Mercedes-AMG CLE 53

Performance package puts the BMW M4 in the hot CLE’s sights Mercedes-Benz hasn’t had the easiest time navigating electrification, working out how much of it is appropriate and most notably how to apply it to AMGs without sacrificing engagement.Amid a line-up that now consists mostly of very complicated plug-in hybrids, this mild-hybrid Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 is looking like the most ‘classic’ AMG, with a big engine up front, only mild hybridisation, and a wide body hiding a configurable four-wheel drive system. Being the 53, rather than a 63, it’s only an AMG-lite; but the wide arches and technical specification suggest otherwise.Until the even more extreme, V8-powered CLE 63 arrives, this tops the CLE range. It has already impressed us in a long-term test, but we have never run the numbers on it. The arrival of a car fitted with the Pro Performance Package on Mercedes’ press fleet is a good opportunity to do so.