Mercedes-Benz E-Class review (2024 - 2025)

What is the Mercedes-Benz E-Class?

The Mercedes E-Class is a traditional executive saloon that sits between the smaller C-Class and larger S-Class limo. The BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 have long been its arch rivals, and there are few other direct alternatives left in today’s SUV-dominated market, especially now there’s no Jaguar XF. The Lexus ES is close, but is a touch smaller and is usefully cheaper. The VW Arteon is closer to the latest E-Class’ 4.93-metre length, and has a similar executive-car aura, but is also usefully cheaper and lacks the all-important brand prestige that the Merc E-Class has always traded on.

The E-Class, ultimately, is the ‘old money’ of executive cars; an expensive saloon for wealthy people. To justify that reputation it’s stood as a benchmark for excellent engineering and understated quality for over 40 years, albeit with a notable blip in the ‘90s when many Mercedes models became best known for rust and high running costs. Thankfully, recent decades have restored the lofty reputation of the three-pointed star’s products, and the latest Mercedes E-Class looks set to maintain those high standards.

One of the most notable things about the current Mercedes E-Class – dubbed the ‘W214’ in Mercedes-code – is its plug-in hybrid powertrains. For a start, Mercedes is the only brand to offer diesel- or petrol-electric PHEV models. They’re also usefully long-range, by PHEV standards: the 19.5kWh battery in the saloon manages an official electric range of between 60 and 70 miles, while the estate manages between 58 and 68 miles depending on wheel size and vehicle spec. You can also get conventional petrol and turbodiesel models – something that can’t be said for the latest BMW 5 Series, which is no longer available with any diesel engine.

There’s no fully electric version of the E-Class, but if you’re keen on battery power then you could always look to the swoopy, futuristic-looking Mercedes EQE instead.

How practical is it?

Practicality with the E-Class is reasonable enough, but not class-leading. You’ll easily get two taller adults in the back seats, where they’ll enjoy a centre armrest with pop-out cup holders, charging ports and climate control – although there are no rear heated seats, which is becoming a popular feature in quite a few bigger family cars and executive cars, these days.

Boot space was a big problem with the previous generation E-Class plug-in hybrids, but this new generation is drastically improved despite the bigger battery for the electric motor. The boot is now a decent shape, and you get 370 litres of space in the E-Class saloon PHEV, and 460 litres in the estate PHEV, which is okay - if not amazing. The BMW 530e plug-in hybrid saloon gets a bit more space in the saloon, although the Mercedes estate beats the BMW 530e Touring. Ultimately, either of the E-Class PHEV body shapes will be fine for everyday family use, but they do sacrifice space to the battery.

The mild hybrid Mercedes E-Class gets 540 or 615 litres of boot space for the saloon and estate respectively, so it’s no small difference and you will notice the much more useful boot capacity for the mild hybrids – especially if you’ve got golf clubs, a chunky buggy or dogs to carry around.

There’s plenty of space in the rear seats of the E-Class regardless of which powertrain you go for, and front passengers are also well catered for with great seat adjustability, legroom and space in general.

The dash layout is very different if you go for the top-spec E-Class Exclusive Premium Plus, which gets the MBUX Superscreen as standard. If you don’t speak fluent Mercedes-options-list, that’s basically where the entire dash and centre console area becomes one huge curved screen with the enormous central touchscreen infotainment system, a screen for the passenger and also the driver’s readout all integrated. You can add the MBUX Superscreen to most other E-Class trims, but we’d stick with the standard 14.4-inch display as it’s arguably easier to use.

Overall, the sense of quality and the fact that the E-Class feels quite traditional in the materials and understated interior design is likely to be one of its chief selling points.

What’s it like to drive?

The E-Class is lovely to drive. The petrol-electric Mercedes E300 e PHEV that we drove was just peachy, with comfortable front seats that should deliver a good driving position for most body shapes, precise yet light and delightfully oily-feeling steering and a long-legged ride comfort that feels like it’ll see you easily through any cross-continent motorway drive. There’s a sophistication to the whole thing, from the weighty door-shut to the perceived quality in the cabin and the way it eases down the road on standard adaptive dampers, keeping you well isolated from the rest of the world.

Of course it’s quieter in electric car mode (and you can force it into said mode, leave it to make its own mind up in hybrid mode or use the engine to charge the battery, if you wish), but even with the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine thrumming gently away, and the nine-speed automatic gearbox blurring calmly through gearshifts, the new Mercedes E-Class is the sort of car that doubles up as a retreat from daily life if you want it to. Especially if you’ve gone for massage seats.

Having said all of that, our test car came on 20-inch alloy wheels, and so there was a bit of tyre roar, patter and thumping that occasionally intruded on the peace and quiet, so it could be worth considering the ‘refinement package’, which will set you back £3,500 on the saloon and includes air suspension and rear-wheel steering, or costs £2,500 on the estate and goes with the rear-wheel steering for additional cornering stability and a tighter turning circle. We haven’t tried this set-up on the E-Class, yet, but if experience in other Mercedes models is anything to go by, the air suspension will elevate this to an even greater level of calm and comfort.

Is the E-Class as fun to drive as the BMW 5 Series? No, not quite. The BMW has a bit more of an edge to its handling, as does the electric-only Audi A6 e-tron provided you’ve got it in the right spec. The E-Class is the one to go for if it’s comfort and an aura of grandeur that you’re after, but the BMW’s better if you want a sporting edge.

There’s even a six-cylinder diesel engine in the Mercedes E450 d 4Matic, which is the only non-AMG E-Class on air suspension as standard, and also the only one that gets four-wheel drive; the rest are all rear-wheel drive. We haven’t tried the Mercedes E53 AMG Hybrid 4Matic, yet, which is a model and trim-line in its own right.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Before we mention the rather convoluted equipment and options on the Mercedes E-Class, let’s talk about that screen. The Superscreen is essentially a slightly smaller version of the Hyperscreen that we’ve tested in the Mercedes EQS; it’s a pretty amazing system in terms of the graphics and functionality, with atmospheric moods that you can choose, for twinkly, relaxing ambient music and gently shifting images on the screen, in case you wish to make your car feel like a spa (without the towelling robes, hopefully). Also, whether you go for the Superscreen or the standard MBUX system, the screen is so huge that the icons are also big and easy to prod, while of course you’ve got in-built nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air software updates and more.

Mind you, it’s really annoying that the temperature controls aren’t always visible, and the menu layouts aren’t always that intuitive – you need to know to swipe down for certain things, and it can be a bit overwhelming. It takes time to get used to, basically, but with familiarity it is a very impressive system to live with.

Right… The equipment! There are no fewer than six trim levels on the Mercedes E-Class saloon and estate, and that’s not including the Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic. Even the entry-level AMG Line gets 18-inch alloy wheels, the 14.4-inch central touchscreen, LED headlights, heated seats, leather upholstery, reversing camera, cruise control and blind spot warning, so it’s hardly poorly equipped – but you can only get it with the mild hybrid, four-cylinder, 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol or diesel engine in the E200 and E220 d.

AMG Line Premium is the next step up, and would be our choice, as it’s available with the full engine range and it adds keyless entry, a Burmester sound system upgrade and a panoramic sunroof, without pushing the price up to an unreasonable figure, so offers a good balance of luxury and price.

The other trims add features like a head-up display, massage seats, acoustic glass, upgraded style packs, the Superscreen dash, nappa leather, illuminated radiator grille, rear-axle steering, heated armrests and steering wheel… You name it, there’s a Mercedes trim for that.

One of the biggest issues is that the range can be overwhelming in its complexity, so the old-fashioned route of going to the dealership and talking to a sales person may the best bet for figuring out which E-Class trim is best value for what you’re after.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class running costs

That real-world electric range on the E-Class, which we found to be over 60 miles on a top-spec E300 e saloon in warmer weather, means that most people will be able to do the vast majority of their mileage without waking up the petrol engine. Which is great, as electric running costs as little as 4p per mile if you charge up on a cheap overnight tariff, or roughly 13p per mile if you’re charging at 25p per kWh standard rate. By contrast, it’s reasonable to expect the petrol E 300e to cost around 22p per mile in fuel when the engine’s in use, or the diesel will be more like 18p per mile.

We haven’t tried the standard, mild hybrid Mercedes E200 and E220d models, but they get competitive CO2 emissions of 152 and 129g/km respectively. Most business users will opt for the E-Class PHEV variants as the long range and low CO2 of as little as 12g/km makes for very low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax costs.

Nobody’s going to buy the Mercedes E450 d for efficiency reasons, and it’ll be catastrophically expensive on company car tax – if there’s a scheme out there that will even allow it. Having said that, the big six-cylinder diesels are very unstressed and often make for surprisingly efficient everyday running, so we wouldn’t be surprised if you manage usefully over 35mpg. The E220 d, with its 56mpg WLTP fuel economy figure, will certainly be a more economical, not to mention cheaper to buy.

List prices on the Mercedes E-Class aren’t low, but they are competitive with the new BMW 5 Series, as are monthly finance deals. The outgoing Audi A6 looks like a bargain compared to both, so do consider it if you don’t mind being seen in a more dated model.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class reliability

Mercedes came a disappointing 22nd out of 35 brands included in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, a way behind Lexus in 2nd and BMW in 8th, albeit slightly ahead of Audi in 24th place. Mind you, it was the previous generation E-Class that was included in this survey, as it consider cars up to five years old, so this new generation E-Class could fair a lot better.

You get a three year, unlimited mileage warranty on the Mercedes E-Class, while the plug-in hybrid cars have an eight year, 100,000 mile warranty on the battery system. This is pretty standard for this class of car.