Mercedes AMG GLE 53 review

The Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 is a high-performance version of the luxurious GLE SUV that comes with a more powerful engine and a few visual upgrades to help you tell it apart from the standard car.

For instance, you get a remodelled bumper with a more aggressive AMG GT-style grille, 22-inch alloy wheels and four large exhaust tips peeking out beneath a sportier rear bumper with contrasting black and silver inserts.

Inside, telling what separates this AMG-tuned 53 model from the standard GLE is a bit trickier. You get the same slick dashboard design with two huge infotainment displays, plenty of brushed metal details, glossy trims and soft-touch plastics, but the flat-bottomed steering wheel and more supportive sports seats are exclusive to AMG versions. If you want it to stand out a little more, you can choose to have your GLE 53’s dashboard fitted with carbon fibre inserts instead.

Space in the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53’s back seats is just as generous as in the standard GLE, so there’s space for tall adults to get comfy in the middle row and enough room for kids to fit in the two rearmost seats without feeling too hemmed-in.

The Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 is a luxurious SUV that pairs a plush, high-tech cabin with a powerful petrol engine that’s assisted by a performance-boosting hybrid system.

It isn’t just passengers that the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 can carry with ease; its boot is bigger than in most equally large SUVs and you can easily flip the back seats down using buttons by the boot opening if you need to carry very bulky items.

More exciting than what you can fit in the AMG GLE 53’s boot, however, is what you’ll find under its bonnet; a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder petrol engine that produces 435hp thanks to the help of an electric motor and compact battery pack.

This power is sent to all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic gearbox that’ll blast the AMG GLE 53 from 0-60mph in less than 5.3 seconds. That’s high-performance hot-hatch territory in a high-riding seven-seater SUV.

See how much you can save on your next car by heading over to our Mercedes GLE deals page or, for more information, read our in-depth review on the Mercedes GLE.