MERCEDES-BENZ E CLASS Estate 2010 on

I have owned an estate car for the past thirty years, a Mercedes E for the past fifteen, but the latest model is a revelation and the experience just gets better the more I drive it.

I was in the fortunate financial position when I ordered the car to be able to pour most of the option packs into the mix, some seem a bit gimmicky to me, but others I now find indispensable.

Do I need an estate car? probably not, my children have grown up and I don't have to move large amounts of stuff about, but it is such a useful, comfortable, safe and versatile vehicle.

All though a large car, being so easy to drive with such good visibility, it seems to shrink when driving.

The comfort seats seem to be infintley adjustable enableling an ideal driving position, however, not so sure about the massage setting, but it gives you something to play with on a long journey, or in a traffic jam, if bored.

The engine, a 3 litre diesel has plenty of grunt and suprisingly economical averaging 38.3mpg.

When I was looking to change my car my main criteria were finding something that had a ride as good as the Range Rover I had been driving but gave a smooth ride and better economy. I wanted plenty of boot space for the university runs, but also wasn't a complete let down in driving and performance stakes.

There was really only one choice an E Class estate with the CDI 350 motor.

I have had the car for just over 7 months, done nearly 10,000 miles and can say it pretty much tick's all the boxes. The ride is nearly as good as the rangy and with air suspension on the back does swat down at the back staying pretty level. The Diesel motor is smooth and has good turn of speed, perticularly in the mid range 40-70 mph. It can be a little hesitent at pull away, but the auto box, now a seven speeder shifts seemlessly. I getting around 33 to 34 mpg combined and have seen a 40 mpg on the computer on a long journey.

The car looks very smart when clean and for an estate looks good from most angles. If mpg was not such an issue I could see myself in the AMG version in a few years time with a nearly new purchase, but that depends on the price of fuel. If it reaches £2.00 a litre than this will put this aspiration back into the bin!

I had a couple of V8's in my time including the SLK 55 AMG maybe I will buy one of those and get the wife to buy a Skoda Surperb!

Smooth, quiet, comfortable and (for a large estate car) astonishingly economical, the Mercedes E-Class estate is a car I would recommend to anyone. It regularly returns 40+mpg on my commute which includes driving into, and out of ,a city centre at peak times. I have seen high forties mpg indicated on a run, and it seems to matter not whether it is fully laden or not.

At the same time, despite its frugal 2-litre engine, it has all the performance you could need from a "real-world" car in "real world" driving; it will accelerate smoothly and quickly to cruising speeds and has plenty of mid-range punch for overtaking.

The on-board computer/radio/bluetooth takes some getting used to, mainly because of the vast range of functions, but once you master it, it is more intuitive than others I have owned.

The load area is large with rear seats up, vast with them down, and a neat feature is the lever which enables you to drop the rear seats while standing at the tailgate.

This is an ideal car for the active family yet retains the style needed to project a professional image for work. This is my first Mercedes but I hope it will not be my last.

A joy to drive, a long journey passes pleasantly and leaves you relaxed. Lots of space for a family and the boot is huge. The lights are fantastic both externally and internally with ambient lighting all round the cabin. It has both rear and front parking sensors which are so necessary on a vehicle this big and it has a great little application that checks you are still awake on long journeys!

I have two issues with it. The mpg promised does not match what I have achieved since buying it. In the MB handbook it states the combined mpg as 44.1, I have done 6000 various road miles and have an average of 29.3mpg. The other issue is that the automatic gear box is very slow. I have driven both a 530d BMW and Range Rover Vogue, the difference between the MB and the other two cars is too big to ignore. When I need a little speed it is very noticeable and my blood boils a little. I will be discussing both these problems with Mercedes, it seems that I am not the only one suffering.

These two issues aside it is a wonderful car and I will be happy with it for the 3 year period. However it unlikely that I will purchase another MB unless the two above points change for the better. I would probably opt for another BMW or the new Range Rover Evoque.

This is a very expensive car to run I am constantly acheiveing 24.5 the car should be acheiving at least 29 to the gallon around town. My daughters Range Rover is acheiving a better return.

I have returned it to Mercedes they say there is nothing wrong with the car.

Lovely Car but I think I may change to a more efficiant one this is my second E Class estate my previous one returned at least 32 to the gallon around town.

Another complaint is the passenger seat is an adapted one non Mercedes this means disconnecting the electrics to the seat the airbag sign stays on all the time Mercedes state they cannot switch of the sign????

This is the third E-Class I have owned and each one as felt like driving a limosine this one as just got better.The comfort and handling is second to none .My only complaint is the fuel consumption I am acheiving an overall of 24.6mpg my previous one was around 30mpg I have carried similar driving in both vehicles. I have returned it but Mercedes say they cannot find any thing wrong withit. This is the only thing that disappointsme