---
title: 'Mercedes AMG E53 Wagon | Why AMG is Lost'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5gdY-kMgcc'
video_id: 'F5gdY-kMgcc'
date: 2026-06-29
duration_sec: 675
---

# Mercedes AMG E53 Wagon | Why AMG is Lost

> Source: [Mercedes AMG E53 Wagon | Why AMG is Lost](https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5gdY-kMgcc)

## Summary

The 2026 Mercedes-AMG E53 wagon is a plug-in hybrid performance wagon that looks stunning but fails in execution. The reviewers criticize its poor brake blending, jerky powertrain, harsh ride, and overcomplicated interior, calling it one of the worst vehicles they've driven this year. They question AMG's direction and who this car is for.

### Key Points

- **Powertrain specs** [00:20] — The car is a plug-in hybrid with a turbo inline-6 and electric motor, producing 603 hp in race start.
- **Brake blending issues** [06:41] — The brake blending between regen and friction brakes is erratic and unpredictable.
- **Interior design flaws** [01:39] — The interior is cluttered with shiny materials, haptic controls, and a distracting hyperscreen.
- **Ride quality** [07:31] — The ride is smooth on highways but harsh around town.
- **Weight and dynamics** [04:34] — The car is heavy (4,400+ lbs) and feels like it's fighting physics.
- **AMG brand critique** [10:07] — The reviewers conclude AMG has lost its identity and this car is not compelling.

## Transcript

The 2026 AMG E53 wagon.
The key point is this is the plug-in hybrid variant of this Mercedes. Whether you are in the market for this, or you can't afford nearly $110,000,
performance, family, hauler, you're going to learn something here. And we're going to be brutally honest in this video. I'm going to say it right up front. This is not some clickbait thing. This is one of the worst vehicles we've driven this year.
And we're going to go into why. And large part, it's because it feels like it's been thrown together. But the key point is, if you're an enthusiast, namely a Mercedes enthusiast, you'd have to be an apologist to be okay with how this thing is sorted out.
But from the outside, you would never know. I can't believe how many people have come up to me and been like, this thing looks amazing. And it does. It's classically styled. It's everything the dungeons and dragons enthusiast wants. A wagon form factor.
Something that looks like it's fun to drive is kind of timeless in many ways. And that is until you get into the interior space. And it's the same brick broken record with every modern Mercedes when you start to load it up.
I'm not going to get into all the details. Other than the question is, what is AMG? We're not bandwagoning their new EVs and all that. I haven't driven them. But when you look at this interior space and you see what they're doing here,
I still question who this stuff is for. Why would you want this? It is literally one of the most frustrating and most tacky looking luxury products on the market. From the stock on screens, the reflective center plane.
If you opt for this super screen or hyper screen or whatever they're calling it now, it has a webcam built into the dashboard. There's so much shiny material everywhere. There's haptics. There's touch. There's door handles that you have to wait for them to pop out to even get in.
And sometimes they don't pop out. I mean, there's just so much stupidity about what they're implementing in terms of luxury here. That it's just a frustrating car. Audi CEO said something about how they're going to have to make cars that are more specific,
more tailored to each market. And if this is what they think a global market wants, is all of this. At least in North America, this is not what we want from a luxury product. We want tried and true back-to-basics,
more simple approach to luxury and technology. And I'm going to leave it there because there's a lot of good things about this. But that's just because it's a wagon. You can fit a ton of stuff in the back. The door storage is great. Storage overall is pretty good.
It's comfortable and it's mostly quiet. I mean, it's everything a wagon form factor should be. But it's dragged down by so many other things. But Jack's going to talk more about the technology part in the shop with a drivetrain. And then we're going to take for a drive and really unload on you.
In the shop with the Mercedes Benz wagon, this is the E53. And we've already done a video on the E53 in the past. And really the only difference here is the form factor. It is a long boy. What you need to know is this is built on the W214 E-Class generation.
It is built on MRA2, which is their modular architecture. It's multi-linked front and rear. They use aluminum everywhere they can. Being the E53, this is a plug-in hybrid, paired to a inline 6.
The turbocharged inline 6 makes about 443 horsepower on its own. And the electric motor that lives in the 9-speed automatic gearbox makes some more in the mid 100s. It's total system output, assuming you have enough battery charge,
temp, blah, blah, blah. In race start is over 600 horsepower. It's 603. And in non- race start, it's 577. It's good for 0-60 in the mid-3s under optimal conditions.
This is not a light car. Due to the 21 kilowatt hour battery pack usable, it's looking at like 44, 4300 pounds. Not a light car. We're talking M5 weights here. Big boy.
It has adaptive suspension front and rear. It does not have air suspension. It has rear-steer standard. And it has optional ceramic brakes if you choose to go with that option. They are not cheap. What you need to know from a dynamic perspective is it blends
brake region with the friction brakes, which Mercedes has never done well. It doesn't do well here. It's sort of weird to feel. And this is a case of a lot of electrical mechanical systems keeping this car on the road again. It is fighting physics.
It is fighting mass. So that Mark and I are going to go take you for a quick drive. I just got fat removed from my armpit to get a put into my ass,
because I hear the 3 comma club of women over 60 find that attractive. Do you think I got a shot with this car? Mark, let me speed you to your next appointment.
Are you in pro mode? I am in pro mode, Mark. Wow. I'm in master mode. Wow. I'm going to go back into comfort. That was enough of the sport. Yeah. Wow. This is impressive. Let's get real for a minute here, Jack.
You don't like this car. And nor do I. And I think despite this being a long boy, you know, I'm a fan of the wagons. I think this is a great example of what not to do when it comes to integrating electrical mechanical systems.
Got to launch you again. Oh, there we go. Oh, now there we go. Mercedes has had to take a car that you and I both really like. Sure, we don't like the screens in the regular e-class. But the regular e-class is a car you and I both think
is phenomenal. It rides well, gets great fuel economy, gets like well over 30 as a four cylinder. It's quiet. It does all the things that it needs to. And it rides well. Then they added a bunch of power to this thing in an engine without a lot of charisma.
They do some of the worst blending of the P-Hav drivetrain of experience in any car and over $100,000. It's embarrassing. When you talk about brake blending, the blending of the powertrain and the brake blending
on both ends, it's bad. Well, weirdly, the handoff between the electric motor and the inline six is super abrupt. You can literally feel the car going to a neutral state and then keep going over. Did you make any of these? I'm starting to fucking twitch.
I'm boiling over already. Just hearing you say it. And then here in the brake zone, I have a constant pressure the whole way. Oh, the mirrors are going off. I have constant pressure the whole way in the brake zone
and the G is not the same. Traditionally, when you apply brakes in a car, you're particularly if it's brake by wire, you're commanding some level of diesel. And that diesel curve doesn't randomly spike. But in this car, I have the same pedal pressure.
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And the car randomly gets firmer on the brakes. I know more pressure in the brake pedal, but it's because it's going from regen to friction. And as it does that handover, the G drop
or the diesel curve spikes. It suddenly breaks harder or softer depending on how much pedal pressure you have, which is not very confident, inspiring, because the braking system itself has a lot of overhead.
You have enormous tires and you have big calipers, giant rotors, right? It should be able to stop the car, but because the brake pedal feels like shit, it doesn't give you any confidence. You even have confidence in stopping
this massively fast, massively heavy car, which immediately to me pulls away so much the enjoyment of this vehicle and then the ride of this thing. It's not a track car, right? It's a 5,400 pound wagon.
It's meant to be an ultimate GT car. And on the highway, the ride is great, right? Absorbs things well and it's definitely tuned for that like 90, 80, 70 mile an hour highway speed driving. But around town, it's really crashing.
Is there anything else you want me to add to my rant? Because I should like this car, but I don't. All right, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the hull they did here. And it's either a matter of the systems don't work together or the system integrators don't know how
to get the systems to work together. Regardless at this price point and what this brand is trying to be, I don't know what AMG is here. I don't know what this car is supposed to be. I don't know who it's for. The drivability is very poor.
To your point, the brake pedal is absolutely inexcusable for a car at this price point. When you consider 25,000 or $35,000 hybrid cars can do brake blending better than this. Yeah, like a RAV4 plug and does a better job.
Dude, seriously, and I looked at the brake pedal, pressure curve on this car and I watched it. You get in about an inch to an inch in a quarter and it's only picking up 12% pedal force. I think that's part of the problem. You have to get so deep into the pedal.
And that curve, that linearity curve is so off that you're constantly feeling like you're not gonna stop. Or it just switches over to friction brakes from the region of the friction brakes and then it hammers you at the last second.
It's stupid. Again, the way that the power is, if you're going madded, full throttle, foot to the floor, the power is really smooth. But every other situation, the transmission gets jerky. The handover is sloppy.
And everything about this car, including its ride, is poor. I mean, for the price. For the price. Yeah, what this is. This is an AMG car, is it not? Yes, it is an AMG car. It is a very expensive AMG car.
Okay, it's because there's no longer the V8 AMG. That old V8 wagon, we drove was spectacular. The regular E-Class is class leading. This is just bad. I think we should get into the final thoughts, Jack.
Final thoughts on the AMG E53 wagon, the plug-in hybrid variant. And a lot of our drivetrain and dribability concerns revolve around that.
However, I will give a brief commentary of this vehicle overall. As a wagon, the form factor, some of the core usability things are amazing. A lot of people want this. They don't on SUVs and the performance wagon idea is very appealing, but not implemented
like this. And one of the issues that I have with AMG is a brand. And I think a lot of people share this and it's not exclusive to Mercedes's. It doesn't seem like it has a core idea of what it is or what it wants to be.
And in North America, at least in the United States, we have access and we've talked to engineers across the world from multiple brands, from the Germans, to the Japanese, to the Americans, you name it. They're all very forthcoming about their constraints, what they're trying to do,
their core design philosophies and leadership has that mentality. All we get in the United States is a bunch of marketing nonsense. You can just see anything Mercedes and it's always just overblown hype.
You can see that carry over here in the interior design, the philosophy of the technology, even the drivetrain philosophy, it's just all over the place. It's trying to do so many things, except do something really, really good in compelling
emotionally. And I think if this is the philosophy going forward for AMG, whether it's an electric car, an SUV, a wagon or a sports car, I don't see people really enjoying this. And I question who this is for and why it exists.
But I'm going to leave it at that. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next video.