Just as it was teased last week, this week brought the full reveal of an Estate version of the current fifth-generation W213 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. There is, of course, plenty of extra room over the E-Class sedan, but the German marque also wants it to be known for its drive too.
The design is, obviously, mostly identical to the W213 E-Class that debuted earlier this year, with little to differentiate the body styles between its nose and beyond the B-pillar. And as expected, that sloping shoulder line (and corresponding roofline) makes an appearance here too after Merc popularised it with the CLA Shooting Brake and CLS Shooting Brake.
The tapering roofline is met with two large LED tail lamps that are joined somewhat by a chrome strip that spans the width of the rear fascia.
It is a more elegant design compared to the previous E-Class Estate, but despite sleeker silhouette, the new car claims to be just as practical with 1820-litres of total cargo volume (670-litres with the seats up). The second row seats have a 40/20/40 split when folding down and will even come with a third row fold-out bench seat in certain models.
At launch, the new E-Class Estate range starts out with the base E 200 that’s powered by either a 137kW turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, the E 250 has the same engine but uptuned to deliver 157kW and 350Nm, and the E 220d with 143kW and 400Nm from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel.
Later on in the year, the E-Class will gain an even wider selection of engines starting with a new base diesel – the E 200 d with 112kW and 360Nm, the E 350 d with a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel outputting 192kW and 620Nm, and finally a 3.0-litre V6 petrol-powered E 400 with 248kW and 480Nm.
While all these engines will be mated to Merc’s 9G-Tronic automatic transmission and are rear-driven, the upcoming Mercedes-AMG E 43 version will deliver its 299kW and 520Nm to all four wheels via the 4MATIC AWD system.
Inside, and just like the E-Class sedan, design cues and overall feel of the S-Class remain prevalent with the lashings of wood, leather, and brushed metallic surfaces that frame two 12.3-inch parallel displays that form to function as both the digital instrument cluster and COMMAND infotainment interface.
There has been a lot of effort put into making sure the E-Class estate is the most refined car in its class. A new set of kinematics have been applied to the chassis, steering, and axles to remove as much unwanted exterior noise or vibration as possible, with additional dampening given to the car’s engine and transmission mounts as well. Even the sunroof has been considered, with Mercedes-Benz making sure it remained quiet with it retracted.
Buyers can even opt for the Acoustics Comfort Package which adds even more silencing measures: infrared absorbing windows, extra (extra..) soundproofing, and an anti-acoustic windscreen.
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