When Mercedes facelifted the GLE at the beginning of the year, the AMG Lite version received a larger turbocharger boosting torque to 413 lb-ft while horsepower remained the same at 429 hp. Fast forward some nine months later, the AMG 53 adopts a substantially different persona since it's now a plug-in hybrid in Europe, with the U.S. to follow in 2025. Don't fret as the combustion engine has not been downsized to a four-cylinder, which sadly happened to the C63.
The same turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six works with a 134-hp electric motor to enable a combined output of 536 hp and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm) of torque. The hybrid assistance has lifted power by a substantial 107 hp and 140 lb-ft (190 Nm) compared to the 2024 GLE 53 available in the United States. Mercedes is turning both body styles into PHEVs, so the "coupe" version also gets a charging port to feed a 31.2-kWh battery pack.
2026 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Hybrid
The massive power hike enables a 0 to 60 mph run in 4.6 seconds (down by 0.3s compared to the ICE model) en route to an electronically governed 155 mph (250 km/h). Mercedes points out you'll be able to hit 87 mph (140 km/h) without sipping any gasoline. However, doing so will make it impossible to achieve the WLTP-certified electric range of up to 53 miles (86 kilometers) in the case of regular GLE 53 and 54 miles (87 kilometers) for the swoopy version. The EPA range has yet to be announced.
The GLE 53 Hybrid rides on 21-inch wheels with AMG brakes consisting of 400-mm front discs with six-piston calipers and 370-mm rear discs with single-piston calipers. Aside from the "Hybrid" badges, there are some subtle aero tweaks separating it from the conventionally powered variant. In addition, changes have been made to the MBUX infotainment system to reflect the newly gained hybrid setup.
Logic tells us the introduction of a GLE 53 Hybrid also means the new E53 is likely to benefit from the same PHEV setup. Perhaps the CLE 53 is also going to inherit this setup. Sadly, the CLS 53 is dead, along with the non-AMG versions as Mercedes is discontinuing the sleek sedan altogether.
Mercedes will have the 2026 GLE 53 Hybrid on sale in the United States later in 2025, which is quite far away considering we're still in 2023.
