The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon is 43mm longer than its predecessor and there’s an extra 65mm between front and rear wheels.
That means cabin space is extended, which in turn means more room all around. The rear seats are a welcoming, even for taller adults, although very tall passengers will want to avoid the centre seat due to the high transmission tunnel running through the footwell, while the countoured seat base means they’ll have a narrower cushion to perch on.
There’s otherwise plenty of legroom, if little space for feet beneath the front seats, and a generous amount of headroom even when the optional panoramic roof is fitted.
Storage space
In terms of storage, those sat in the rear have map pockets on the front seat backs, door bins and a fold-down centre armrest providing two pop-out cupholders and a lined cubby box. You also get two USB-C points and a 12v power socket.
Up front, you get a lidded centre stowage box containing USB ports that also acts as an armrest, with a further USB-C port and wireless phone charging tray ahead of the infotainment touch sensor pad. You’ll also find a pair of cupholders here, with bigger ones in the door bins.
Boot space
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon has become a bit of a big boot champion (particularly in estate form) so there’s no surprise with this model’s capacity – 540 litres.
Teamed with a wide and square opening this makes the E-Class a very practical car and the perfect companion for weekends away or trips to the golf course.
There is a penalty of around 140 litres of space for picking either of the hybrid versions because their batteries are located under the boot floor, and take up a fair bit of space. They take the form of an annoying hump in the load floor, which limits loading height through the aperture created by the fold-down rear seats.
The E-Class hides its size well thanks to its sweeping lines but it’s still pushing five metres in length, which means some parking spaces may feel a little short. Still, it’s easy to see out of and manoeuvre so providing you’ve got the room, it’ll be a doddle to park.
Front and rear parking sensors, along with a rear view camera does come as standard on all models, while higher-spec trim levels come with a full 360-degree one instead.
A very clever optional feature that dramatically boosts this car’s practicality is the Remote Parking Pilot, which can get cars into and out of parking spaces remotely via a smartphone application. That means you can squeeze the car into spots without worrying about having to get in and out of the doors, making smaller spaces a possibility.
Safety
Mercedes-Benz E-Class has a five star Euro NCAP rating
Loads of standard safety kit plus options to choose from
Space age tech mean the E-Class is almost autonomous
Safety is a cornerstone of the Mercedes-Benz brand, so it’ll come as no surprise to find the E-Class Saloon packed to the gunnels with kit to keep you, your passengers, pedestrians and other road users safe – as well as a coveted five-star Euro NCAP rating.
You’ve got airbags all around the cabin, a bonnet that rises in the event of a pedestrian collision, a fatigue detection system, cruise control, tyre-pressure monitoring and collision assistance features such as brake preparation if an impact is detected.
There are two Isofix points on the Mercedes E-Class, found on the two outer rear seats.
Another interesting system is Pre-safe Sound, which plays a frequency through the speaker system to prevent damage to ears in the event of an accident.
Optional E-Class Saloon safety kit
This is where the real technological wizardry comes in. There’s a huge amount of additional equipment you can pack onto your E-Class to improve safety.
You can have the Lane Tracking Package, which includes a blindspot assist system (warns of vehicles in your blindspot) and an active lane-keeping assist system that’ll steer you back into your lane if the car thinks you’re drifting out.
The Driving Assistance Plus pack is probably the biggest news here. It features a raft of features that come together to effectively make semi-autonomous driving possible.
This means automatic emergency braking along with evasive steering assist – a feature that’ll help the driver steer the car away from objects in dangerous situations. There’s even a system for moving front-seat occupants away from the sides of the car in the event of an accident.
Higher spec models also come with a built-in dashcam, recording in 720p resolution.
All models come with LED headlamps, which we found to provide strong and consistent lighting in its dipped setting, illuminating a wide area of road ahead of you, even if they don’t illuminate that far into the distance. Switch to full beam, however, and this is one of the best systems we’ve tested.
We found the adaptive cruise control to be relaxing to use as well, responding well to slow traffic. However the minimal distance setting still leaves enough space between you and the car ahead for other drivers to move in and cut you up, which can lead to the sudden application of the brakes.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon.
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
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
Roof rails
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
Roof rails
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
Roof rails
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 Line Premium equipment
AMG Line Premium 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
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
Roof rails
AMG Line Premium optional equipment
None available
AMG Line Premium Plus equipment
AMG Line Premium Plus 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
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
Roof rails
AMG Line Premium Plus optional equipment
None available
AMG Night Edition equipment
AMG Night Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG Night Edition optional equipment
Cruise control
AMG S equipment
AMG S standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric mirrors
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated mirrors
Lumbar support
Sports seats
AMG S optional equipment
Body coloured bumpers
Central locking
Electric sunroof
Remote locking
Roof rails
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
Roof rails
Sports seats
AMG S Edition 1 optional equipment
Central locking
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
Roof rails
SE Premium equipment
SE Premium 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
Roof rails
SE Premium optional equipment
None available
SE Premium Plus equipment
SE Premium Plus 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
Roof rails
SE Premium Plus optional equipment
None available
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 Saloon 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.