Mercedes-Benz E-Class (2009-) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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The E-Class suffers from a certain amount of wind noise at speed, and tyre noise from the larger wheel/thinner rubber combinations, but this is really only discernable because the engines are so quiet. Even the air conditioning and fans are louder than the diesels in action.

The stiffer suspension will obviously give a firmer and less forgiving ride, as will options such as super-sized AMG alloys, but the chassis allows for an excellent ride and insulates all occupants from the harsh and bumpy realities of the outside world. The E-Class will make a superb long-distance machine, arguably less tiring to drive all day than a more demanding Audi A6 or BMW 5-Series.

The seats are well-shaped - though manual backwards/forwards adjustment is a bit cheap in cars which otherwise have power-adjustable seat-backs - and the leather upholstery is superb quality. The cheaper 'Artico' fake leather looks good, too. We're not keen on the 'multicontour' massaging seats, however, which are irritating once the novelty of the vibrating bolstering wears off. The optional wood trims are much-improved.

Headroom in the rear seats is good, though there's not quite as much rear legroom in the back as the car's dimensions would suggest - this isn't quite Maybach-class. The boot isn't that deep, either, though it's long and wide. The lines of E-Class taxis waiting at every German airport say a lot about the car: not only is it dependable, drivers are happy to spend their working day in it.

Equipment levels for the UK are SE (developed with fleet and business-car customers in mind), more sumptuous Avantgarde and Sport, the latter including AMG body kits, AMG wheels and sports suspension.