Item: Used Mercedes E-Class Estate 2016-present
Rating: 5
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/5-series/estate/used-review/n778">BMW 5 Series Touring</a> sets the standards for driving pleasure in this class. It’s great to drive, with fine handling and a range of strong and efficient engines. On top of that, it’s comfortable and spacious and offers outstanding refinement.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/v90/estate/used-review/n841">Volvo V90</a> is the firm’s best estate to date. It’s spacious, practical and classy inside, with lots of kit. On the minus side the boot is not as large as some of its rivals, including the E-Class, and it’s not as good to drive as the BMW.

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If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/mercedes-benz/e-class">used E-Class</a>, or any of the other estate&nbsp;cars&nbsp;mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

<h3>The engine may lose power</h3>

Due to an engine management software issue, examples built from the start of production to 31 May 2016 could lose power without warning and coast to a halt. Find out from your Mercedes dealer if yours is affected because it'll need to have an update performed to prevent this from happening.

<h3>Vehicle may cut out</h3>

This recall is different from the previously mentioned one and involves an issue where the rear seat bench affects the electrical wiring for the fuel pump that lives under the back seats. This means that the fuel supply can be cut to the engine and cause it to stall. It affects E-Class' manufactured from the start of production until 31 August 2016.

The current version of the E-Class didn’t perform as well as the older one, believe it or&nbsp;not. It still managed to get a decent score of 93.7%, though and finished in fourth place out of 10 cars in the luxury saloon class.

Mercedes&nbsp;as a brand finished a disappointing 26th out of 31&nbsp;manufacturers in the same survey.

If you'd like to see the full reliability list, head to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2020-what-car-reliability-survey/n20042">What Car? Reliability Survey</a> pages for more information.

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<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

Estate

Mercedes’ line-up is vast – ranging from the A-Class family hatchback through to staple saloons such as the C-Class and E-Class, and onwards towards multiple SUVs, luxury saloons and even sports cars. Coupés and convertibles are thrown into the mix as well.

As one of the ‘big three’ German brands, Mercedes most often finds itself competing with Audi and BMW but more recently has found itself fending off Jaguar and Volvo, too.

Mercedes models are known for comfort. One example of this is the E-Class, because while the Audi A6 has a plusher interior and the BMW 5 Series handles better, the E-Class is probably the most comfortable for a long motorway journey.

MERCEDES-BENZ

E CLASS

The E-Class Estate blends a capacious interior and a huge boot with a comfortable ride. It's a terrific used buy, too

Used Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate 2016-present

The most economical engines are the diesels, not surprisingly, with the entry-level E 200d and E 220d averaging a claimed 67.3mpg under the older NEDC&nbsp;tests.

Under the later and more realistic WLTP tests the 2020 E220d records 50.4mpg, the E200 petrol 37.2mpg, the E300de diesel/electric plug-in 217.3mpg, the E400d 40.9mpg, the E53 29.7mpg, the E63 S 22.8mpg,&nbsp;

<h3>Car tax</h3>

Tax for all cars registered after April 2017 will be at the flat rate, and there's currently a small&nbsp;saving on that for the hybrid, but any models costing over £40,000 will attract a supplementary charge that's&nbsp;payable for five years from the car's second year. The current flat rate is £150 a year for the annual VED tax and £325 a year for the supplementary tax. You can find out more about <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">road tax costs here</a>.

<h3>Servicing</h3>

Servicing costs will be high, but Mercedes&nbsp;offers a number of servicing plans to help spread the cost via direct debit. It'll still be pricier than comparative servicing costs from <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/audi">Audi</a> or <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/bmw">BMW</a>.

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<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

Used Mercedes E-Class Estate 2016-present

The E-Class Estate blends a capacious interior and a huge boot with a comfortable ride. It's a terrific used buy, too

You’ll need to think around £17,000 as a starting point to buy an E-Class Estate of this generation, this for a late 2016 or early 2017 car with an average mileage for the year and a full service history to support it. Considering the amount of car you get for your money, and its obvious quality, this seems like a very good deal indeed. Spend between £18,000 and £25,000 and you’ll step into a good 2018 or 2019&nbsp;car with all the same criteria. Look to spend between £25,000 and £30,000 on higher-trim 2019 cars or lower-trim 2020 models.&nbsp;

Check the value of a used Mercedes E-Class with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/car-valuation/">What Car? Valuations</a>

For most buyers the 192bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel in the E 220 d will be the default choice, and it's our pick of the range, too. Why? Well it’s pretty punchy once you get above 1500rpm, enough that it’ll match a BMW 520d Touring and Volvo V90 in whisking you up to 70mph with relative ease, then settle itself into an effortless cruise. A lower-power 148bhp E 200 d is also available, but it’s slower with no benefit in emissions or economy, hence why we’d seek out the E 220 d instead.

If you fancy something silkier in an E-Class you need to move up to the six-cylinder E 350 d. This is a super-refined engine and pretty quick too - enough that it’ll breeze you past slower traffic - but the trade-off is it’s quite pricey to buy and run.

In terms of the trim, stick with the entry-level SE version. It comes with enough goodies to make life easy, such as power-folding door mirrors, parking sensors and a rear-view camera, with some agreeable luxuries too, including heated seats and leather trim.

AMG Line models are less easy to justify. The styling upgrades, including 19in wheels and sports suspension harm the ride and, oddly, man-made leather replaces the real cowhide you get in the SE.

Check out the Premium package option if you want more toys, which adds keyless entry, fully electrically operated front seats with lumbar support and memory settings, and a panoramic roof. A pricier Premium Plus package adds a 13-speaker sound system and adaptive LED headlights.

Our favourite Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate: E 220d SE

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Huge boot and excellent practicality</li> <li>Plenty of interior space so you can carry passengers as well as luggage </li> <li>Strong engines to pull a heavily laden car</li> <li>Comfortable ride, especially on the motorway</li> <li>Low running costs for company car drivers</li></ul>

If you’re after bags of space but you don’t want to commit to the van-like dimensions and styling of an MPV, there are some great estate cars on offer that should do the job.

Tricks to look out for include an electric tailgate&nbsp;that opens automatically when you wave your foot under the rear bumper; this is&nbsp;particularly handy if you’re trying to load in a heavy or&nbsp;bulky item. You should also look for handles in the side of the boot itself that can drop down the rear seats; these are much more convenient than having to walk around the side of the car to do it.

There are some terrific estates at most price ranges. The humble Skoda Fabia Estate offers cavernous space for not much cash at all, for example.

Further up the price range, another of our perennial favourites is the Skoda Superb Estate;&nbsp;it’s great to drive and as practical as most people should ever need. Meanwhile, for serious mile-munching ability and a premium, well-finished interior, it’s hard to look beyond the BMW 5 Series Touring.

Check the bodywork front and rear for any scuffs picked up in supermarket car parks, and the alloy wheels for damage. Also check the operation of the electric rear tailgate.

The rise of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/luxury-suv">luxury SUV</a> might continue apace, but there’s plenty of life left in the old-fashioned concept of a good <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/estate">estate car </a>based on a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/luxury">luxury&nbsp;saloon</a>.

Of these, the Mercedes&nbsp;E-Class Estate is one of the most long-lived and the most impressive. As with all the previous incarnations, this latest one blends a capacious interior with elegant styling and a comfortable ride, and it offers a degree of competence about the way it drives that the taller SUVs struggle to match.

As far as engines go, there are three diesel options: two different versions of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit, and a quicker V6 unit. All of these do a good job of punching the E-Class through the air at a good lick, while offering reasonable economy. Petrol engines can be found in the four-wheel drive E 43 and E 63 super-sporting models, and these are wonderfully responsive but not for the faint-hearted or those without deep pockets.

The E-Class rides well, too, even better on its optional air suspension, and its handling is tidy. There is a little shake and shimmy from the standard steel-sprung cars over rougher roads at lower speeds, but it’s not enough to distract from the general comfort of the car.

However, where the E-Class really scores is its high-speed refinement. Having nine gears in its automatic gearbox – most of its rivals have ‘only’ eight – means at 70mph the engine ticks away quietly, while wind noise is well suppressed. Only a bit of rumble from the tyres stops it beating the peace and quiet served up by a BMW 5 Series at cruising speeds.

Inside is a spacious interior of rare class, with a distinctive dashboard and plenty of adjustability in the driving position. There’s a neat rotary controller for the infotainment system, too, and all the materials and plastics look and feel of a good quality. Its raison d’etre is the boot, though, which has masses of room with the rear seats up and a phenomenal amount with them down. You can even specify two optional pull-up seats in the boot to turn your E-Class into an SUV-busting seven-seater.

In 2020 the E-Class Estate was treated to a substantial facelift. The newer models consisted of an E220d, E200, E300de, E400d, E53 and E63 S.&nbsp;

If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/mercedes-benz/e-class">used E-Class</a>, or any of the other estate&nbsp;cars&nbsp;mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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Used Mercedes E-Class Estate 2016-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Mercedes E-Class estate?