2021 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Cabriolet review

We love the Mercedes-AMG E53 sedan. In 2018, it almost marked a shift in engineering philosophy within AMG. A bit softer, a bit smoother, but still rabidly fast, the four-door E53 was a surprise packet more than the sum of its parts. And its new 3.0-litre turbo straight-six rocked. So we were keen to sample the same car, shorn of rear doors, a B-pillar and, well, a roof. Welcome, then, to the E53 Cabriolet.

The facelifted one has landed in Oz, sporting different-look headlights and tail-lights, the new 12-slat Panamerica front grille and a swanky new steering wheel. With outputs of 320kW/520Nm remaining as is – still boosted by a 16kW/250Nm electric motor starter/generator – the biggest mechanical change might be ‘revised suspension’ (which we’ll get to shortly).

Inside there’s the new-generation four-spoke AMG steering wheel integrated with Mercedes’ clever and largely excellent MBUX infotainment.

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To this author’s eyes, this is a good-looking car, keeping its aggression subtle. You have to perv closely to spot the 370mm cross-drilled front rotors under the new-look AMG wheels; the unusually wide 275mm rear tyres; or the speedy, protruding rear diffusor flanked by quad exhausts.

It helps that it looks great with the roof down, too. Disappearing in 18 seconds (we timed it) the E53 Cabriolet looks incredibly long and sleek – probably because, at 4.8 metres, it is. With a flag on the bootlid it could almost be, well, a boat.

Inside is as lovely as ever; two enormous 12.3-inch screens nestled in a windy jacuzzi of leather. The digital instruments are probably the best executed we’ve seen so far.

Hit the engine start button and the straight-six wakes up with an audible fuss, although unusually with basically zero starter-motor noise. And on the road the ride is very nice with next to no scuttle shake despite the huge hole where the roof used to be.

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Motivate the right pedal towards the carpet and the E53 sprouts some serious horns. Its sizeable grunt is pumped through a nine-speed torque converter auto (as opposed to the Multi-Clutch Transmission) to all four wheels, meaning crisp and clean acceleration with not a trace of wheelspin. Utilising a polite launch control, the E53 Cab gets its 2085kg, currywurst-loving butt from 0-100km/h in just 4.5sec.

The powertrain, it must be said, is incredible. Silky smooth, punchy, responsive and almost lag-free, it packs a fat band of responsive torque low in the revs and yet an eagerness to reach right out to its 6500rpm redline.

And the nine-speed auto is a willing accomplice – despite some hesitation switching between cogs in a car park, once moving it’s buttery in Comfort mode, yet razor sharp and responsive in Sport Plus with a good spread of ratios to play with using the paddles.

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And the E53 Cabriolet invites exactly that sort of driving. Owing a little to its slight suspension softness, it wants you to get into a rhythm with it, tapping into the huge and immediate electric-assisted power, enjoying the loud exhaust note (with a good amount of overrun crackles) and hammering the big, reliable brakes.

Performance is vast, with a lot of car to ‘dig into’; actually, probably our only criticism as you do dig deeper is the E53 Cabriolet’s all-wheel-drive system feels very ‘Mercedes-Benz’ and nowhere as ‘AMG’ (ie, fun) as the 4MATIC+ system in its bigger V8 brother, the E63 S. The turbo inline-six would certainly be up for a front-axle decoupling Drift Mode.

Most of the other criticisms of the E53 Cabriolet are pretty mild. The interior is the biggest let-down for a $170K car. There’s a bit of a contrast between expensive and accountant-pleasing materials, although fortunately it errs a lot more towards luxe. Just don’t press on bits of that lovely looking dashboard, as it creaks horribly.

The E53’s interior is also a bit ‘last generation’ with its archaic COMAND hand controller not yet replaced by the excellent new MBUX touchpad. That bit they couldn’t facelift, it seems.

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The rear three-quarter blind spots with the roof up are also… large. While it’s somewhere between a four-seater and a two-plus-two, with a surprising amount of rear-seat amenity, the roof eats up a lot of boot space, leaving about the same amount as a small hatchback. (Roof up, it’s huge.) And forget about all the performance you paid for if you want to get anywhere near the official fuel consumption figure, too – we saw 13.2L/100km.

There’s also a tendency for things like cat’s eyes to thump harshly through the whole superstructure of the car; enough for you to want to avoid driving over them. It’s been an AMG thing for a while now. Fortunately the ride quality is otherwise brilliant – soft, comfortable yet supportive when the cornering speeds ramp up.

And given how the E53 Cabriolet drives, that will be… often.

Mercedes-AMG E53 Convertible specifications