So, is the new Mercedes E-Class right for you? Read on to find out...
Performance & drive
What it’s like to drive, and how quiet it is
The latest E-Class will be one of the last dedicated internal combustion-enginedMercedes models before the brand goes electric-only.
Petrol plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and mild-hybrid petrol and diesel engines are available from launch, with a nine-speed automatic gearboxas standard.
The mild-hybrids start with the 201bhp E200, which uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that’s boosted by a 23bhp electric motor. Despite the electrical assistance, you have to work the engine quite hard to get it from 0-62mph in its official 7.5-second sprint time.
Then there's the E220d, which has a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing 195bhp. Although it has 6bhp less than the petrol, its extra pull at low revs means it manages to get from 0-62mph in a similar time.
The flexible way it produces its power makes it better suited than the E200 to a relaxing executive carbut if you crave even more performance, the six-cylinder E450d diesel, with its official five-second 0-62mph time, should have you covered.
Nevertheless, our preferred model is the E300e PHEV. It has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol PHEV engine that generates a combined 328bhp, making it the most potent E-Class currently available. It can acceleratefrom 0 to 62mph in just 6.5 seconds, rivalling the performance levels of a hot hatch.
