Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Quite a few all-new cars from all-new car makers enjoyed road test scrutiny last year, so let’s start the new year with something very much the opposite: that old executive stager, the Mercedes E-Class.

This is new ‘W214’ E-Class, which is the latest iteration of one of the oldest model lines from one of the oldest car manufacturers. By Mercedes-Benz’s own count, it is the 10th generation of a largely unbroken lineage going back to 1947.

Despite being very keen to refer to its heritage (and why wouldn’t it be?), Mercedes isn’t a particularly nostalgic company. It has come up with radical designs, such as the original A-Class and Smart City Coupé, while its electric cars are really exploiting the aerodynamics and design possibilities that an EV offers.

Unlike with the BMW i5 and 5 Series, Mercedes is choosing to keep the electric Mercedes EQE and combustion-engined E-Class apart. According to the literature, the new E-Class needs to balance tradition with modernity and ‘build a bridge’ between traditional exec saloons and the tech-filled EVs of the future.

Plenty of buyers are not ready for their car to be a smartphone on wheels, so that mission could well strike a chord. To find out whether the E-Class might succeed, we've road tested an E220d saloon, though we've also driven the E300e and E220d Estate

The range at a glance

The E-Class offers a very wide range of powertrains, including a four-cylinder petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid, a six-cylinder diesel with four-wheel drive and uniquely for Mercedes, a diesel plug-in hybrid. Topping the range for the time being is the E53 AMG, with a plug-in hybrid six-cylinder. In other regions, there's an E450 petrol as well, but that is not offered in the UK for the time being

Apart from the top-rung Exclusive Edition, all trim levels are AMG Line of some sort, with Advanced, Premium and Premium Plus tacked on for the more expensive versions.

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