Mercedes has been known to rest on their laurels when it comes to the E-class. Sure it has the latest tech that all Mercedes comes with, but why would one buy this over the more exciting BMW 5-series and superbly refined Audi A6?
The E300 comes with a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder which is shared with the C300. We found the engine to be more than enough for the C-class and the same can be said here with the E-class. It certainly has more torque at low revs than the outgoing 3.5 six-cylinder and the running costs are much improved. What we miss the most though is that despite the high torque at low revs with this turbo four, the six-cylinder felt more refined. You can option for all-wheel-drive with the E300 if you desire the extra traction, we certainly wish that we had the opportunity to test drive both for comparison but there wasn’t any examples available during the test drive. The 4matic all-wheel-drive system certainly does offer the traction needed when the roads became slippery. Steering feedback is much improved over the previous generation while the handling aspect certainly isn’t up to snuff with the BMW 5-series. Our test car came equipped with driver select suspension setting which allowed us to slip it into sport and comfort modes. The sport mode made the suspension way too firm and borderline unforgiving, we’d much prefer the suspension in comfort mode which helped give the E-class the driving characteristics that it’s known for. It truly is comfortable to drive around town and when you’re on the highway it doesn’t feel out of its depths, but we do feel it might be worth waiting for the E400 turbocharged six-cylinder to arrive.
The interior is what you’d expect of a Mercedes, all materials used are top notch and high quality. The front seats offer plenty of support and adjustability, while the rear seat is decent in space but headroom maybe a bit tight for taller passengers. Also, life for the middle man may not be as fabulous as the exterior styling due to the high transmission tunnel and somewhat tight elbow and shoulder space. The boot is decent in space though, but the wagon version offers way more versatility. The biggest letdown for the E300 is the infotainment system which is too fiddly to operate while on the move, and also the single stalk that controls the windshield wipers and the turn signal. It’s not a complicated setup, rather than an annoying one. We found it very easy to select the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, and it requires some getting used to as in other cars the turn signal is a separate control from the turn signals.
Mercedes tends to be stingy when it comes to standard kit. We were surprised that our tester car came fitted with keyless ignition and premium leather seats. The previous Mercedes we’ve tested didn’t have premium leather seats nor did they have keyless ignition fitted, but Bi-xenon headlamps were fitted optionally. The E300 we had as our tester car didn’t even have LED headlights fitted nor a rear reversing camera either, and at nearly $70k that’s just disappointing.
If you desire a fully kitted E300 you’ll pay an arm and a leg for one. What we like the most though is despite the high price of admission, there really isn’t any other car on the road that feels quite like a Mercedes. You’ll either love it or loathe it. We certainly love it for the refined cabin and comfortable driving experience, what we wish though is that Mercedes fitted some features such as LED headlights standard. Otherwise, the E300 is a great choice but the Volvo S90 has it beat in the styling and better four-cylinder engines.
Likes: The E300 is comfortable to drive and the turbo four offers tons of torque at low revs. This maybe the most refined and sophisticated E-class to date.
Dislikes: It can get expensive with options. Halogen headlights at this price point, really?
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