12 January 2024
Sixth-generation executive saloon and estate ramp up the luxury and tech
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 have one with all the toys but probably the most traditional powertrain available: a 2.0-litre diesel engine.The range at a glanceModelsPowerFromE200201bhp£55,290E220d194bhp£56,925E330e Advanced308bhp£68,020E450d 4Matic Premium362bhp£80,640The E-Class launches in the UK with a relatively compact range of engines: a four-cylinder petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid, and one six-cylinder diesel with four-wheel drive.The international range is wider, with a more powerful PHEV, a diesel PHEV and a six-cylinder petrol, and 4Matic four-wheel-drive versions of almost all of them. Mercedes won’t say if or when any of those will be offered here in future. Fast AMG versions will follow, but there’s some uncertainty about which engines will power them.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.