Mercedes-Benz’s latest GLE 53 AMG Coupe brings about all of the latest technology, features, comfort, and performance we’ve come to expect from them. We love the overall sculpting of its exterior looks stellar in the dark green that our test model had. Staring at the overly huge logo on the front grill, you’ll notice a lot of matte black finish work in this area and the snazzy, LED headlamps that extend the lines to the sides. On the back, you have a rear airfoil, LED tail lights, AMG badging, and a quad-exhaust output. 

Inside, you’ll find top-shelf materials used throughout the whole interior. Every surface feels like quality. The integration of aluminum surfaces, cloth, real wood, and high-end Nappa leather gives the GLE 53 AMG a very exquisite feeling to it. 

Moving under the hood, you have a 3.0-Liter inline 6-Cylinder that’s good for 429 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission that propels the GLE 53 from 0-60 miles per hour in a mere 5.2 seconds. Towing capacity is rated at 7,700 pounds and the EPA provides a combined fuel economy rating of only 19 miles per gallon. While that’s not too great, if you can afford this vehicle, you should have no issues affording to fuel it up. 

Our test vehicle was outfitted with 21-inch wheels and Yokohama summer tires. There is also a 20-inch wheel as well as a 22-inch wheel available. Bear in mind, however, that as you increase the wheel diameter, you have a lower profile tire that can make the GLE 53 ride a bit harsher. You’ll want to test-drive them to see which wheel size you prefer. 

There’s a large, 12.3-inch display for the speedometer and tachometer which has an adjustable theme system that allows you to do a bit of customization to it. Moving over the center screen of the infotainment system, you’ll find vehicle settings, Mercedes me Apps, climate controls, comfort settings, navigation, and of course the Burmeister audio system. While there’s support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, you’ll have to plug the phone into the USB-C port as wireless isn’t there for these features. 

From the driver’s seat, the visibility can be a bit limited in the rear as well as the front. However, the optional surround camera system more than makes up for that and does a great job of giving you extra visibility.

You’ll find seating comfort to be second to none, and best in class. Vented, heated, and even massaging front seats will spoil you in the lap of luxury. Tons of legroom for both front and rear passengers help prevent fatigue on those long road trips. Technically, there’s seating for five, however, the middle rear wouldn’t be too comfy for most adults. 

On the road, one can’t help but fall in love with both the shift points, its glorious exhaust notes, and its adept handling. The air ride suspension provides a very smooth ride if you hop out of Sport+ mode and it plows through corners with minimal body roll. AMG’s DNA is felt through and through, especially in Sport and Sport+ modes. Even though it has a superb all-wheel-drive system with various terrain modes, the fact is that not many customers will take this off-road. 

As far as utility goes, there is 33.3 cubic feet of storage and with the rear seats folded down, that expands to a generous 74.9 cubic feet. Additionally, there is a removable cargo cover and no spare tire. 

With a starting price of $78,450, but when you start adding on all the goodies, it can easily work its way up to the price of our test vehicle of $102,000. Mercedes-Benz offers a standard 4-year / 50,000-mile warranty. When looking at the competition from BMW, Audi, Lexus, and even Genesis, you’ll likely find the GLE 53 AMG to be the best performing.

I’ve been reviewing vehicles for over 14 years and during that time there have been a few cars that I’d love to personally own. This GLE 53 AMG is among the few. I absolutely fell in love with it. Is it perfect? No, but darned close. It does so many things very well. It’s a big vehicle that handles like a small sedan. It corners better than many sedans out there with very little body roll and substantial grip from its tires. There’s tons of power when you need it and when you don’t, it gets decent fuel economy. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better daily driver in this price range, anywhere.