Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate Review 2024

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate is often regarded as the benchmark large premium estate cars, intended to compete with rivals such as the BMW 5 Series Touring, Audi A6 Avant and the Volvo V90. As with the E-Class saloon, the Estate offers the latest in Mercedes-Benz technology and quality, with the additional space that estate buyers are looking for.

It also comes with a large range of engine options including diesel hybrids, and four-wheel-drive on the most powerful diesel option. Comfortable, refined and well equipped, the E-Class Estate is a desirable option - if you can afford it.

If you’ve already read our review on the excellent new Mercedes E-Class saloon, then you could be forgiven for thinking the estate variant is more of the same only with a bit more space. And you’d be right – although there’s much more to this premium German estate than its capacity to devour your Louis Vuitton luggage.

But we’ll get to that later. First of all, we do need to talk about the load space – all 1820 litres of it (or 640 litres with the seats up). That’s impressive. It will take a pallet. Or your golf bag(s). And it's better than its main rivals, the BMW 5 Series Touring and Audi A6 Avant. In fact, we reckon only the Skoda Superb Estate is able to offer more space.

The E-Class Estate also looks fantastic. Gone are the days when creating an estate variant just meant randomly tacking on some more metal from the rear pillars backwards.

For the E-Class wagon, the designers kept the saloon’s front end with its long snout, but from the centre pillar it’s all estate. Like the Audi A6, it uses steeply raked windows and a short rear overhang to create an impression of sportiness.

So is the Mercedes-Benz load lugger all show and no go? Not at all. Even though the UK only gets diesel power, both (there are only two) engines are excellent. The 220 d is powered by a brand new 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit that’s good for 194PS while returning an official 67mpg. The 350d uses a 3.0-litre V6 that produces 258PS and returns a claimed 52mpg.

If you want a petrol, then you’ll have to opt for the AMG version. The E43 AMG engine has already appeared in the C-Class and here is coupled to a full-time four-wheel drive system to help cope with the 401PS from the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. An E63 AMG will follow and although no figures are available, you can expect it to put out some serious grunt.

Prices for the AMG start at well over £50,000 while it will cost close to £37,000 for an entry-level version of the E-Class estate. That’s more than its premium rivals, but standard kit includes navigation, LED headlights, automatic tailgate, keyless entry, DAB radio, heated seats and 17-inch alloys.

There are only two trim levels available, so take a step up to AMG Line and you’ll pay around £40,000 for 19-inch wheels, three-spoke steering wheel and some leathery bits and bobs. 

The suspension works hard to create a smooth ride on poorly surfaced roads. But it still feels crisp enough should you find yourself in command of a clear line of sight and some curves. Mercedes-Benz might have decided not to go head-to-head with BMW in the dynamics department, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a thoroughly capable car.

You will notice that the steering feels slightly lazier than its other German rivals, while the raised bonnet line creates more of a ‘sunken’ feel.

For some drivers, this will give them a feeling of safety and security – for others, it will only serve to exaggerate the car’s size and make it feel like taking the QE2 to Waitrose in town.

Despite its size, the E-Class Estate stops neatly enough. There’s very little travel on the brake pedal and plenty of bite – but it’s smooth enough. Much like the nine-speed automatic gearbox, which zips through the changes almost unnoticed. You’ll never find yourself in the wrong gear for more than a second.

You’re spoilt for choice here, but unless you want to spend a heap of money the more humble options do a pretty good job. 

The E200 petrol offers 184PS and provides quite brisk acceleration, but at the cost of fuel consumption. A better all-round option is the 2.0-litre diesel; with 190PS and an even more substantial 400Nm of torque it is surprisingly quick and makes short work of pulling heavy loads.

There are three further pure diesel options - the E300d, E350d and E400d - with outputs from 245PS to 340PS and 700Nm of torque in the E400d.

The two bigger options use a 3.0-litre six-cylinder unit that is refined and fast, but with worse economy as a result.

The ultimate blend of power and frugality comes from the plug-in hybrid E300de model, which has a 2.0-litre diesel engine and an electric motor. It has similar performance to the E400d, but economy far ahead of anyof the non-hybrid versions. If you can afford it, it’s great.

Euro NCAP tested the E-Class in 2016 and awarded it five stars, including an impressive 95 per cent score for adult protection and 90 per cent for child protection. The pedestrian rating was 77 per cent and safety assist 62 per cent.  

All E-Class models are fitted with front chest and side airbags, a knee airbag for the driver and curtain airbags, an active bonnet, blind spot assist, the Mercedes-Benz Pre-Safe system, traffic sign assist, and ESC.

The Driving Assistance Plus package can be added, which includes active blind spot assist, active braking assist with cross traffic function, Pre-Safe Plus and active emergency stop assist amongst other features, but this can only be specified on the AMG Line Night Edition Premium Plus, the All-Terrain Edition and the Mercedes-AMG E53 model.

Anyone looking for a towing car will be interested in the E-Class Estate, and it has the ability to suit too. All versions can manage 750kg unbraked and 2100kg braked, although obviously the more powerful versions can do so more comfortably. It may also be worth considering the E400d 4MATIC if you plan to tow regularly or in harsh conditions.

With the seats up, you get 640 litres of space to play with – still more than the top-end competition. In fact, we reckon one of the only cars to beat the Merc’s carrying capacity is the Skoda Superb Estate, which also has more rear legroom and is cheaper.

Don’t think back seat drivers will suffer, though. These pictures are deceptive because there’s actually plenty of space in the back, including prime real estate like headroom and elbow space. Your friends and family certainly won’t be cramped on long journeys, that’s for sure. Unlike, say, the Audi A6 Avant which has a transmission tunnel running down the centre of the car that ruins rear seat legroom.

In fact, the boot is wide enough to take a pallet (if you’re that way inclined) and there’s no lip to hump your luggage over either. 

With only two trim levels available in the UK, whichever E-Class Estate you buy will come neatly kitted out. You’ll also feel like you’ve won the lottery when you’re behind the wheel. Seriously, the inside of this car is nicer than most people’s houses – full of upmarket materials and top craftsmanship.

We do have one criticism, though. The E-Class interior’s ‘wow’ moment can only be found on the options list. The panoramic twin-screen display features two high definition 12.3-inch screens and replaces the more traditional dials.

All versions of the E-Class Estate come with DAB, Bluetooth for telephony and audio streaming, sat-nav via SD card and the touchpad controller, with USB input also.

Upgrade to the Premium package and you get the Comand Online system, which has integrated wifi to give the system the ability to use connected services as well as allow passengers to connect to data services.

The capabilities of the system are high and the graphics are slick, and there is a wide number of functions and settings so you can tailor the system to suit your needs and wants; you even have the option to choose from three different design themes.

Prices of the E-Class Estate start at £40,880 for the E220d in SE trim and just go upwards from there, although this compares favourably with the Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI at £41,305 and the BMW 520d SE Touring at £40,345.

The only other engine option in SE trim is the hybrid E300de EQ model at £49,780, and that hybrid is also offered in its own trims; AMG Line at £52,280 and AMG Line Premium at £54,675.

Above SE, petrol and diesel engine options are available in AMG Line Edition trim, from £43,895 for the E200 petrol up to £46,145 for the E300d.

Above that is the AMG Line Edition Premium, starting at £46,395 for the E200 petrol up to £55,540 for the E350d. The top specification for non-AMG performance models is the AMG Line Night Edition Premium Plus, which ranges from £49,145 for the E200 all the way up to £63,185 for the E400d 4MATIC.

As for used examples, the E-Class Estate is still on sale as a new car, so there is the opportunity to grab a good deal on a pre-reg or nearly-new car and save a significant sum compared to the new list price.

A quick look in the classified ads brought up plenty of 2020-registered examples in a range of specifications; we found an E220D in AMG Line Night Edition spec with the Premium Plus pack and 300 miles on the clock for a fraction under £40,000 - that’s a saving of nearly £10,000 on the new list price.

At the other end of the scale, the earliest cars from 2016 are now close to half what they would have cost when new. We found a 2016 car in E220d SE trim with under 50,000 miles on the clock for just £18,000.

It’s no surprise that the E200d is one of the most economical versions, with a claimed combined figure of 49.6mpg, which should translate into low 40s in the real world.

The more powerful diesel engines offer better performance at the cost of fuel economy;  the most powerful E400d and its four-wheel-drive system drops down to 42.2mpg combined, so expect to see your own figures dipping into the 30s.

Because it is a plug-in hybrid, the official claimed figure for the E300de is an absurdly high 188.3mpg combined - but it will be virtually impossible to achieve in the real world. However, if your journey regularly includes low-speed driving where it can run on pure electric power, you should find close to triple digits is possible.

As for insurance, the E-Class Estate is a premium car with a price tag to match so your premium is likely to be high. The entry-level SE trim attracts the lowest grouping, ranging from 28 for the E200 and E220d up to 43 for the E300de. AMG Line trim starts at group 30 for the basic petrol and diesels up group 44 for the E350d, E400d and E300de.

SE comes with sat--nav, LED headlights; Agility Control suspension, Easy-Pack automatic tailgate, Parking Pilot including Parktronic and reversing camera, chrome roof rails, 64-colour selectable LED interior lighting, Keyless-Go starting function, heated front seats, DAB radio and 17-inch alloys with a five-spoke design. E 350 d models also come with Air Body Control and Comand Online as standard. 

AMG Line adds AMG exterior styling with 19-inch alloy wheels in titanium grey, upper dashboard finished in Artico leather, black ash wood trim, brushed stainless steel AMG sports pedals with black rubber studs, and a three-spoke AMG steering wheel wrapped in Nappa leather. 

Key options are the Premium and Premium Plus packages. The Premium pack (£2795) includes Keyless-Go Comfort package, Memory package and a panoramic glass sunroof. For an additional £1100, Premium Plus adds the Burmester surround sound system with 13 speakers and a Multibeam LED Intelligent Light System.