E220D SE Auto Estate Premium

Smooth...

Where to begin?
My regular journey is 66 miles of which 6 are in congested traffic and the rest are on A roads and motorway. This is why I bought the E Class because I was looking for a comfortable distance cruiser even though I am in my heart an Audi or BMW sportive driver. So here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good.
There isn't much to say about the interior which has not already been said. It is lovely, refined and a pleasure to be in. The miles just roll away. This car has been criticised for not offering a driver experience comparable to BMW or Audi but as a long distance commuter it has actually calmed me down and the shocking truth is it doesn't take me any longer to get to my destination! That said, the Dynamic control really works well. find yourself at a 3 lane junction which goes down to two or even one lane eventually...look to the left and right and see that you're going to get squeezed between a lorry and a GTI on your right and you have to make a decision about where you are in the pecking order of lane filtering. Reach to the left and push the dynamic control up into sport and you take off at blistering speed which would make any estate owner envious!! Lovely, smug and so effortlessly Mercedes!!! As son as they are in the rear view mirror you can go into Eco mode and enjoy the elegant cruising and great MPG. The boot space is good, in fact it is excellent...but there is a downside and I'll come to that later.

The bad
Well I have 19 inch wheels on mine with 4500 miles on the clock and on my journey I get 55-58 MPG, which is less than 15% off what they boast. But I guess most car manufacturers are the same in this respect and hopefully like most diesels it will improve after 10K miles. The Android Auto i( shame on Google) s a disappointment. The fact you have to connect it with a USB cable seems so old skool. Why not use Bluetooth from the phone? The inbuilt Garmin ( German ) for navigation is ok, but unlike WAZE does not have speed camera warnings and tried to send me up a road closed to motor vehicles in Amersham! The widescreen display on mine begs for touch screen control but they have a dial which is clunky at best. MB, need to do screen and interactive technology better. I would avoid spending money on widescreen the benefits are not good enough.

The Ugly
This kind of car is designed to be doing a high mileage with heavy loads and passengers. The driver should arrive refreshed and with a smile on his / her face after a day in the saddle. But, for me the seats are not as firm as I would like and I would like to see what a 6 hour drive down to Cornwall feels like. I think a couple of stops and stretch might be needed even though I have no back issues. My advice is to drive this car on a 300 mile round trip before buying to make sure you are happy with it. The biggest issue is not unique to MB though and is exacerbated by the type of car the E class is. The more miles you do, the greater is the probability is you will have a puncture. The car does not have room for a spare tyre! ..and they don't seem to care! We all know that the slime and compressors don't really work well so be prepared to come home on a transporter 6 hours late when KwiK Fit are closed!

Last point is on status for those who care; Most people will think you live on an executive housing estate and sell double glazing and are driving a C class. The C Class and the E class do look so similar, however, the C Class and E class are poles apart in reality. Remember, like the difference between a budget suit and a good suit, only a gentleman can really tell!

Conclusion
A lovely car which great value for money. A master of the motorway. Absolute quality through and through and a very refined drive. But buy a spare wheel and give up some boot space to keep it in.

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