Stand on the brakes and the nose dips and the car slows as if you’d driven into a compost heap. The pedal faded a little on the way down, but the slowing was still valiant and strong.
But on the way down the car showed its Achilles heel. In its normal mode the gearbox is too reluctant to change down for overtaking so you need to use the steering-wheel paddles or dial in a more sporting setting, which means you end up driving everywhere in a lower gear than desirable. And the torque overboost means you’ll need a care, as it would chirp and spin the rear tyres on bone dry tarmac before the traction control got a hand on things.
The Telegraph verdict
This high-performance end of the coupé market is popular with German manufacturers but not others; the Lexus RC-F hasn’t pulled up many trees and Jaguar has withdrawn its F-Type from sale as it ponders how to make electric cars. So, it’s no surprise that Mercedes wanted its AMG division to have a viable contender and that’s why the CLE has as its basis the outgoing E-class chassis, so that it can have a six-cylinder engine.
That such a portmanteau car (a blend of the E-class structure with interior of the slightly smaller C-class to save costs) works as well as it does is a testament to the development team. But having two distinct characters is always going to be a bit of a compromise and that’s the case with the CLE 53. But while it might be a mongrel, it’s a darn good looking mongrel and it certainly has some bite. I thought it was really rather good fun.
The facts
On test: Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé
Body style: two-plus-two coupé
On sale: now
How much? from £73,075 (£86,325 as tested)
How fast? 155mph, 0-62mph in 4.2sec (4sec in race mode)
How economical? 29.4mpg (WLTP Combined), 21.6mpg on test
Engine & gearbox: 2,999cc, six cylinder in-line mild hybrid turbo petrol with electric supplementary turbo and integrated starter/generator (ISG), nine-speed automatic gearbox, four-wheel drive.
Maximum power/torque: 443bhp at 5,800rpm/413lb ft at 2,200, plus 23bhp from ISG
CO2 emissions: 217g/km (WLTP Combined)
VED: £1,650 first year, £600 next five years, then £190
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited mileage