Yahoo Autos 2021 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Coupe Road Test | You don't need the V8
Recently I wrote an opinion column about how too many cars are too fast to actually enjoy. Then I got a fast car in my driveway that bucked the rule. Like I said then, when a car has speed, I don’t want to be isolated from the experience. I want to feel it.
Then I got my first really quick car I’d had in a while. The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Coupe, with 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque, isn’t as superlative of a performance machine as, say the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe (review coming soon), but with a 0-60 time of just 4.3 seconds, it’s not a slouch by any means. But I wasn’t convinced I’d enjoy it as deeply as I would something with a less-potent powerplant — these Euro luxury brands do have a tendency to isolate the driver from the sounds and forces at play. But before I could find out which way this AMG would break in terms of the balance between speed and involvement, I’d have to spend some time learning my way around it. And that time was unfortunately interrupted.
I spent most of my first couple days with this car fiddling with the countless flashy pieces of tech in front of me. It’s a little off-putting at first, but the digital dial on the steering wheel ignites one’s curiosity and invites you to explore what it has to offer. It does, however, take a while to get used to all the controls in front of you, and my first drives felt like I spent more time acclimating myself to them than actually enjoying the car.
But as I first drove the E 53 around Ann Arbor, taking the long way to make brief stops I could pass off as errands, I found myself clearing my throat. That was just the start. For the first time in a year and a half, I was sick and would remain sick for damn days. That meant the AMG would sit grudgingly parked in the driveway until Monday, when I finally woke up feeling better. Unfortunately, that was also the day the E 53 was getting picked up. As soon as I was up and dressed, I headed out the door, skipping coffee but grabbing my camera. I fired it up, and headed to roads I knew would be empty.
