Mercedes-Benz E-class Review

The Review

First Impressions (0-1 years) Estates Mercedes-Benz E-class E-class T-mod. (S213) - (2016) AMG E 43 (401 Hp) 4MATIC G-TRONIC

Strong performance, great space and very comfortable. The complete package so far.

Summary

I recently purchased a Mercedes E43 AMG estate as a replacement to my trusted and outgoing Audi SQ7 SUV. It's been about four weeks since that switch and this is a short review about my first impressions with the four wheel drive, AMG light car, which to be honest, still packs a pretty big punch. Yes, it's not the full fat E63 AMG, and it wouldn't be fair to say that it comes too close, however this is an awesome car, a great drive, and I might say this far too often, but also a really cool all-rounder From the guys and girls at Mercedes performance division. So let's get into my first impressions review.

Practicality and Comfort

From a practicality perspective, you don't get much better than a E Class estate. It has tonnes of cabin space, tonnes of boot space, and despite the huge glass roof, tonnes of headspace as well. Size is one thing that is never a problem for the mighty E Class, and even with me sitting quite far back in the cabin there were still enough space behind me for a full grown adult to sit quite comfortably. And Speaking of comfort, despite the recent debate regarding the SQ7 comparison, I think the E Class seats are super comfortable, very adjustable, and allow you to sit low enough to have your legs nice and stretched out, for those of you who like driving that way. What everything feels like it's in the right place for motorway cruising, a bit of enthusiastic driving coma and leaving certain in long motorway traffic queues as you do on our fine London roads. I think at this point 10 out of 10 is well deserved for this car.

Performance and Handling

Given I've only had the car for about a month now and don't drive that often, I haven't really had the chance to put it through its paces, and see what the car can really do. Having said that, what I can tell you at this point, is it based on the driving I have done, this car is a lot of fun, sounds great, and is really responsive. The engine is a 3.0litre V6 “AMG light” (as I like to call it), With just under 400HP, which is more than enough for an enjoyable drive with you going long or short distances, across straight or slightly twisty roads. Compared to the E 500 I had many years ago, the handling is a completely different ball game. Maybe because it's 4 wheel drive, maybe because it's AMG, or maybe they've just done some great things over the years to stiffen up the body control and the handling without sacrificing the right comfort. Even on the 20 inch rims that's now sitting on (which did not come with the car) it still feels comfortable ride's great and cruises over any bumps in the road. So far so good!

Reliability and Running Costs

I've only had the car for one month so far, it's hard to say how economical the car is or how reliable. It is an E Class, and it is Mercedes so I'm expecting pretty good levels of build quality, reliability, and reasonable running costs mainly due to the fact that things generally don't go wrong that often in cars like this. The car is a 2017 model, so it is already around 8 years old (although it looks brand new inside and out), so I can't expect everything to be working 100%, however I must say apart from replacing the front windscreen wipers the car is in great condition, and might as well be brand new. Once I've had the chance to spend a bit of time with the car I will write another review around the running costs and any reliability issues I come across.

Looks and Style

When it comes to cars, look so always so subjective. Even if not for the dogs, I actually love big old station wagons. I am two C63s and one E43 in, in terms of station wagons, and then still loving the formula. There is something about the chunkiness compared to the saloons and the coupe's that I just really like, and seem to gravitate back to every once in awhile. With the E 43, the only issue I had was that the car looked a little bit too plain, especially given its heritage. So I spiced it up a little bit, with the help of a local company, and they sent me local ad for some 20 inch spoked AMG style alloy wheels. The car is a pearlescent white, and with the factory tinted windows, the black sunroof, black mirrors, and now the new styling, I think the car looks awesome. It really stands out, and without too much done to it, it just looks like a completely different car. My only bugbear with the old E 43, is Mercedes lame attempt at a performance exhaust and pipe. It's really quite embarrassing to see a 400 horsepower performance wagon, with this exact same exhaust as any other E Class, oh but with a small line separating the two sides of each exhaust. Great job AMG. Aside from that I'm really happy.

Features

right off the bat, and before I say anything else about technology, I will say this: “if you have the chance, and you like music, get the Burmeister upgraded stereo for your car”. You are very welcome, and you can thank me later. The car that I purchased doesn't have that upgraded speaker system, which I believe is around 13 speakers, and sounds phenomenal. Instead I believe what I have is an 7/8 speaker system, that sounds “meh”. There is little bass, and quite hollow sound to be honest. I have looked at a few reviews which all say the same thing, get the upgraded speakers. Aside from that, however, it's actually got a pretty good infotainment system. It has the usual Mercedes iPad looking screen, in this case a single piece from the centre console to the drivers console, Which allows you to control everything that you would ever need to, change the display for your drivers console (including the colours the theme and the sportiness of this of the display) and the centre console gives you a huge map across the whole screen or whatever function you're using. So from a technology perspective it's pretty cool, it has enough of the latest stuff, given its age, and everything feels quite robust I like it's going to last a good few years more. Again so far so good!

Would I recommend it? YES