E-Class is estate of the art
SHOOTING brakes, sports wagons or plain old estates. Whatever you call them, once upon a time if you had a large family, ran a small antiques business, or were into outdoor pursuits, estate cars were your only option.
And didn’t car manufacturers know it? In the early days estates looked and felt as if they were thrown together with little care, often nothing more than rude, ugly boxes grafted on to a saloon body.
Now though, all that has changed. Not only are they no longer so compromised but often estates are more desirable and attractive than the very saloons on which they are based.
But estate cars are something of a dying breed, under threat from people-carriers poaching sales and more recently from 4x4s and crossovers. Thankfully, car manufacturers haven’t given up on them just yet with the arrival of this new Mercedes E-Class Estate.
Looking sportier and more rakish than before, the new E-Class Estate not only replaces the old version but also the ultra-stylish, but slow-selling, CLS Shooting Brake that won’t be carry on after this model. You might expect there to be a penalty for those curvier looks but to the designer’s credit there isn’t and it actually boasts a bigger boot for everyday use than before – more of which later.
Initially just three engines will be available, one petrol and two turbo-diesels, all with Mercedes’ nine-speed automatic gearbox (there’s no manual). The 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol, badged the E43 AMG, is strictly for performance fans with a 0 to 60mph time of just 4.7 seconds and a limited 155mph top speed, along with Mercedes’ 4Matic four-wheel drive as standard. There is a price for that pace, with a 32.5mpg average fuel economy. The pair of turbodiesels are likely to be the best sellers with a 194bhp 2.0-litre and 258bhp 3.0-litre.
The former is superb, managing a 7.7 second 0 to 60mph time and a 67.3mpg average plus 109g/km emissions.
It’s easily the pick of the range,
especially since the 2.0-litre is now far quieter after Mercedes engineers have addressed some of the initial refinement issues.
As far as the drive itself goes, the carmaker has been clever. It hasn’t attempted to make the estate anything approaching a sports car, even with the faster versions.
Instead the focus is on comfort. Like the saloon the estate is quiet with a decent ride and is a pleasant place to soak up the miles.
If you do happen to find yourself on your favourite road things are as consistent in the handling department, with the estate a match for the saloon dynamically.
The E-Class’s steering is the best in class for precision, while body roll is well contained and there is genuine involvement to be had in the driving experience.
Further refinement and extra urge make the more powerful 3.0-litre turbo-diesel very tempting over the 2.0-litre and, indeed, overtaking is more of a breeze due to the extra power.
But it’s no better to drive and not quite quick enough to justify its premium. What is significantly quicker is the E43 AMG version that promises plenty after the sublime AMG estates of the past.
However even with a healthy 401bhp the new car is too quiet and sophisticated to replicate the wilder, unhinged madness of the old car’s 6.2-litre V8.
On the road the E43 also feels too grown-up, sensible and quiet.
Thankfully a new E63 is on its way with a twin-turbo V8 lifted from the AMG GT sports car.
Until then, think of the E43 as a more affordable step up from the regular E-Class estate range. In that light, with expectations dialled back a little, the E43 becomes a more likeable car, one that still remains astonishingly quick and well-balanced over some challenging roads.
INSIDE, the E-Class estate is still a treat to behold. As far as fit, finish and quality it’s hard to imagine the E-Class being beaten any time soon by Audi or BMW. Our only gripe is in the second row where we struggled for foot-space behind the front seats.
It’s irritating because ironically there’s plenty of leg and headroom. Soon Mercedes will offer a third, rear-facing row of seats for occasional use making the E-Class a more-than-handy seven-seater in which to tackle the school run. Keeping with practicality – the main reason for buying this car after all – the E-Class scores heavily.
With the seats up there’s a decent 640 litres of space (up from 600) but that expands to a massive 1,820 litres with them down, which is nothing short of gargantuan.
While the latter is actually slightly down on its predecessor, the larger seats-up figure is the one more crucial for everyday use.
All the E-Class models are well-equipped with sat nav and an electric tailgate standard across the range. For more car park kudos it’s probably worth spending an extra £2,495 on top of the standard trim to get the AMG Line one that adds large 19-inch wheels, an AMG styling kit and leather.
As for rivals there’s the cheaper but equally stylish Volvo V90 and while an all-new BMW 5-Series is due towards the end of this year, the estate version of that is at least a year away.
But in this new Mercedes E-Class Estate, that sense of superiority comes from knowing that you have one of the best estate cars on the market today.