• The flashiest interior in the class
• Up to three infotainment screens
• Quality not quite Audi and BMW good

How is the quality and layout?

Like many of its newer models including the smaller C-Class and bigger S-Class, the E banishes as many buttons as it can from the interior. You wouldn’t call it minimalist, though. There’s plenty of piano black, chrome trims and the option of wood, too.

It’s all very flash, but it’s not as user-friendly as the old E-Class’s interior, and not as well screwed together as an Audi or BMW interior. A special mention should go out to the touch sensitive steering wheel controls. They’re not as easy to use as buttons, and it’s too easy to trigger something by accident.

Infotainment and tech

As with all modern Mercedes, the interior of the E-Class is packed with screens. There’s a large central infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver and there’s even a display for the passenger if your car has the ‘Superscreen’ pack (standard on Premium Plus cars). Everything is based around a new MB.OS operating system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity both standard.

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The displays are crisp and software responsive, with many frequently selected items just a click or two away. However, we’d still prefer a few more physical buttons for things like the heating, and the rotary iDrive controller found in the 5 Series is easier to use than the touchpads in the E-Class.

This latest technology package not only features impressive voice control capability, you can now add third party apps such as TikTok, Angry Birds and Zoom, that latter working – when you’re parked – with a ‘selfie’ camera available for the top of the dashboard. That’s Mercedes’ term, not ours. Meanwhile, the ambient lighting can pulse and change colour in time with your music.

It’s a far cry from the conservative Mercedes interiors of old – though for most people that is likely to be a good thing. If you’ve got the ambient lighting set to electric blue, for example, the way it sweeps round the top of the dashboard can make it feel like you’re piloting a bath tub. It’s a bit of fun and it’s certainly a long way from any definition of subtle.

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Comfort

• At least partial electric seat adjustment
• Great massage function available
• Most models get real leather seats

Even the entry-level seats in the E-Class deserve praise. They have partial electric adjustment, with the backrest and lumbar support done at the push of a button. The seat base can be adjusted fore and aft, with separate height adjustment for the front and rear of the seat so those both long and short of leg are supported. All bar Urban trim get heated and cooled seats, and two-zone climate control, making sure all shapes and sizes are comfortable.

Premium models have full electric adjustment with memory and a 4D Burmester surround sound system. It might seem odd to mention it in the same breath as the seats, but there are speakers in the backrests for a more absorbing audio experience. Some of our team were quite taken by it, others felt it rattled through their chests unpleasantly.

Premium Plus models add a particularly good massage function to the seats. Rather than just prod you in the small of the back, they work over a much wider area with more force than most systems. One of our few complaints is that the transmission tunnel between the front seats is so wide, your left leg is shifted over a bit more than is ideal.