Category: Executive 
Price Range: £29,324 to £68,409
Comfortable, economical, smooth auto box, compliant ride, roomy loading area, practical.
Some plastics feel a little cheap, diesel can get noisy when pushed.
Decent running costs and load-lugging abilities make the E-Class Estate the perfect executive/family car.
The E-Class Estate is the latest in a trio impressive mid-range Mercedes aimed at the middle-management business execs.
At least that's the target audience, with the saloon for the 'traditional, no-nonsense exec', the coupe for the 'thrusting, go-getting exec' and the Estate for the 'family man exec'.
The E-Class Estate is the model that seems to cover all the bases. It's probably the best-looking of them all (the E-Class design seems to lend itself well to the touring model), it's got plenty of loadspace and with a target market likely to be a golf-playing father-of-two it's pretty much hit the bullseye.
Prices haven't been announced yet but Estate buyers will probably have to pay a £2,000 premium over the saloon. Expect to pay between £32k for the entry-level E200 CDI, around £50k for the E500 and then just over £70k for the E63 AMG version.
There's a raft of models, but the biggest seller is likely to be the diesel-powered E220 CDI. Petrol versions will be a minority sport and the bonkers AMG will be for Merc enthusiasts only.
But does this standard E-Class represent a sensible buy? Read on to find out.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes E-Class Estate
wrote on 05 10 2007