Mercedes E-Class Estate long-term test: report 5
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 7837 Price £69,970 Target price £69,970 Price as tested £69,970 Official economy 166.2mpg Test economy 96.7mpg
8 October 2025 – Fuel for thought
You never really know someone until you live with them, or so they say. And that’s the beauty of putting many, many miles on a car over an extended period. And as you read this, I’m winding my way back through central France, doing precisely that, and heading to the iconic disused pit garages of the Reims race circuit.
Photographer John Bradshaw is currently at the wheel of my Mercedes E-Class Estate, and I’m luxuriating in the passenger seat and trying to get receipts from autoroute péage machines with varying degrees of success. More importantly, it’s giving me time to reflect on a journey which is, by anyone’s standards, long – and the purpose of which I’ll save for my next update.
By the time I arrive home, John and I will have covered 1132 miles in 21 hours over two days. And about 800 miles in, it’s clear that my E300de diesel plug-in hybrid is the ideal car for the journey. Indeed, I genuinely can’t think of a car I’d rather be in.
How so? Well, my thoughts on its exceptional economy are well documented, but cynics might argue that’s because I was charging it before almost all journeys of note. Before setting off from my driveway, economy sat at 96.7mpg over 6701 miles. In a big, heavy and luxurious executive car, I’m extraordinarily happy with that.
But my multi-country trip has seen the diesel engine flying solo, with the PHEV’s batteries long depleted. Even so, when we arrived at our mid-point stay last night, the trip computer recorded 57.7mpg. The return leg, completed with no charge whatsoever, returned 52.6mpg.
Whatever you think of diesel as a fuel, it’s hard to argue with a total trip average of 55.2mpg, especially considering we seized opportunities to stretch the Mercedes' legs on quiet derestricted stretches of German autobahn, and repeated runs along winding D-roads for John’s camera. At speeds which you can legally only achieve there, I can report that it feels as calm and stable at 120mph as it does at the UK-maximum 70mph.
The E-Class Estate is softly-sprung, so prioritises comfort over agility – which suits me just fine. Yet peeling off the autoroute, the it corners neatly, too. And the seats are some of the most comfy I’ve encountered in a new car.
Frustrations on our trip were few, but overnight bags and large photography bags filled the boot comprehensively because the hybrid batteries eat into available space. At least there was no shortage of cubbies to stash our travel snacks.
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