• Capable five seater with space for tall adults
• Massive boot to stash luggage in as well
• Futuristic remote parking is a great gadget 

How much space is there?

The rear seats are welcoming, even for taller adults, although very tall passengers will want to avoid the centre throne due to the high transmission tunnel running through the footwell, while the contoured base means they’ll have a narrower cushion to perch on.

There’s otherwise plenty of legroom, if little space for feet beneath the front seats, and a generous amount of headroom even when the optional panoramic roof is fitted. There are two Isofix points on the Mercedes E-Class, found on the two outer rear seats.

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Boot space and storage space

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has become a bit of a big boot champion, particularly in E-Class Estate form. Even this less practical Saloon version can carry a mammoth 540 litres. Teamed with a wide and square opening it’s easy to load and capable of accommodating holiday luggage and golf clubs without difficulty.

However, there is a penalty of around 140 litres of space for picking either of the plug-in hybrid versions because their batteries are located under the boot floor, and take up a fair bit of space. This results in an annoying hump in the load floor, which limits loading height through the aperture created by the fold-down rear seats.

In terms of storage, those sat in the rear have map pockets on the front seat backs, door bins and a fold-down centre armrest providing two pop-out cupholders and a lined cubby box. You also get two USB-C points and a 12v power socket. Up front, you get a lidded centre stowage box containing USB ports that also acts as an armrest, with a further USB-C port and wireless phone charging tray ahead of the infotainment touch sensor pad. You’ll also find a pair of cupholders here, with bigger ones in the door bins.

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Is it easy to park?

The E-Class hides its size well thanks to its sweeping lines but it’s still pushing five metres in length, which means some parking spaces may feel a little short. Still, it’s easy to see out of and manoeuvre so providing you’ve got the room, it’ll be a doddle to park.

Front and rear parking sensors, along with a rear view camera does come as standard on all models, while higher-spec trim levels come with a full 360-degree one instead.

A very clever optional feature that dramatically boosts this car’s practicality is the Remote Parking Pilot, which can get cars into and out of parking spaces remotely via a smartphone application. That means you can squeeze the car into spots without worrying about having to get in and out of the doors, making smaller spaces a possibility.

Safety

• Mercedes-Benz E-Class has a five star Euro NCAP rating
• Loads of standard safety kit plus options to choose from
• Won’t quite drive itself completely but is pretty handy

Safety is a cornerstone of the Mercedes-Benz brand, and the E-Class comes with a five-star Euro NCAP rating. However, this does date from 2016, and the test has become harder since.

Even so, you’ve got airbags all around the cabin, a bonnet that rises in the event of a pedestrian collision, a fatigue detection system, tyre-pressure monitoring, and collision assistance that prepares the car as much as possible if it detects that an impact is unavoidable. Meanwhile, Pre-safe Sound plays a frequency through the speaker system to prevent damage to ears in the event of an accident.

Then there’s all the additional equipment you can add onto your E-Class to improve safety. The Lane Tracking Package includes a blindspot assist system (warns of vehicles in your blindspot) and an active lane-keeping assist system that’ll steer you back into your lane if the car thinks you’re drifting out.

The Driving Assistance Plus pack is probably the biggest news here. It features a raft of features that come together to effectively make semi-autonomous driving possible.