Mercedes-Benz E-Class boot space, practicality and safety

• Capable five seater with space for tall adults
• Massive boot to stash luggage in as well
• Futuristic remote parking is a great gadget 

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.

Enlarge1videoEnlarge132photo

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. 

Enlarge1videoEnlarge132photo

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.

Enlarge1videoEnlarge132photo

How big is it?

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.

Enlarge1videoEnlarge132photo

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.