The E-Class has distinct rivals in the 5 Series BMW and the Audi A6, writes Brian Byrne, but keeps a little apart from them by maintaining a luxury rather than a sporting market position.It's one that holds its aspiration ethos too, with used ones very much sought after by a variety of second owners from taxi drivers to middle management to families.
The current one is technically the fourth generation of what most people view as the 'real' E-Class. Although it has got sleeker over the decades, it has retained elemental cues, like the four headlamps setup. It was first launched in 2009, and was recently refreshed with a more precocious front end treatment.
My stint for this review was in a pre-refresh version, but particular because it has a diesel hybrid powertrain, and in that respect there's been no change.
It's a measure of how the hybrid idea has percolated through the whole motor industry and into mainstream models of the major carmakers that no particular fuss is made any more. It's simply another powertrain variant. In this case, badged the E300, it is a 2.1 diesel four with electric motor and battery, providing a variety of individual and combined modes depending on where and how one is driving. It works seamlessly, and if it wasn't for the option of turning on the energy stream graphics, you wouldn't be aware of what's going on at any given time.
Not that you'd even want to as the care lopes lazily along, gobbling kilometres on the distance with the ease of a seasoned oyster-lover at Morans of the Weir outside Galway. Comfort is the key for the mid-range Benz, and the E300 offers it in every way possible. The three-pointed star standing proudly off the front of the bonnet a visual reminder of just what you're being wafted in.
Sure, you can go from waft to warp if you want. This baby might be big, but a 7.8-seconds shift from standstill to 100km/h is easily accomplished, and without a hint of sound and fury ... though it might dent the thrift in the fuel consumption. On that, M-B have managed to achieve a 111g/km CO2 emissions figure, with an official 4.3L/100km consumption. My real world average over the week was closer to 5L/100km, but still a very creditable performance for a big car in the higher 50s in MPG terms. From swish to swoosh is accomplished with the help of a thumping 500Nm of torque, available from a mere 1,600 revs and managed by a 7-speed autobox.
The review car came with a great deal of spec apart from the powertrain. The trim level was Avantgarde, and included a very nice beige leather seats and trim with walnut inserts where appropriate. The suspension is adjustable from comfort through sport, Bluetooth and audio streaming are part of the package, and the only extra was a €1,605 metallic paint job.
The E300 as tested will pull more than €58,000 from your bank account. That's around €11,000 more than you'd pay for an E200 Avantgarde automatic. But the hybrid will save you €70 a year in road tax ...
