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15 October 2009 1047 Weve been getting to know the new Eclass saloon for a few months and now Mercedes has launched the estate to match Guess what Its springing no surprises The engine range reflects everything the saloon offers while the loadspace was designed with ease of use in mind and is supported by air suspension and an electric tailgate for every model The outgoing bestseller was the 220 CDI which took 39 of sales so its the new version of that were testing here Tell me about that back end first Okay From the outside the new tail does the Eclass a huge favour It looks more elegant and stylish than the rather stuffy saloon and obviously answers the saloons problem of restricted boot access Plip the keyfob or pluck the switch by the drivers door pocket and the tailgate motors out of the way neatly taking the loadspace cover with it Dropping the rear seats is an easy task thanksto a choice of levers positioned in the apertures of tailgate and both rear doors pull one each side and the seatbacks spring forward and drop over the bases landing just about flat No need to remove the head restraints either so long as the front seats arent set for The result A cargo bay of 1950 litres which easily trounces premium competition from Audi BMW and even Volvo and Saab Its a good 200 litres bigger than our favourite estate Fords Mondeo And its square free from intrusion 2m long and with no awkward lip to fling your luggage over In short probably the boot around Any secrets behind that During the launch Eclass project manager Martin Lorenz let it slip that hed been stalking shoppers at Ikea sitting in the car park watching families and women struggle to load their cars while looking after their kids His were fed back to make the Eclass estate as painless as possiblein such situations Before the police were called Whats it like from the drivers seat Until you look in the rearview mirror youre not going to notice any difference from the saloon It weighs 100kg more which adds 02sec to the 062mph sprint time and lops 5mph off the top speed but youre unlikely to feel that difference The 2143cc turbodiesel copes as manfully as ever rarely troubling you with noise and never feeling yet never inspiring you with music or spirit Its a stoic lugger and an easy cruiser so perfectly at home in this Mercedes is keen to extend the traditional 2 takeup of manual but all the test cars were automatic The manual comes with a hillhold device to ease stepoff with the parking brake while the auto is the familiar Drive gently and its an amiable companion But the twisting roads around the foothills of the Taunus revealed a tendency to hunt and a reluctance to kickdown even in sport mode Combine that with a habit of running a bit wide in tight corners and you soon realise that the Merc is more interested in touring and family duties than in the driver Less demanding roads are more fun where youll enjoy accurate if overlight steering and good balance through bends if youre in the right gear Using the selectors tip function sorts that Is it as comfortable as a good Merc should be Like the saloon the estate reminds of Mercs of old Its and simply yet finished and that kind of quality without ostentation really suits the estates practical character The seats are firm and broad the cabin is quiet without feeling silenced and the ride reveals the same gently as the saloon not graceful but rarely and always quiet Theres plenty of space all round and rear seat comfort is good too Heated front seats are standard even on base SE models as isclimate control and an electronic parking aid So yes you will be comfortable in here if not always sensorilly thrilled or amazed Verdict Mercedes hasnt finalised pricing for the estate yet but talks about a 2k premium over the saloon not bad for the extra acreage electric door and air suspension not to mention the sexier styling Pretty soon upmarket are going to be heaving with them and quite rightly so Drive one of these and its difficult to see the point of the saloon because the estate is so much more useful yet hardly different to drive Some will prefer to stretch to the 250 for its added lowrev thump at the cost of more chatter but if youre after refinement youll have to stretch all the way to an E350 in the high 30s Its a brave new world of highpower hightorque in the luxurycar realm But think of the Eclass instead as a family car of immense quality and usefulness and thelowlier diesel appeals all the more and keeps the price closer to 30k Still a lot of money yes but simply the price of an especially wellhoned tool Click Thumbnails to Enlarge Statistics How much 31000 On sale in the UK Now Engine 2143cc 16v 4cyl 168bhp 295lb ft Fivespeed automatic rearwheel drive 88sec 062mph 136mph 487mpg 153gkm How heavy made of How big in mm Need to know CARs rating Handling Performance Usability Feelgood factor Readers rating Page 1 Rate this article 1 2 3 4 5 Average rating 9 votes Discuss this Add your comment Sign in You must be signed in to submit a comment Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review Subject Your comment Please enter a comment Please enter a comment By submitting your comment you agree to adhere to the samochód website Terms and Conditions Cancel Subscribe to comments You must be logged in to subscribe to a topic Login or registernow Blain says RE Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review Here I am discussing my favourite brand and my favourite model Is it worth the money given that all cars provide adequate safety and reliability these days True a Mondeo estate will lug almost as much and a Skoda Octavia 4x4 will probably be more sure footed especially in the snow but they dont carry a premium badge Therefore the question should be is it woth buying ahead of similar cars from other comparable brands Audi BMW Jaguar Lexus and maybe Saab and Volvo Ceratinly Mercedes have suffered from problems of reliability and build quality although perhaps somewhat in the media I believe buyers choose the 3 pointed star because of bank vault biuld quality and peerless reliability and the new E promises to deliver on both counts Time will no doubt tell but Id rather buy and be seen in a second hand E rather than a newmass market estate Its the only car youll ever need load lugger people carrier and the best car I know for covering large distances 16 October 2009 1841 clickysteve says RE Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review Great but is it really worth double a Skoda Superb estate Agree why would anyone buy a saloon these days 16 October 2009 1356 a t o m i c says RE Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review This is not a good looking car Practical certainly but not pretty I prefer the looks of my fathers old S124 300TE to this overwrought effort 16 October 2009 1051 Confucius says RE Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review So it trounces a Mondeo in the load lugging department Shock news update boys I should bloody well hope so too at that price 15 October 2009 2311 says RE Mercedes E220 CDI SE estate 2009 CAR review Big handsome beasty Definately built for the Over 55s target market