The E53 AMG’s 3-litre motor is quite special even though it’s not a proper AMG engine like the monstrous 4-litre twin-turbo V8 you get in the E63 S. Firstly, this engine has a straight-six cylinder configuration and secondly its supplemented by a twin-scroll turbo, an electric motor and a compressor. Basically there’s an integrated starter motor powered by a 48-volt electrical system that makes 21 additional horsepower and more importantly, 250Nm of torque bringing the total output to 429bhp and 520Nm. It’s that torque figure that delineates the E53; you have all that pulling power from as low as 1,800rpm and because you also have the electric compressor muscling the car forward at low revs with the turbo delivering all the boost as the revs increase, there is no perceptible lag in the E53. In everyday driving conditions, this engine reacts spontaneously and delivers a strong surge of power with hardly any lag.

If only the E53’s cabin was as impressive as its engine tech or everyday usability. Don’t get me wrong; the build quality is fantastic and there is plenty of room for four adults in here, it’s just that Mercedes should have transformed this interior a bit more or given it more AMG pizzazz. Besides AMG-spec seats, red seatbelts and red stitching across the dash, there isn’t much else to differentiate the E53 from its everyday siblings. The front seats though are as good to sit on as they appear – comfortable under you and properly supportive.

Long wheelbase or not, the E53 is an E-Class at the end of the day. Naturally, it has plenty of room at the back and the support from the rear seat is as good as it can get. The seat cushioning is spot on and under thigh support is perfectly acceptable. It’s just that the whole cabin feels more helmed in than the standard E-Class because of the all-black upholstery and lastly, rear visibility isn’t all that great and parking the E can be tricky within the confines of the city. Thankfully, it gets a crystal clear 360-degree camera view. More on that and the rest of the features in the next section.

Mercedes-Benz AMG is brilliant at doing the Eddie Brock-into-Venom trick, turning its humdrum models into fire breathing, tire smoking V8 monsters. The E53 is neither. It’s far less vicious, easier on the eye and a lot more manageable – its Peter Parker doubled up as Spiderman. It’s everything you want from an AMG that you can legitimately use every day; it’s fast, poised, comfortable, immune to speed bumps (with some care, of course) and at Rs 1.04 ex-showroom, over Rs 65 lakh cheaper than the E63 S. Sure, it doesn’t have the same level of brute force or gut-wrenching performance as the latter but like all 53 line of AMGs, it’s plenty fast and quite forgiving at the same time. Let me tell you it’s a great compromise.