2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe is a heavy fist in a velvet glove

The 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe starts at $74,695.

My as-tested price totals out to $96,285.

Tick every option box, and you'll be face-to-face with a $102,500 bill.

Power comes from an electrically augmented, turbocharged inline-six sending 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque through a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The all-wheel drive coupe gets an EPA-estimated 21 miles per gallon in the city and 28 mpg highway. After a week and 419 miles of testing, I returned 21.9 mpg.

The E53's cabin is plenty spacious, with every one of its four seats an epicenter of comfort.

A 12.3-inch screen atop the center stack is flanked by another 12.3-inch screen ahead of the driver, both of which are standard. So is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Standard driver-assistance features include automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and car-to-X communication.

Trunk space is rather tight at just 10 cubic feet.

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