Make no bones about it – the Mercedes E-Class Estate is a big car. It’s longer than many SUVs, even seven-seat ones, but while that means finding a parking space is a little more difficult it does marvellous things for interior space.
That parking problem is aided as well with cameras and sensors all round plus the option to allow the car to park itself.
Passengers in the E-Class’ back seats will enjoy loads of legroom and headroom – there’s space to stretch out, and even more height than in the saloon model thanks to the less sloping roofline. There’s also plenty of width – meaning you can carry three adults abreast without too many complaints. Well, apart from the large transmission tunnel centre passengers have to straddle
If you’re travelling with two, though, they’ll sit in sumptuous comfort with a wide, sturdy armrest between them. Passengers in the rear also enjoy their own distinct air-conditioning controls and large windows giving a great view out.
Storage for odds and ends is decent, too, with a large cubby under the central armrest and good-sized glovebox. The lidded storage bin underneath the climate controls houses a wireless charging pad and USB connections for your phone or other gadgets.
Boot
The E-Class Estate’s boot is simply vast.
With 640 litres on offer with the seats in place, it’s rivalled only by the 660-litre Skoda Superb and truly huge SUVs or vans. More important rivals that it treads all over are the 560-litre BMW 5 Series Touring, the 565-litre Audi A6 Avant and 560-litre Volvo V90. To put it simply, whether you’re heading to the flat-pack furniture store, moving house, or simply transporting a couple of Labradors, the E-Class is likely to have more boot space than you’ll ever need.
Fold the seats down and the story is even more impressive, with 1,820 litres of space across a totally flat floor. The exception to this is the plug-in hybrid E300de which has a large battery pack slap bang in the middle of the floor. It makes it trickier to load long items and reduces capacity to 480 litres with the seats up or 1660 with them folded.
Mercedes no longer offers a pair of rear-facing child seats in the boot, but this does mean you get a large underfloor storage compartment instead. Swings and roundabouts…
When it comes to folding down the second row, there are switches on the seats themselves as well as in the boot. The seats fold 40:20:40, allowing for longer items to be pushed in between two rear passengers – very handy. They fold totally flush to the floor, too, while the parcel shelf rises out of the way with the tailgate to make loading a cinch.
Safety
Packed with active kit
Five-star Euro NCAP rating
Systems all work very smoothly
The E-Class Estate was rated five stars by Euro NCAP back in 2016, and with the 2020 facelift Mercedes included even more equipment to ensure it’s as safe as can be.
All-round LED lighting comes as standard, as does autonomous emergency braking capable of spotting cars, cyclists and pedestrians.
Opt for the Advanced Driving Assistance pack and you’ll find a whole raft of semi-autonomous systems aimed at making long drivers as safe and comfortable as possible. The E-Class Estate can use data from the sat-nav and road signs to set its own active speed limit, for example, while the adaptive cruise control can use live traffic data to detect a jam and slow down in anticipation. Once in traffic, it’ll drive itself at speeds of up to 37mph.
A new capacitive steering wheel has been installed, too, which detects touch rather than pressure. This means drivers won’t need to wiggle the wheel to reassure the car they’re still there – they can simply rest their hands on it.
Better yet, all of these systems work really smoothly, meaning you’re much more likely to actually use them than some rival’s setups.
Mercedes has also gone one step further with its blind-spot monitoring system. It now remains active even when the car is turned off, warning you of anything that may be coming up behind – this ought to help prevent exiting occupants from ‘dooring’ passing pedestrians or cyclists.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Audio remote
Driver`s airbag
Front electric windows
Heated seats
Isofix child seat anchor points
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
Sports seats
AMG equipment
AMG standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cruise control
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG optional equipment
Body coloured bumpers
Central locking
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Remote locking
AMG Line equipment
AMG Line standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
AMG Line optional equipment
Body coloured bumpers
Central locking
Climate control
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
AMG Line Edition equipment
AMG Line Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
AMG Line Edition optional equipment
Body coloured bumpers
Climate control
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
AMG Line Night Edition equipment
AMG Line Night Edition standard equipment
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
AMG Line Night Edition optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Climate control
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
Partial leather seat trim
AMG Night Edition equipment
AMG Night Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG Night Edition optional equipment
None available
AMG S equipment
AMG S standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG S optional equipment
None available
AMG S Edition 1 equipment
AMG S Edition 1 standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
Remote locking
Sports seats
AMG S Edition 1 optional equipment
Central locking
Height adjustable drivers seat
AMG S Night Edition equipment
AMG S Night Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG S Night Edition optional equipment
None available
SE equipment
SE standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
SE optional equipment
Central locking
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Remote locking
Sport equipment
Sport standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Sport optional equipment
None available
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate was tested by Euro NCAP in 2016 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.