Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

The latest iteration of this upmarket load-lugger puts the emphasis on technology and fuel efficiency On sale Autumn Price from £55,000 (est)

- George Hill

AMONG THOSE IN the antiques trade, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate has long been a favoured workhorse. But while this new model will no doubt prove adept at lugging valuable curios around, it's not stuck in the past.

Quite the opposite, in fact. From nose to tail, it bristles with technology, and it needs to. After all, a brand new BMW 5 Series Touring rival is just around the corner, and there's strong competition from the Audi A6 Avant, too.

Like the saloon model, the new E-Class Estate offers petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) engine options. At launch, mild hybrid four-cylinder engines dominate the menu, with six-cylinder units arriving in due course. Every E-Class Estate will have a nine-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

Available from the outset, the PHEV version combines a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, an electric motor and a 25.4kWh battery, giving it an official electric-only range of 62 miles. That's significantly longer than the 39 miles promised by the equivalent plug-in A6 Avant. Later on, a more powerful petrol and a PHEV diesel will join the E-Class Estate line-up.