Category: Executive 
Price Range: £29,324 to £68,409
Refined, quick and prestigious; excellent new diesels; relatively low fuel consumption and emissions.
Rather conservative, not a sporting drive.
The consummate executive all-rounder, now more fuel-efficient and better value for money.
There's more than a hint of Maybach in the new E-Class saloon. Its front-end design, side three-quarter profile and imposing presence all remind us of Mercedes' top-line limo.
Furthermore, the executive-class E comes well-equipped, engineered for excellent ride comfort and refinement, as well as for effortless long-distance progress - just like the Maybach.
Yet the W212-series E-Class is more affordable and better value-for-money than ever: a series of powerful new four-cylinder engines deliver big improvements in fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions without sacrificing performance, and equipment levels are ever-higher.
On sale in the UK from June 2009, first models on offer are the E220 CDI (170bhp), E250 CDI (204bhp) and E350 CDI (231bhp) diesels and the E350 CGI (292bhp) and E500 (292bhp) petrols. E200 CDI (136bhp), petrol E200 CGI (184bhp) and E250 CGI (204bhp) follow in September, with E63 AMG (525bhp) at the end of the year or early 2010.
UK pricing starts from £28,865 (E220 CDI SE) at launch, with cheaper E200 CDI and E200 CGI to bring the entry-level price down further later in the year. Specification levels are SE, Avantgarde and Sport.
The W212-series estate makes its debut in the autumn, with UK sales early 2010; the E-Class Coupe (replacing the current CLK) also goes on sale this summer, and its canvas-hooded convertible counterpart arrives next year.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes E-Class Estate
wrote on 05 10 2007