Latest news with #EClass
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Review: 2025 Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid
This is the most powerful E-class Mercedes currently makes and perhaps one of the most polarising. The range-topping AMG E 53 Hybrid 4MATIC+ trades in the brand's V8 for a quieter plug-in hybrid powertrain. It's still brutally fast, incredibly expensive and packed with a ton of features, but it's no longer the muscle car it once was. It might be a better car. At just under $199,000 before on-road costs, the E 53 Hybrid now sits at the top of the E-Class tree. Yes, the price has jumped by approximately $26,000 over the outgoing E 53 model. But for context it's also about $50,000 cheaper than the previous-generation E 63 V8. The E 63 S V8 offered 450kW, hit 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and drank fuel like it was free (officially 12L/100km, but double that if you're heavy with the throttle). This one matches the power, offering a combined 450kW of power and 750Nm of torque – doing so with a 3.0 litre six-cylinder engine and electric motor. The sprint is 3.8 seconds, only a fraction slower than the E 63. It sips just 1.7L of fuel per 100km (NEDC tested) but that figure might be a stretch unless you constantly plug in. It's fast, like seriously fast. There's less noise than a V8 but it feels just as responsive. The electric motor alone will get you up to 100km of range, perfect for zipping around the city. Put your foot down in Sports+ and the car really becomes alive, it's confident, composed and definitely not boring. But honestly? you don't even need sports mode, as comfort mode delivers plenty of fun and is just as engaging. With its aggressive stance, crisp AMG lines, and that signature Panamericana grille, this is a sexy car. Inside, it's not your classic Mercedes. The cabin is bold, digital and hi-tech. For some it might be a sensory overload, there's ambient lighting that changes colour, Mercedes MBUX screen, blending a 14.4-inch central display with dual 12.3-inch driver and passenger screens. The passenger screen is cleverly designed to be invisible to the driver – keeping distractions to a minimum. The seats are supportive with heating, ventilation and massage. But the sports seats are firm, a bit too firm for my liking, you can opt for the standard seats. The split panoramic roof is a nice touch and lets in plenty of light. Rear passengers are well catered for and the boot allows 370L of luggage, which is sufficient for a few overnight bags or small suitcases. The Audi S6 and BMW M550i are obvious rivals but lack the same blend of plug-in tech and speed. I don't think the AMG E 53 Hybrid is trying to replace the V8. It's a modern kind of AMG – one that fits the brand well.
The Drive
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Bill Gates Once Bought the Slowest Bulletproof Car in the World
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Once the richest person in the world, Bill Gates played an instrumental role in helping pass the 'Show and Display' rule that lets collectors register an imported car not built to American standards, as long as it's driven sparingly. The law allowed him to legally drive around in a Porsche 959, but he wanted a more low-key car to use daily, and he wanted it to be armored. As a result, he ended up with one of the slowest bulletproof cars ever. Terry Haigh, a former high-end car sales manager in Bellevue, Washington, said in VINwiki's recent video that he remembers a representative for Gates walking into Mercedes-Benz of Bellevue and asking to order a bulletproof station wagon. Gates, who was already a high-profile executive, was seemingly concerned about safety and wanted his kids to ride around in an armored car. The video doesn't identify the model Gates wanted to buy, but it shows a picture of an S124, which later morphed into the original E-Class. There was no such thing as an armored, regular-production wagon in the Mercedes portfolio at the time, so Haigh reached out to Germany and asked whether they could build one for a wealthy, high-profile client. Surprisingly, Mercedes allegedly shot down the request. Haigh summed up the company's reply in a few sentences: 'We're not gonna do that. The liability is too much. If something should happen, if something happened to those kids, and we told Bill that we made a car that was bullet-resistant or something like that, or that couldn't be damaged… we just don't want to get there. We don't want anything to do with that car.' The search for an armored wagon didn't end there. The representative for Gates reportedly asked a Volvo dealership whether a 240 could be bulletproofed, and somewhat surprisingly, the answer was 'yes.' We don't know if Volvo armored the wagon in-house or if it outsourced the work to a third-party company, what was done during the conversion, and where the wagon is located today, but the added safety came at the expense of performance. Making a car bulletproof adds a lot of weight, and the 240 wasn't very fast to begin with. Volvo stopped selling the 240 after the 1993 model year, so we'll use that as an example. Offered as a sedan and a wagon, the model came with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 114 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque. The wagon weighed about 3,050 pounds, and hitting 60 mph took over 10 seconds. Adding even, say, 1,000 pounds of armor (including thicker glass) would give it Super Beetle-like acceleration. The S124 would have fared a little better: In 1993, the 3,450-pound 300TE came with a 177-hp 3.0-liter straight-six engine. It sounds like the wagon's performance was the last of the Gates family's problems. Haigh, who worked for the same company that owned the Volvo dealer across the street, remembered an amusing anecdote: The armored Volvo was in the shop every month because the driver's window motor failed under the weight of the thicker glass. Fitting a more powerful motor wasn't considered, for some reason. The shop simply removed the door panel, replaced the motor, and then sent the car on its way. These and a few more interesting stories can be heard in the full episode. Got tips or information about the armored Volvo's current location? Send 'em to tips@
