Advertisement

2024 Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe is an angrier, more powerful tweener

2024 Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe is an angrier, more powerful tweener


See Full Image Gallery >>

 

The last time Mercedes rationalized the C-Class and E-Class into a freestanding coupe and convertible, the Germans called the result the CLK. Debuting in 1997, the CLK sat on the C-Class platform but adopted the E-Class's more mature styling. In this latest C- and E- remix, the lines have shifted. The result is known as the CLE, sitting on the already-rationalized MRA II platform that supports the latest C-Class and E-Class, the Mercedes-Benz version adopting styling more familiar from the E-Class Coupe. On the CLE's AMG variant, the styling moves in the direction of the old, bad boy C-Class AMG.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is the first AMG out of the top rank — think, 63 and up — to get AMG's pumped-up hood with the heat evacuation vent running between power domes. And even without the black paint and optional AMG Night Package, the AMG CLE 53 is everywhere more intense than the retiring AMG E 53 and even the AMG C 63 S.