Mercedes AMG CLE53 | Get The Pension Check Ready

[00:09] [music]

[00:09] >> The Mercedes-Benz CLE 53, needless to

[00:12] say, a lot of European manufacturers

[00:14] have really been struggling recently due

[00:16] to some decisions made, let's call it a

[00:18] long time ago. A lot of their current

[00:21] product portfolio, whether it be in the

[00:22] EV space, has not been particularly well

[00:24] received by Americans, and some of their

[00:26] internal combustion vehicles are very

[00:28] compromised due to the emissions laws

[00:30] they're trying to navigate.

[00:32] This vehicle, the 53 AMG CLE, is not

[00:36] that. It knows exactly what it needs to

[00:38] be and is much better for it. Unlike the

[00:41] E53 we recently drove as a wagon, which

[00:44] was not well done, this is the opposite

[00:46] of that. It is a honest-to-goodness

[00:48] luxury GT coupe or convertible with some

[00:53] sporting pretensions. Now, let's talk

[00:55] about what this car is and how much it

[00:57] costs. It's about 84,000

[01:00] dollars in the mid-80s starting.

[01:02] Reasonably well equipped, it's in the

[01:04] mid-90s, though honestly it's going to

[01:05] push nearly 100 or over that depending

[01:07] how you option one of these things out.

[01:09] It is a 2+2, meaning it is a coupe with

[01:12] rear seats. So, the rear seats are not

[01:14] large, and if you are a full-size adult,

[01:16] you will not fit back there. You can get

[01:18] this as a standard coupe, a which Mark

[01:20] reviewed the CLE 450 in the past, or you

[01:23] can get this as a drop top, which this

[01:24] is. The trunk space is quite large as a

[01:27] standard coupe. However, once you add

[01:28] the convertible top, it highly

[01:30] compromises what this car is when it

[01:32] comes to cargo capacity. That said, the

[01:35] top in this car is excellently designed.

[01:37] It's easy up, easy down, you can do it

[01:40] at relatively high speeds, well past 30

[01:42] miles an hour. And with the top down,

[01:43] there is a no wind buffeting whatsoever

[01:46] up to like 80 miles an hour. They've

[01:48] done a very, very good job, and with the

[01:50] top up, it is easily the quietest soft

[01:52] top convertible I've ever been in. They

[01:54] have nailed the luxury element of what

[01:56] this car is supposed to be, and if you

[01:58] want to drive this in colder weather,

[02:00] there is a heated neck scarf that comes

[02:02] out of both of the seats, essentially

[02:04] hot air blown on your neck, and they've

[02:06] managed the internal volume of the world

[02:09] around you quite well in this cabin even

[02:11] with the top down. And the seating

[02:12] options for this car, while they look

[02:14] sporty, they are not. They're definitely

[02:16] on the comfort side. You can option

[02:17] either a sportier seat option, which I

[02:19] wouldn't, or these massaging seats. And

[02:22] when it comes to exterior colors,

[02:24] Mercedes has done a very good job with

[02:26] giving you a very large color palette,

[02:28] and I do think compared to the BMW

[02:30] rivals, this is a good-looking vehicle.

[02:32] And when it comes to interior

[02:33] technology, we beat this

[02:35] horse to death at this point. Mercedes'

[02:37] current generation is all touch, all

[02:39] haptic. It is fast-acting, though not

[02:42] that intuitive to use.

[02:44] So, with that, let's head to the shop

[02:45] and put this thing up on the lift.

[02:51] Before we go any further, a quick word

[02:52] from the sponsor of this video, Saley.

[02:54] Are you an international business

[02:56] magnate like Mark? Are you someone who

[02:58] often leaves the comforts of your

[03:01] country, and you need access to your

[03:03] phone, more importantly, the internet?

[03:05] >> [music]

[03:05] >> And you're not someone who wants to pay

[03:06] the outrageous fees that your personal

[03:09] carrier or cell phone provider often

[03:11] charges you. Well, that's [music] where

[03:12] Saley comes in. They're an eSIM

[03:14] provider, and they are very affordable

[03:16] and very simple [music] to use. You

[03:17] download the app, you pick what country

[03:18] you're traveling to, and then you pick

[03:20] your plan. And on top of now having a

[03:22] more affordable route to taking phone

[03:24] calls and and uh browsing the internet,

[03:26] you also have some added security

[03:28] benefits, like a website tracker

[03:30] blocker. You have the ability to block

[03:33] ads, and of [music] course, there's a

[03:35] Nord VPN-level service provided in the

[03:37] app as well. So, if you are all

[03:39] interested in traveling abroad and

[03:41] having [music] access to the internet at

[03:42] a more affordable rate, use the Savage

[03:45] Geese discount code at checkout. So,

[03:46] with that, let's get back to the

[03:47] Mercedes-Benz.

[03:49] >> Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saley

[03:52] data plans. Use code Savage Geese at

[03:55] checkout. Download Salty app or go to

[03:57] salty.com/savagegeese.

[04:04] >> In the shop with the CLE 53 AMG. So,

[04:07] what does that mean? Well, this is the

[04:09] AMG-ified variant of the CLE 450.

[04:12] Essentially, they took their inline-six

[04:15] luxury coupe or convertible and they

[04:18] gave it the AMG treatment. So, on the

[04:19] outside, you get a widebody. It's like

[04:21] 2.3 in wider in the front and over 3 in

[04:23] wider in the rear. You get bigger

[04:25] brakes, bigger wheels, and a far more

[04:27] aggressive stance. I will say right off

[04:29] the bat that, as I mentioned in the

[04:30] beginning of this video, the BMW M4

[04:32] convertible or coupe has nothing to

[04:35] worry about. There is no track

[04:36] pretension despite some of the marketing

[04:38] behind this vehicle. It is a luxury

[04:39] coupe, not a sports car luxury coupe. I

[04:42] think that is a very important

[04:44] distinction in the way of they've tuned

[04:46] everything in the way this car drives.

[04:47] So, from a drivetrain side of things,

[04:49] yes, you can still get a CLE with a

[04:50] four-cylinder. In the future, you'll be

[04:52] able to get the much-loved twin-turbo

[04:54] V8. Mercedes is bringing that back. But,

[04:57] for the CLE 53, they took their M256

[05:01] turbocharged inline-six. They made some

[05:03] changes. It's still a 3-liter, however,

[05:05] they've added a new turbocharger, which

[05:07] now puts out more overall boost. They've

[05:09] changed the intake and exhaust valves,

[05:11] the fueling system, and basically the

[05:13] entire cowl of the motor. It now makes

[05:16] 444 horsepower and an overboost function

[05:19] 444 foot-pounds of torque. It still has

[05:22] an electric motor that lives between the

[05:24] gearbox and the engine. They call it the

[05:25] ISG or integrated or integrated starter

[05:28] generator unit. It's good for 20-30

[05:31] horsepower, more importantly over 150

[05:33] foot-pounds of torque. Helps this car

[05:35] get off the line. It blends in to act

[05:38] act as some torque fill. And really, in

[05:40] the real world, what you notice is the

[05:41] stop-start function is essentially

[05:42] seamless. It allows this car to

[05:44] basically kick on and kick off whenever

[05:46] you need it to, and you're never waiting

[05:47] for the drivetrain. It is a very good

[05:50] implementation of stop-start. You can't

[05:52] say that about all of its rivals. And

[05:54] thankfully, unlike the E53 we just

[05:56] drove, there's no Phat function in this

[05:58] car, so there's no blending between the

[06:00] full electric motor or a full electric

[06:02] drive and the internal combustion side

[06:03] of things. This is a 9-speed automatic

[06:06] gearbox. It's torque converted. It's

[06:08] plenty quick, but not sporty. And the

[06:11] all-wheel drive system, which is the AMG

[06:12] sport version of this, is rear-biased

[06:15] most of the time in eco mode or when

[06:17] you're cruising, will disconnect the

[06:18] front axle. It'll cruise in rear-wheel

[06:20] drive. It is very fuel-efficient. At

[06:23] 75-80 mph, you can return over 30 mpg,

[06:27] which is impressive for a car like this.

[06:29] And if you have the correct options

[06:31] enabled and you have the right

[06:32] performance package, it will go into

[06:34] drift mode, not that you'll ever be

[06:35] doing that, but you can shred the rear

[06:37] tires. When it comes to braking, it is a

[06:39] four-piston front, single-piston rear.

[06:42] Again, not a track car. And it does come

[06:44] on fairly nerve, but wide tires. These

[06:47] are definitely more geared at at least

[06:49] in this car in specification for, let's

[06:52] call it, cruising in all-weather

[06:54] conditions than all-out lap time. Last

[06:57] thing to talk about is the architecture.

[06:58] It is multi-link front and rear, which

[07:00] goes a long way. That's not something

[07:01] you can say about a 3 or 4 series. This

[07:04] is more in line with, say, a 5 series

[07:05] architecture or an E-Class than a

[07:08] C-Class. So, that, let's go take this

[07:10] for a quick

[07:12] This is more in line with a

[07:14] more premium platform vehicle like a 5

[07:17] series or what you traditionally think

[07:18] of an E-Class competitor than the 3

[07:20] series, which is a strut-based car. So,

[07:22] that, I'm going to go take this for a

[07:23] quick drive.

[07:28] >> [music]

[07:32] >> Setting off in the CLE 53 in full fully

[07:36] divorced specification, top down, race

[07:39] start,

[07:41] matte black,

[07:44] but right.

[07:46] First things first, let's talk about the

[07:47] drivetrain.

[07:49] This is a inline six turbocharged mild

[07:52] hybrid and

[07:54] it delivers upon the idea that this is

[07:56] supposed to be a sporty luxury coupe.

[07:59] This is not an M car or an M4

[08:01] competitor. What this is is it needs to

[08:03] be fast enough to have some factor of

[08:06] wow when merging on the highway. You can

[08:08] use launch control, not that many owners

[08:10] will, it will get you to zero to 60 in

[08:11] under four, but more importantly, in any

[08:14] gear, at any time, you can just tip into

[08:17] it and there's a ton of low-down torque

[08:19] primarily that pulls you through the

[08:22] gears. It is not an engine that

[08:25] particularly rewards being wound out and

[08:27] on top of that, to be honest, despite

[08:29] being an inline six, you can sort of

[08:30] remove that idea of like BMW inline

[08:34] sixes or old-school, you know, Mercedes

[08:37] V8 or six-cylinder AMG noise. It's very

[08:41] muted and it very much so sounds like a

[08:43] digitally augmented active exhaust. All

[08:47] you primarily hear is

[08:49] a kind of fake whooshing noise through

[08:51] the speakers along with a crackle and

[08:53] pop out the exhaust. It's not the most

[08:56] audibly rewarding engine, but compared

[09:00] to some of the other more recent

[09:02] Mercedes drivetrains we've experienced,

[09:04] namely the PHEV variants, there's a

[09:07] level of honesty to this thing. It's far

[09:09] more refined. When it comes down to

[09:10] gearbox calibration,

[09:13] it's not a ZF eight-speed. I'm going to

[09:15] say that. I mean, not that that is the

[09:16] world's quickest fast shifting gearbox

[09:18] by any means,

[09:20] but it's not that fast to downshift and

[09:23] if you ever get to the point where you

[09:24] hit fuel cut off or redline,

[09:26] as I'm about to demonstrate, it takes a

[09:28] second. Wait, wait, wait, wait for it.

[09:33] Uh, in this case, it auto upshifted, but

[09:35] But you are in manual mode and you don't

[09:36] let it auto-upshift,

[09:38] it won't let you shift hard. Sorry, it

[09:41] basically lags. You hear where we go

[09:43] back down to second.

[09:45] And on the gas, hit fuel cut off. Now

[09:47] you shift, it takes a full, maybe half a

[09:50] second for it to get back in the power.

[09:52] It seems to stutter fairly hard in that

[09:54] regards. But if you just leave it in

[09:56] drive, you let it do auto-up shift, you

[09:57] let it figure what gear it's in, it's

[09:59] plenty quick. Now the driving dynamics,

[10:02] again, this is a

[10:03] more luxury than sporty coupe. Does a

[10:06] good job. When you put it in a comfort,

[10:08] it absorbs all the bumps you want it to.

[10:10] It feels very solid despite this being a

[10:12] convertible, there's zero cowl shake.

[10:14] And at a higher speed, sort of that GT

[10:16] cruising speed,

[10:18] you have no idea what speed you're going

[10:21] at all. It basically becomes a very good

[10:23] isolation chamber. And when you put the

[10:25] top up, it's very, very quiet for a soft

[10:28] top. This has to be one of the most uh

[10:31] isolated soft top convertibles I've been

[10:33] in in recent memory. They do an

[10:34] excellent job when you have the top up

[10:37] of like basically isolating you from the

[10:39] world around you. And then with the top

[10:41] down like I currently have it, they do a

[10:43] very good job managing wind on the

[10:45] inside and it still feels like a luxury

[10:47] car. The at-limit driving dynamics,

[10:49] again, this is not a track car. If you

[10:52] want a actually sporty 2+2

[10:56] uh

[10:57] convertible,

[10:58] you're much better off with

[11:01] like an M4 if I'm being honest, or even

[11:03] a Mustang in many regards. This is

[11:06] basically a default light understeer.

[11:08] And then if you go past that, it goes in

[11:10] an oversteer moment. I will say it's

[11:12] very confidence-inspiring.

[11:14] And despite this being a big, big, heavy

[11:16] car, the rear steer

[11:18] does a good job masking some of its

[11:20] initial size and turn-in. And it's a

[11:23] little bit more naturally calibrated

[11:25] than the rear steer has been in some

[11:26] other Mercedes products. I think

[11:28] cohesively, this is a very good luxury

[11:32] coupe. And in recent memory of a lot of

[11:34] Mercedes I've driven, I think it's the

[11:35] most honest in what it is, right?

[11:37] Despite some of the AMG branding, you

[11:39] know when you look at this car, you look

[11:40] at the specs, you within 2 seconds of

[11:42] driving it, you understand that they

[11:44] knew that this had to be an isolated,

[11:46] sporty, luxury coupe. And I think in

[11:49] that specific

[11:51] guys, it does an excellent job. And as I

[11:53] mentioned in the show, right? The

[11:54] drivetrain's quick, it gets good fuel

[11:56] economy, it rides well. I think

[11:58] visually, and that's a big part of

[12:00] luxury coupes, I think it looks really

[12:02] good for what it is. They knew exactly

[12:05] what they needed to do with this car.

[12:06] Doesn't have the awkwardness of the the

[12:09] G cars that I can think of, like it's

[12:11] far better looking in my eyes than an

[12:13] M4.

[12:14] And from a usability side of things, as

[12:16] much as it pains me to admit, outside of

[12:18] the lack of charisma from this

[12:20] drivetrain compared to say the 5 L in an

[12:21] LC 500, at many things, it does a better

[12:25] job than the LC. So that, and before

[12:28] Mark kills me for uh

[12:29] speaking ill of his baby, the LC 500,

[12:32] it's time for me to head into the final

[12:33] thoughts.

[12:35] >> [music]

[12:41] [music]

[12:41] >> Final thoughts on the CLE 53 AMG. What I

[12:44] think this car is is a very

[12:45] well-executed Mercedes convertible. It's

[12:47] a 2 + 2, but the back seat isn't huge,

[12:49] it has some of that flexibility, and it

[12:52] knows what it needs to be, which is a

[12:53] comfortable, quick, luxury GT car with

[12:56] reasonable driving dynamics. Everything

[12:59] from the steering to the brakes, to the

[13:01] ride quality, the drivetrain

[13:02] integration, to the rear steer is all

[13:04] done fairly cohesively. Nothing stands

[13:06] out as being a problem. It is very quick

[13:09] from a straight line, it returns good

[13:10] fuel efficiency. While it doesn't sound

[13:12] the best, it is a very quiet and very

[13:14] comfortable for long periods of time on

[13:15] the highway. And I think if you're

[13:17] looking for that car that you want to

[13:19] cruise for long distances in, or take

[13:21] the top down when you're around town, or

[13:23] up to say 70 mph, I think it delivers

[13:25] upon its mission. And more importantly

[13:27] to me, I think it looks the part. While

[13:29] I'm not a matte black paint person, I

[13:32] think if you pick some of the different

[13:33] color options, this car is quite

[13:35] attractive looking, particularly

[13:37] compared to something like a BMW M4 or

[13:39] M440i.

[13:40] So that, thanks for watching. Hope to

[13:41] see you again soon.