Mercedes E 350 e

FIRST UK DRIVE E-Class gets plug-in hybrid option for first time, and we try it on British roads

- Lawrence Allan

FOR two decades now, if you were given an executive saloon as a company car it would have almost certainly had a diesel engine. The market has been skewed toward the black pump for economy and CO 2 savings, but now there’s a breed of petrol plug-ins entering the fray. And we’re testing the Mercedes E 350 e for the first time in the UK.

Like the BMW 530e we drove a few weeks ago (Issue 1,470), this is the first plug-in E-Class. The previous-generation diesel-electric E 300 BlueTEC couldn’t be charged from a socket, so only claimed 67mpg. 

The E 350 e claims 134mpg and 57g/km, which is slightly down on the BMW but is still impressive. As a result it has an 11 per cent Benefit in Kind (BiK) rating. The BMW is cheaper to tax, falling in the nine per cent bracket.