► CAR drives the latest W214 Mercedes E-Class hybrid
► PHEV with 71-mile e-range tested in the UK
► Some of the best tech not coming here, though
Mercedes-Benz’s latest E-Class, as it always has with every prior generation, has laid on technological advancement and innovations pretty thick. Want a hybrid that can really go the distance? Mercedes-Benz is happy to provide. Looking for a purely petrol or diesel model? See our conventional E-Class review. Want to call your work colleagues, or play video games while you’re parked? Fine. Want even better technology than that on the S-Class? Step this way…
Wait, really? Better than the S?
Yup. The new E-Class includes a new MB.OS operating system and can be had with Mercedes-Benz’ new Superscreen – predictably a smaller version of the Hyperscreen that first launched on the EQS electric car.
The new, developed-entirely-in-house infotainment system includes features like ambient lighting that reacts to the music you’re playing, Dolby Atmos sound tech, Zoom and Webex video calling via a dashboard-mounted selfie cam and the ability to install games and stream content from the front passenger seat. As for autonomous driving tech, the E-Class also debuts a lane change assistant that requires absolutely no initiation from you as a driver, either. Almost all of this isn’t available on the S.
You can very much tell this is still at the upper end of Mercedes’ offerings inside, as the material quality is impressive, with very few naff plastics (and, more crucially, much fewer creaks from the panels unlike the previous generation) in obvious places. The door pulls feel solid, and there’s a thunk to the indicators and centre console cubby actions you wouldn’t get in lower models.
Unfortunately, though, some of the E-Class hybrid’s massive list of kit isn’t coming to the UK – namely Airmatic air suspension (which was the only available suspension system on the cars we tested in Austria) or rear-wheel steering (which is reportedly tied to an option pack with… you guessed it, Airmatic suspension). Sigh.
As for the powertrain options, there are two plug-in hybrid variants: the E300e and the E400e (which are both four-cylinders unlike, for example, the outgoing 530e and 545e). The UK gets the former, which we’ve driven both in Austria and now at home.
How does the E-Class hybrid feel on the road then?
Well, let’s talk about the powertrain first. Mercedes-Benz claims some impressive numbers, including an e-power range of up to 71 miles, if used right. And we’re inclined to believe those figures, as we were regularly seeing claims of over 60 miles on a full charge – at least in moderate temperatures. Things aren’t quite so rosy in even a British winter, but all electric cars suffer winter driving range issues.
In a likely effort to neuter the usually-savage performance offered by PHEVs in favour of efficiency, mind you, the E300e is quick *enough*. It accelerates reasonably well without the engine turning on, and gives you just the right amount of combined shove if you press the throttle hard enough to wake up the combustion engine.
It’s not exactly accompanied by a charismatic engine noise – the four cylinder sounds raspy and strained – but the performance you get is reasonable enough, and its certainly a useful step up from the regular E200 model, which uses the same 201bhp four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, just without the 127bhp electric motor bolted on. Refinement inside remains impressive regardless of what speed you’re doing (when the engine’s not at high revs, anyway), meaning the latest E remains an impressive long-distance cruise missile.
Even so, some of the E-Class hybrid’s controls are on the twitchy side. The throttle, for example, is rather alert for the uninitiated, with small pushes meaning large reactions from the powertrain (even to the point of downshifting a few gears in the combustion engine) or almost wheelspinning the tyres while parking on gravel.
UK buyers shouldn’t worry about the lack of rear-wheel steering availability – we found this twitchy and annoying – but the absence of air suspension is more of a pain. The European examples of the E300e we drove initially felt planted and comfy in a way the steel-sprung variable-rate damping offered to UK customers just can’t match.
However, plug-in hybrid buyers should take solace from the fact that the E300e’s weight (it’s some 400kg heavier than the E200) and rejection of the 15mm lowered suspension offered elsewhere in the UK range do at least manage to deliver a dignified degree of comfort and suppleness that’s sadly absent in the non-PHEV variant. As such it’s generally pleasantly wafty rather than overly floaty and uncontrolled, and rarely troubled too much by poor surfaces.
Anything else I should know?
Mercedes bucks the trend by offering CCS fast charging (up to 55kW) on a PHEV (which is a rarity beyond the likes of the plug-in hybrid Land Rover Defender), and the boot takes a sizeable penalty over the non-PHEV version (360 litres here over 540 litres for the mild hybrid petrol or diesel options).
Keeping up with BMW, Merc also offers the E-Class with an illuminated grille – but you only get this as standard on top spec Exclusive Edition versions.
Mercedes E-Class hybrid: verdict
The latest E-Class plug-in hybrid turns up the tech and efficiency into a mostly positive result. It’s a shame UK buyers don’t get the option of air suspension, but the standard set-up works well enough here that we don’t feel it drags the car down – especially compared with the E200, which really suffers on its lowered variation.
Some of the E’s controls feel like they need a little more modulation so they’re less twitchy, but the E300e’s electric-only range and the cruising refinement offered fresh out of the box mean the latest E-Class is more than worth a look in for the well-to-do corporate commuter. Standard equipment is generous throughout the UK line-up as well.