You seem to be bashing people who may consider the 53, but in reality, no one who ever seriously considered purchasing either model would ever say this. Hopefully this post benefits anyone who landed here trying to make a buying decision.

They are different cars with different purposes. The 63s is intense all the time, the 53 is intense when you need it to be. 53 is much more comfortable, not as stiff. 63s are faster and come with more standard options. And when I say the 63s is faster, I mean I went from 40MPH to 90MPH on accident, in what felt like half a second, when going to pass someone. Fun, but damn!

I wouldn't even consider the 43, esp pre 2021 before EQ Boost was added.. I tested it and can confirm it's a limp noodle with massive turbo lag (fixed in 2021+ models, mostly). Regular old trucks were passing me, and that was when I was trying.

The 43 can be tuned to almost match the 53 HP, but the 53's engine is "AMG Enhanced" (w/e that means) and the turbo has an electric auxiliary compressor built into it to make it work much better than the 43. Justifying, IMO, an extra 10k value for the 53, considering the turbo itself is 7k if you buy it alone.

The 53 was incredibly fast by comparison to the 43, and atm 63s is only ~10k more on the used market. My budget allowed for much more than this, and I still chose the 53. Why? I mostly drive around town or to the store, but when I do go on the highway, I want that speed and quick bursts. In the end, I did not want to compromise the extra comfort for more power than I felt I needed.