Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate

Posh estate impresses in plug-in hybrid form; now it's time for the diesel to make its case On sale Now Price from £48,120

- Dan Jones

WE'VE ALREADY DRIVEN the latest Mercedes-Benz C-Class in plug-in hybrid form. It's a great choice, particularly when it comes to satisfying the tax-busting needs of company car drivers. However, while that group accounts for the vast majority of C-Class saloons on UK roads, the C-Class Estate has always been anything but the exclusive preserve of the corporate car park. And we reckon there's still a place for diesels like the C220d Estate among private buyers.

For one thing, it's much cheaper to buy.

Whereas the C300e PHEV is available only in range-topping AMG Line Premium Plus trim, the C220d Estate can be had in a wider array of flavours; the C220d AMG Line Premium Plus undercuts the C300e by around £5000, and that gap grows to £12,000 for entry-level AMG Line trim, which is hardly lacking in features.

In addition, the C220d's 56.5mpg official fuel consumption doesn't depend on you regularly plugging the car in to keep its hybrid battery charged. Nor do you pay a huge performance penalty for eschewing plug-in power; yes, the C220d's 7.4sec 0-62mph time is 1.2sec behind the C300e's, but its 217bhp 2.0-litre mild hybrid diesel engine never feels underpowered.