Nine airbags are fitted, including front pelvis ‘bags and one for the driver’s knee, and Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet safety levels are high. In fact the firm admits to being quite proud of what this car brings to the safety sector; the head airbags are a first for a convertible.

Springing up from the doors they offer protection to front and rear occupants, while roll-over protection is provided by pop-up roll bars behind the rear headrests. Mercedes’ also points out the Cabrio has the same strength when rolled as the Coupe.

On top of this, it comes with Mercedes-Benz’s Attention Assist to warn sleepy drivers to take a break, ESP traction and stability controls and an Active Bonnet for better pedestrian safety.

The latest examplke of the firm’s Pre-Safe Plus can also prevent collisions with pedestrians and can brake autonomously when it detects an imminnent problem.

Traffic sign assist can now see overtaking restrictions and no-entry signs while the Active Lane Keeping Assist now recognises broken lines and on-coming traffic under threat of collision.

By far the most advanced is the Distronic Plus with steering control though, the safety system enabling the E-Class Cabriolet to follow the vehicle in front without the need for lane markings in congested situations. Combined with the firm’s BAS Plus and Pre-Safe Brake which can brake the vehicle to a halt from 31mph and avoiude accidents it makes for an incredibly safe car.

Few people will rank Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet practicality particularly high up their list of criteria when considering one, but they’ll get plenty. With reasonable cabin space and easy access to the rear seats, with the hood up or down, the Cabriolet has good passenger space.

The boot is reasonable with the roof lowered and can expand from 300 litres with the roof down to 390 litres when the hood is raised. With the roof lowered though the boot is quite shallow and taller bags are a squeeze to fit in.

Still, the roof itself works electrically and takes only 20 seconds to fold away or be raised, and this can be done on the move at up to 25mph.