AMG GT53 or Audi S7?

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It was a few years ago Mercedes introduced this class of car to their lineup

It rides on the same chassis as the E-Class and it’s actually very similar under the skin to the E53 we drove earlier this year

HOWEVER, what the GLE coupes and X6s have proved, style is everything

So this car takes the raw style and pedigree of the GTC/S/R and brings it with 4 doors

So, did it work?

We’ll start covering what’s going on under the skin. Much like the E53 AMG we have the 3.0TTI6. It’s a twin scroll turbo AND it has the 48V mild hybrid system. However, unlike the GT43 we alos drove earlier this year, this amped up 53 version gets an electric supercharger added to the mix - the result: 429 hp and 384 lbft and 0-60 in just about 4 seconds

So it’s quick - if you need more pace, power, and SOUND then you have to go up to the 4.0TT V8 63

However, the power this mill is able to put out and the sharpness that you feel is more than adequate

BUT the sharpness that stands out the most to me, and i’ve mentioned it in other AMG videos is the incredible drama you get from the 9 speed

Drama on upshift
Drama on downshift
Drama on lift-off

I LOVE IT

There’s drama, but also dialed back into a more civilised drive mode there’s excellent smoothness as well. The 48V system fills in electric torque to smooth out start/stop and in between gear changes. And then there’s the ride

The ride is…pretty good

In comfort mode the car doesn’t settle down and just become a luxury car in the same way as the Audi Sport models

This is a common thing faced by the AMG and M cars

Even with adjustable suspension the M and AMG cars are generally more stiffer sprung which gives them a higher performance ceiling

So yes, the Audi will be a little more comfortable in town, but it won’t sharpen up in the same way that you get here

And that’s not to say the ride is BAD at all. It’s still got a Mercedes-level ride,, it just won’t be an S Class. But you bought an AMG so you didn’t really expect S-Class ride did you?

Ultimately, behind the wheel despite the size and weight

This AMG GT53 feels incredibly sharp
It feels lke it’s nudging you to push it harder and harder
It has great drama on shift
It sounds pretty good
And it composes itself really well

Now let’s step outside and talk finer details

So yes this car shares a chassis with the E-Class and a lot of cars in Mercedes lineup share essentially the same interior design. HOWEVER this GT and the halo GT class cars get completely unique interiors that are similar to each other but no other cars get

You’ve of course got the big 12.3 inch screens for your cluster and infotainment systems
You get a nice HUG with loads of information
You get excellent 360 cameras
You get Car Play
You get MBUX with more customizeability than you could ever need
But you get all these things in the other cars as well
But it’s the design of the dash and, more specifically, the center console that set this car apart
The center console is designed to look like a V8 to pay homage to the original halo GT cars from Mercedes a few years ago
Your cylinders banks have 4 buttons meant to represent cylinder heads with customizable drive mode and function buttons
And then of course we need to talka about the materials
The diversity here makes it feel so expensive
You’ve got leathers, quilting, carbon, aluminum, etc
This is what you get with Mercedes - you get an interior that visually stuns and reminds you you bought a premium luxury car
They do the best ambient light
The graphics are exceptional
Luxuries like heated and cooled seat, heated steering wheel, massage seat, pano roof
It’s just NICE in here and will make all your friends say “damn”
Then the rear seats
This is a 4 door version of their 2 door 2 seater so you get like performance buckets for the rear
You get one less seat than maybe you could, but when you start ripping around your passengers will be grateful for a little bolstering
Legroom is fine for 6 footers
Headroom is bordering on a little tight
But ultimately is useable for adults
And then the trunk, which is a hatch style and super practical
Depending on what rear seat package you get though you may not be able to fold your rear seats, but even with them up its a nice big trunk

So yeah the interior here is really nice - it’s not the crazy new hyperscreen you get in the EQ models, but to be honest I don’t miss that at all here. This is a great cabin and it makes me feel like it’s special, expensive, and like my money went to work for me