Mercedes E-Class Estate long-term test: report 3
The Mercedes E-Class makes for an exceptionally comfortable cruiser, but can those credentials be boosted with its unconventional diesel-hybrid set up? We're running one to find out...
The car Mercedes E300de Urban Edition Estate Run by Stuart Milne, digital editor
Why it’s here Diesel plug-in hybrids are few and far between, so we’re seeing whether the combination of long-legged diesel economy and PHEV smoothness delivers
Needs to provide a comfortable, upmarket experience for a family in need of space – with stellar fuel economy
Miles covered 5702 Price £69,970 Target price £69,970 Price as tested £69,970 Official economy 166.2mpg Test economy 90.1mpg
3 September 2025 – Carry on camping
A couple of times a year, the Milne family trades a warm, suburban house, with hot and cold running water and comfortable beds for being nibbled by gnats in a field and sleeping on a self-inflating mattress that gives a wafer-thin layer of protection from the divots and stones beneath.
Yet despite this, we enjoy being out in the (sometimes very) fresh air, away from the stresses and strains of daily life. And for these excursions under canvas, my Mercedes E300de Estate has proved to be a great partner.
First, it has seats which are the perfect antidote to any backache caused by an uncomfortable sleeping position. Even after a recent hellish six-hour drive home from work on the M25, I arrived feeling fit as a fiddle. So, a holiday jaunt poses no problems at all.
There haven’t been any complaints from my wife or kids, either. And despite spending a fraction of the time on the road that I do, they are often a car’s harshest critics.
It’s also worth noting that our trips sometimes take us to far-flung parts of the country, where mobile phone reception is patchy at best. Now, as a fully paid-up member of the Apple CarPlay fan club, this fills me with dread, because it means I have to ditch Google Maps for the car’s own native sat-nav – which is almost always worse. But the E-Class’s is an exception; it’s clear, quick and – because it’s also powered by Google – delivers useful real-time traffic information.
Crucially, though, it appears to be impervious to mobile black-spots. And I really like that it can beam its maps to the instrument display, which more than makes up for the lack of a head-up display which I enjoyed so much in my previous car, an Audi Q6 e-tron.
The extra practicality afforded by the E-Class Estate over the sleeker saloon has come in useful, although outright boot space is sapped significantly by my diesel plug-in-hybrid’s batteries.
As a result, we need to travel lighter than usual, but that’s no bad thing, given the amount we usually pack. What’s more, you do get an elastic net that keeps luggage pinned to the boot floor, and a luggage cover that automatically tilts and slides out of the way whenever the electric bootlid is opened. Features like that definitely make load-lugging easier.
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