Tiara EX54: Review of an Inboard-Powered Luxury Yacht

Tiara Yachts’ new inboard cruiser, the EX54, is a robust, luxurious 54-foot ride that’s nearly 16 feet wide, has 14 degrees of deadrise at the transom, and displaces 56,891 pounds when fueled up to run. What does EX stand for? According to the builder it’s for “flEXible luxury and Endless EXploration.” Here is a video review by Rightboat’s content partner, BoatTest.com.

Tiara EX54 Walkthrough

Captain Gregg starts with an on-deck tour of the EX54, checks out the helm station area, and then continues belowdecks. Highlights include the quality Herculan faux teak used on the main deck, swimming platform and fold-out gunwale terraces aft, the fordeck sunpad that configures for two or four people, and the concealed anchor windlass forward with remote control. In the aft-deck cockpit, the settees can be configured in multiple ways for a buyer with more formal, social or sports-oriented arrangements.

The pilothouse saloon offers a convertible port seat with a large Garmin display available when in forward-facing mode. This allows someone other than the person at the helm to be oriented to the surrounding waters and provide navigational support. The helm station itself has integrated Volvo throttles and joystick, an innovation used on a number of Tiara models over the last several years. It also has a nice helm-station sliding door, making it easy to maneuver in and around your marina docks while standing on the side deck with one hand controlling the joystick.

Belowdecks, the EX54 has three cabins. Forward is the VIP stateroom and a guest cabin with bunk beds sharing the forward head. Amidships is the master stateroom with an ensuite head. Significant storage is nicely arranged with additional drawers and even in compartments beneath the lift-up master berth.

The vessel is powered by twin Volvo Penta 950 IPS that are kept quiet through strict attention to sound suppression throughout the structure. BoatTest quotes a measurement of only 73 decibels at cruising speed.

Tiara EX54 exterior

Tiara Yachts photo

Where the EX54 Fits in the Tiara Lineup

The inboard-powered Tiara lineup has steadily been superseded by outboard models since 2017 when the outboard-powered Tiara Sport LS series was introduced in response to the shift in the power cruising market. Most of Tiara’s models are now outboard-powered, either with express or coupe styling or designed from the ground up as center-console type vessels.

However, Tiara still sees demand for more yacht-style, inboard-powered vessels and as they discontinued other models, they launched first the EX60 in 2023 and then the EX54 in 2024. Tiara celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, as well, which represents the multi-generational of the Slikkers’ family, and the builder’s ability to understand the marketplace for its boats has clearly been a key to its longevity. We’ll watch with interest to see if the EX lineup remains a niche section of the company’s offerings or with success for the 54 and 60 will represent a move into a larger yacht sector.

Tiara EX54 Performance Data

The EX54’s twin Volvo IPS 950s deliver 725 hp, and the builder’s test data indicates the EX54 has a cruise speed of 26.7kts at 2200 rpm and hits a maximum speed 33.7 kts at 2561 rpm. The model’s estimated range is close to 300 nautical miles.

Tiara EX54