entertainment screen, itself, well designed and attractive. I find the interior nicer visually than the BMW 5 series, but ergonomics with the 5 series driver display is better than in the E class. For example, I can see the turn signal indicators and tachometer in the BMW. It does seem like the driver display, the steering wheel and the seats were designed by different teams at Mercedes. They each optimized their system, but then when you put the seat back upright, as recommended in the manual, the steering wheel blocks the driver display indicators. There is no cohesive design there.

The four-way steering wheel haptic, common to all W214's, which they show in the video, should never have been released to the public. It is frustrating. The sunroof haptic isn't completely bad. It's easy to find while driving, but I'd still take a button, given the choice.

The part where they show the door handles not extending was funny. He was using the handle wrong. You have to do the multi-finger touch in the middle, which sometimes doesn't work. It is kind of stupid that opening a door handle isn't intuitive. The only thing that works consistently for me is to touch the recessed area used to lock the doors. That works in the video. Once I got used to just touching the recessed area and ignoring what the owner's manual says, the handles extend reliably. Also, on this forum I learned that having the Apple digital key in express mode resulted in the handles not extending automatically. Once I removed express mode from the digital key and just used the key fob, the handles extend automatically pretty reliably.

One guy says that he is not sure what this car is trying to be. The other guy says it's a GT. GT guy is right. You aren't going to run the Indianapolis 500 in this car. You're going to drive around town doing errands, pick up the kids, take a highway trip with the family, and then drive some back roads on the weekend. In a grand touring car, you want performance, style, comfort, and luxury. The E53 delivers. Buy it in wagon form and there's even more utility, making it a great GT.

I don't agree with all of this review, especially on the drivetrain and driving dynamics, which I really enjoy, but I do agree that some of the UI shared will all current E class models, is frustrating.

 

There is a reason that the 2023 E63S is currently selling at $150k +...and climbing. This car is a very real part of that reason. I looked at one for about thirty seconds and moved on.

As far as owner impressions? Well, the folks doing the reviews are able to drive the car like they stole it...they do not care about the long term well being of the car. (meaning they drive an AMG as it was intended)

 

It's hard to argue with the opinion that the brake system lacks the feedback that many of us would desire, except at the limit.

But it's similar to how steering has evolved where steering and road feedback is totally absent but the vehicle always goes where you aim it and we've learned to trust it, even if it's unengaging.

 

The W213 is a great car and is continuing to depreciate slowly just as it was prior to announcement of the W214. Low mileage cars were over 100k this time last year, and are now in the 90s:

https://bringatrailer.com/mercedes-b.../?search=wagon

The 2023 FE cars were 180k new, recent comp of 140k for an exceptional low mile example, and are not climbing.

 

I'm in So CA and my dealer can't keep these wagons in stock. In fact the one they have left has a $25K "Market Adjustment" on there. Looks like there are lots of customers for this car. These reviewers just seem to hate most Mercedes Benz and more than that they really dislike modern cars. I watched their review on the E53 sedan which is what I own they just had that poopoo face throughout most of the review as if it gives them some credibility. Is the car perfect? NOPE, but it's still a great car.

 

My 2021 AMG Wagon wasn’t perfect only because didn’t option it with the Carbon Ceramic Brakes. I’ve driven it cross country from NM to NYC over 3-years and only complaints were fully loaded the car was too heavy for spirited S+ drives thru the Smokey Mountains and the terrible ride between DC and Long Island via the I-95 bumpy Corridor…on the Belt Parkway even with DWS06 all season tires, the ride to JFK airport was awful. If I kept my dream car would have kept it parked in Reston VA and taken the Amtrak into Penn Station to visit my Siblings on Long Island and West Harrison NY. I replaced it in 2024 with a Maverick XL for its utility to carry my gear between NM and Athens GA residences that used to haul in the AMG Wagon. In 2025 purchased a GR Corolla because missed the AWD performance component of my previous AMG dream Wagon. It took two vehicles to replace one great car with premium luxury amenities.

If could only have one vehicle (I hate SUVs) the AMG E53 Wagon would be my only choice in the future if had to downsize and move to one Residence in GA and give up all my Toys and Tools needed to enjoy the South West Lifestyle. I just would have to stop driving over 100mph, park it at Daughter’s new home in Tysons Corner, and would request my brother pick me up at Penn Station in the Maybach.

 

When I did the too short and too quick test drive of the E53, I asked myself, "what would be the worst time for the car to transition from electric to combustion?" I thought that in the middle of a turn, while accelerating would be the worst time. In the old days of turbo lag, you wouldn't want the turbo to kick-in mid-turn, break rear-wheel traction and spin the car. In the E53, there might be an abrupt change in power as the combustion engine comes on to assist.

So, when pulling out from a parking lot onto the road, I decided to leave the E53 in electric mode, then hit the accelerator while turning onto the street. In my 2010 Audi S4, this would have resulted in the rear tires losing traction and swinging the tail wide, followed by the front wheel power pulling the car back in line. A ten-year-old Mercedes might have cut fuel to the engine mid-turn making me a sitting duck. It was also possible that the additional power would make it understeer and push straight ahead instead of turning.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen, nor was I sure if the salesman was going to scream mid-turn, but this salesman seemed up to the challenge. I waited for there to be no traffic on the road I was entering. As I hit the accelerator mid-turn, but not all the way since I don't have a death wish, there was a feeling somewhat as described in the review. I would describe it similar to pressing the kick-down button below the accelerator pedal in an automatic transmission. In an automatic transmission, there's a slight delay, then the power comes on as the transmission goes into the lower gear. This is similar to how the reviewer said that it felt like it was going into neutral for a moment. The E53, in this scenario, is starting the engine, possibly downshifting, rev matching and I also wonder if it has to "power match" by dropping electric power. This is all happening within a second in the middle of a turn.

The E53 didn't push by going straight instead of turning, it didn't swing the tail out, it didn't cut power, except for a very brief pause. It just kept on my intended path on the turn. From that, I concluded that on dry streets, the car with 577 horsepower is easy enough to handle if I need to scoot out in traffic or perform a similar emergency maneuver. Sure, you don't the EV feeling like you are on a bullet train where there is uninterrupted power, but the transition is fast enough. I considered it a strong pass of my test.

Two times at the same parking lot, I have left the car in electric mode, entered the street and then when going straight, kicked on the combustion engine to give me more space in front of cars approaching from the rear. This is certainly saner than accelerating and switching on the combustion engine mid-turn. I recall a similar "down shift delay" feeling as the engine started. There seemed to be a brief delay in power and then all the power I wanted as both motors worked together.

This was my perception of what is happening sub-second when I didn't know what to expect. The number of trials is less than a handful. So, I wouldn't claim this as fact, but just what I perceived. I can imagine that if the reviewers were driving in electric mode down the road, and then they hit the accelerator, they could experience what they described. If you are driving around normally the car transitions from primarily electric to primarily combustion nearly imperceptibly except for engine noise and vibration in combustion mode. The reviewers also say that if they mash the accelerator from a stop, they didn't experience the same "neutral" period.

It would be interesting to drive the E53 on a skid pad in electric mode and then hit the accelerator to start the combustion engine and see how the car reacts. If I can find a large empty parking lot filled with snow, I may give that a shot too. I would think it would react similar to how it would react on a skid pad.. I'd like to see what happens with the BMW M5 as well. When I did a longer M5 test drive it was raining, but unfortunately, the salesman declined my rainy parking lot test request. Inquiring minds want to know.

It is quite likely that I didn't give the E53 enough power to break traction during the test drive, so I still don't know how it will handle when losing traction, but I can say, that it certainly got me out onto the street quickly and safely. Knowing what to expect does have practical application when driving on snowy roads in the winter.

Soon after getting the E53, I did a road trip. On the way back it rained and then went below freezing, conditions that are bad in any car, but seemingly riskier in a car with 577 horsepower. I was imagining the new car sliding off the road and getting mangled, but it made the return trip without a single slide.

If I was going to send improvement requests to Mercedes on the E53, I wouldn't request anything about the drivetrain. I would start with a 20-minute software fix to make all the indicators on the driver display not hidden by the steering wheel. I did receive a "problem survey" from Mercedes inquiring about any problems with the car. One of the questions was "Is there a problem with the steering wheel blocking the driver display?" Yes, Mercedes, there is a problem with that and you know about the problem but don't want to fix it. It might only impact drivers over six feet tall that like to sit with the seat upright, but that population is not zero. BMW, Audi and Lexus don't have that problem. Next, I would request that Mercedes continue to fix the bugs in MBUX. As with everyone else, I'd prefer physical buttons, knobs and wheels over the haptic controls on the E-Class.

 

Here is another review video:

 

Check Autotempest. At sticker i would have purchasesed a 23 last week....

 

^ I provided sales data, not asking prices. Regardless, it's a different car...as has been stated by others, the E53 was never intended to replace the E63.

 

One could certainly argue that in an AMG the brakes should be configured like a sports car with shorter travel and greater initial bite rather than the E53's luxury setup with long travel and soft initial bite. A short travel sports car setup does feel more engaging since it feels quicker and more direct, but I'm fine with the E53 brakes.

I have no issue with the feedback from simulated brake pedal resistance when in regenerative braking. Most of my braking is regenerative. The E53 always does the final stop with friction brake pads. I don't find anything odd in the final brake hand-off or even notice the hand-off. It's pretty easy to slow the car as much as I want to and stop exactly where I want to. An ultraslow forward creep on friction brakes is more difficult than it should be due to the longer pedal travel. That would be easier getting fine control with pressure instead of travel.

 

The GR Corolla looks like it would be fun! I'd be tempted to get an Acura Integra Type S if it had AWD.

The E53 Wagon is a great all-arounder.

 

At first thought the GRC was just a fast but well planted Corolla on the Street. It only comes alive when you push it thru the Canyons and Mountain passes at speed. Fortunately I live in NM for part of the year. Will take it to Tail of the Dragon when drive it to GA later. Something the Honda FWDs hot hatches can only dream about. For 2026-27 Gazoo Racing might bring over limited edition GRMN that was developed after the Team tested the GR C on the Nürburgring. The car is essentially hand built at the same Japanese Factory that made the Legendary LFA supercar. For 2026 the GR C was upgraded with extra cooling and structural adhesive so owners can track or Rally their cars all weekend long without fear of going into limp mode. For 2026 production of the GR C was shifted to the UK. But the limited edition GRMN will be made in Japan like my 2025 and older GR Corollas.

 

A noticed a setting available, does this help with braking feel?
In the vehicle section>Driving>active distance assist DISTRONIC> you can choose the braking based on drive program/comfortable/dynamic.
Set it to dynamic.

 

With the new GLS63 being shown...I have hopes for the E.......

 

^ I agree...I think we will see the V8 E63 return with the facelift for 2028 just like the GLE63 and GLS63 facelift that dropped yesterday. With the same HP as the W213 E63 and W214 E53, it will be interesting to see how they market and price it...

 

Tail of the Dragon sounds fun.

Honda is going for the FWD record at Pikes Peak this month in an Acura Integra Type S race car. FWD doesn't seem ideal for a hill climb, but Acura may set the new FWD record soon.