Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2009-2016 review

From £28,3608

The E-Class is a refined and relaxing return to old Mercedes qualities

Matt Burt
by Matt Burt
19 November 2013

Has there ever been a car offered for sale with a broader remit than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class?

We’re not just saying this because the car is offered for sale as a saloon, estate, coupe and cabriolet, for there are many others you can buy in just as wide a number of configurations.

Most buyers opt for diesel E-Classes, but petrol versions bear some consideration if you're doing a sensible annual mileage
Matt Burt
Executive Editor, Autocar

But we know of no other car that can claim on the one hand to be a supercar with more power than a standard SLS, on another the most capacious estate money can currently buy and, on a third, far and away Germany’s most popular taxi. If versatility alone decided such things, the E-Class would be the class leader at a canter.

Its competition, however, is stronger than ever: the BMW 5 Series is an ever-present threat while the Jaguar XF is always going to attract the eye of aesthetes and enthusiasts alike. Even the Audi A6, the one car in the class you could once always have counted upon to fail to beat the best is now a formidably able contender.

Now comfortably past its mid-life facelift, the current generation of E-Class comes with a rationalised range, though to see how much choice remains available it may be hard to believe it.

However ninety per cent of E-Classes sold in Britain are powered by diesel and here the choice is between two standard 2.2-litre four cylinder engines producing 168 and 201bhp respectively, a diesel hybrid based on the same unit with 228bhp or a V6 3-litre diesel offering 249bhp and only a fraction less torque than that aforementioned SLS.

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For those not yet persuaded by the black pump you can either have a 2-litre petrol engine with either 181bhp or 208bhp or a 5.5-litre twin turbo V8 in the AMG developing 549bhp in standard trim and that SLS-busting 577bhp for the ‘S’ model. Between these poles there is no middle ground.

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Mercedes-Benz E-Class news

Mercedes E Class spies front lead
Next-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class to arrive in 2023
Next-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class to arrive in 2023
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Nearly new buying guide: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé
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Buy them before we do: second hand picks for 22 October
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Not only is the E-Class stunningly handsome, it is tech-heavy and has a refined drivetrain
Nearly new buying guide: Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Nearly new buying guide: Mercedes-Benz E-Class

DESIGN & STYLING

Mercedes-Benz E-Class side profile
The E-Class is surprisingly aerodynamic, which contributes towards good performance and efficiency

By far the most controversial aspect of the E-Class’s design was its styling when it was introduced back in 2009 as the W212. The angular twin front headlights in particular were singled out for criticism. So when its mid-life refresh appeared there was no great surprise to notice the car looked radically different.

Of course it’s not practical to completely restyle a car half way through its product cycle but the E-Class is here to show you don’t need new doors, bonnets or roofs to comprehensively alter a car’s appearance.

AMG variants feature more aggressive styling to differentiate them from more conventional models
Matt Burt
Executive Editor, Autocar

By reverting to single lamps, designing a sharper bumper and replacing the old multi-element traditional Mercedes grille with a simple twin strut design an effect that is both dramatic and for the better has been achieved.

The result is still not a gorgeous car in quite the same way as an A6, but its attractive enough and certainly no longer provides an active reason not to consider an E-Class. Saloons and estates also get a mildly reprofiled rear end with new light clusters too. Inside all Es the differences between pre and post facelift cars are too small to delay us further here.

It's still a very traditional looking Mercedes, perhaps the most traditional of all now the Mercedes-Benz S-Class looks a little more funky than once it did. It sits on an uncommonly long wheelbase with a long rear overhang that turns into a vast cavern when estate bodywork is fitted.

For all its refreshed appearance, this is not a Mercedes for the avant garde, which is perhaps one reason why they dropped that title from the trim level. Indeed such is the range rationalisation that’s gone on, engines aside the only choice is between a base SE version and a more sporting looking AMG Sport on bigger 19in wheels.

Unless, that is, you’re after the real AMG that is…

INTERIOR

Mercedes-Benz E-Class dashboard
For a simple, attractive and functional interior the E-Class will not disappoint

In a car such as this you’re looking for and entitled to expect a persuasive blend of both quality and quantity. And the E-Class delivers both.

While some rivals focus providing an interior that reflects the sporting image of the car or the owner’s fashion sense, Mercedes has instead plumped simply for one that works.

Whether you choose a saloon, estate, coupé or convertible model, the boot matches or betters most rivals in the luggage capacity stakes
Matt Burt
Executive Editor, Autocar

There is an immense sense of solidity to the structure, build standards now finally feeling commensurate with those of the gloriously over-engineered W124-generation of the late 1980s and early ‘90s. It feels like a Mercedes should.

Inside while the dash is gently sculpted and while every finisher that looks like metal really is metal, the cabin doesn’t have that sense of being overtly styled in quite the same way as you’d find in Jaguar XF or Audi A6.

It may be hot on its heels, but here form continues to follow function. The dials are easy to read, the ventilation brilliantly good at directing gusts of hot or cool air at your face and feet. The sense is of a company trying to make a car that’s as easy to live with as it is good to drive.

Even so the COMAND infotainment system which was world class when introduced into the previous generation S-Class back in 2005 is now merely very good and has been eclipsed by, in particular, the most up to date iteration of BMW’s iDrive controller.

Where the E-Class is beaten by no other car in the class is the generosity of the interior space. Any executive saloon or estate should be expected to carry five adults in comfort (though they’ll struggle in an XF) but the E-Class goes further: there’s not just lashings of head and leg room in the back, there’s also uncommonly long seat runners in the front, meaning even the freakishly tall will be able to get comfortable behind the wheel with ease, particularly as the steering column has a commensurately long reach extension too.

Boot space is class leading for the saloon too, so long as you don’t specify either the 3-litre diesel or the hybrid, both of which lose carrying capacity to fit an 80 litre fuel tank and battery pack respectively.

As for the estate, its 1950 litre total load capacity is not just the class best, it’s more than any other estate on sale, more closely rivalled by the Skoda Superb estate than any BMW, Audi or Jaguar.

It’s also big enough for two rearward facing seats to be fitted, along with an additional crash structure, making the E-class the only seven seat estate in the class, although thanks to its massive exhausts, this option is not available on the AMG model.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Mercedes-Benz E-Class front quarter
Refinement levels depend very much on how you drive the E-Class

If a 0-62mph time of 8.8sec is acceptable to you, the news is good. That’s the time for an E 220 CDI estate and the slowest of any E-Class on sale. An E 250 CDI saloon needs just 7.5sec, as does the hybrid while the E 350 CDI knocks that figure back to 6.6sec.

If you want to go faster than that, it’s to the AMG you must look, which needs either 4.3 or 4.2sec depending on whether it has the ‘S’ specification engine or not. Bear in mind this is achieved without four-wheel drive: in America where four driveshafts are standard, the E 63 S hits 60mph in a faintly bewildering 3.6sec.

There's something to suit most tastes here, from frugal diesel models to high-performance twin-turbocharged V8 variants
Jim Holder
Editorial director

Experience suggests that shopping at the performance poles is probably the best idea: the standard petrol engines will always be a minority interest on a continent where over 90 per cent of sales of such cars are diesel. Likewise the 3-litre diesel, while tempting, will in the real world really hit your pocket hard at refuelling time.

So it’s the little diesels to which most will turn and quite correctly. Remember the base E 220 diesel is now the only E-Class available with a manual transmission – all the others get Mercedes’ own seven speed auto, which is not and never has been as smooth or intuitive as the ZF eight speeder used by most rivals.

And while Mercedes’ four cylinder diesel is rather gruff in lesser cars, it responds beautifully to being installed in an E-class where it is sufficiently smooth and quiet not to puncture the picture of serenity Mercedes has so carefully constructed for this car.

Of the two we’d choose the more powerful E 250 CDI motor because the additional performance is notable and welcome in a 1775kg car and the penalty at the pumps not as great as you might expect.

As for the 5.5-litre twin turbo AMGs, if you can find the extra to get the ‘S’ you should on the basis that even more of a good thing can often prove wonderful. It does here: this is a mighty motor, sweeter, more powerful and with a better spread of torque than the smaller, less powerful engines used by the BMW M5 and Audi RS6.

Bear in mind too that while the BMW (and Jaguar XFR-S) is available only as a saloon and the RS6 just as an estate, Mercedes will build you an E 63 with either four or five doors.

RIDE & HANDLING

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé rear cornering
The E-Class drives in a deft, easily controlled fashion

Ride quality is an Mercedes E-Class hallmark and even the worst of them all – an E 63 in sport mode – is still a perfectly comfortable car. But depending on your wheel and tyre choices and whether you option in air suspension, your E-Class will come with ride quality that starts at exceptional and extends all the way to the truly extraordinary.

A base model E-Class on steel springs glides like few other cars in the world. It’s soft but deftly controlled, sponging away all manner of everyday lumps and bumps but never resorting lurching or wallowing over long wave undulations.

Models fitted with air suspension are very comfortable and don't suffer from compromised dynamic qualities
Nic Cackett
Road tester

Estates are even better because all of them have air-sprung self levelling rear suspension as standard. But it’s only when you drive a car with bags of air at each corner that you realise just what can be achieved – namely a level of comfort you’d need a brand new S-Class or a Rolls-Royce to significantly trump.

There is a pay off in the way the E-Class handles. With its long wheelbase and relatively soft suspension, there is a stateliness to the way it gets down the road you’re unlikely ever to confuse with agility.

Slow corners tackled with excess enthusiasm will result in an early cessation of play as the electronic stability systems call time on such behaviour, but with precise and sensibly geared steering quicker curves are much more proficiently dispatched.

Predictably enough these comments don’t really apply to the AMG versions, which will be anything between awesomely capable and splendidly nutty depending on how you choose to drive them.

They put you in closer touch with conditions underfoot than either the Audi or BMW and should you find the time and space to safely disengage the safety nets, they’re more fun and predictable to hoof around on the throttle too.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Mercedes-Benz E-Class
The E-class more than lives up to traditional Mercedes values

It’s up to you really. If you believe the official figures, an AMG will do 28.5mpg, a hybrid 68.9mpg.

Of course neither stand bears much semblance to reality except in a comparative sense: whatever the actual numbers it probably is true that the AMG will drink around 2.5 times more fuel on any given journey.

Mercedes E-Class prices and running costs, for the most part, aren’t as prohibitive as they once were
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

In reality it would be fair to expect something near 50mpg for one of the small diesels in mixed gentle driving and around 40mpg for the four cylinder petrol models and six diesels in similar circumstances.

Bear in mind too that not all Mercedes E-Classes have the vast 80 litre tank as standard so if you want a 600 plus mile range from a little diesel engine, you’ll need to option it in.

As for the AMGs, expect an mpg figure in the early to mid 20s and you’ll probably not be too disappointed so long as you don’t regularly make full use of the engine’s potential. If you do, 15mpg becomes a terrifyingly easy place to reach.

VERDICT

4 star Mercedes-Benz E-Class
The E-Class is a deceptively easily car to live with

Whichever Mercedes E-Class you buy, you’re buying into a way of thinking unlike any other in the class.

Its rivals might obsess about image and what customers might think their cars say about them, but Mercedes has more meaty matters on its mind.

The E-Class majors on comfort, quality and space – exactly what a good Mercedes-Benz should
Steve Cropley
Editor-in-chief

So it’s true the E-Class won’t turn heads like an A6 or spark envy like a 5 Series. Indeed it’s entirely possible it’ll say things about you that you may not appreciate. The E-Class has never been a car to which hot shots aspire and that remains the case today.

But what if you don’t care about all of that? What if what really matters to you is that you drive a car of real quality and engineering integrity? What if it matters more to you that your car is quiet and comfortable for your entire family than it’s ability to make the neighbours turn green with envy? That is the Mercedes E-Class’s pitch and it’s a convincing one.

You’ll never see the E-Class at its best on a round the block test drive, but live with one for a few days and see how well it slips unobtrusively into your life and you might well end up feeling you’d not mind if it hung around for a few months. Or years.

AMGs aside - and their appeal derives from simply being the best supersaloons and estates on sale - the E-Class is not a car that likes to shout and scream its credentials. It would much prefer merely to get on with the job quietly and capably. And that is a task to which it is near perfectly suited.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2009-2016 First drives

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