Meet Merc’s tasty new E Class Estate [Gallery]

While they’ve played a much smaller role in the market over the past few years, estate cars remain a favourite of motoring journalists. And it seems the manufacturers are pretty big fans too. Proof of that lies in the slew of quality estates coming onto the market, including the latest effort from Mercedes Benz.

The new E Class Estate, set to make its debut at the MercedesCup tennis tournament, currently underway in Stuttgart, Germany. According to Merc, the new E Class Estate is sportier, roomier, and more practical than its predecessor.

“The new Estate is as dynamic as the Mercedes-Benz brand and as spacious as our customers expect. Intelligent features such as the cargo position for the rear seat backrest with its 40:20:40 split as standard allow even better use to be made of the generous load-carrying capacity,” says Ola Källenius, member of the Board of Management at Daimler AG and responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales. “And what is more, the Estate obviously has all the innovations of the new E Class – the most intelligent executive saloon in the world.”

For the market launch, the new estate will be available in the E 200 model version with a four-cylinder petrol engine (135 kW/184 hp) along with the E 220 d (143 kW/194 hp) featuring an entirely newly developed four-cylinder diesel engine, and the E 250 delivering 155 kW (211 hp) and 350 newton metres of torque. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the E 200 d will follow with its output of 110 kW (150 hp) accompanied by the E 350 d, which has a six-cylinder diesel engine, and the E 400 4MATIC containing a six-cylinder petrol engine that generates 245 kW (333 hp) and 480 newton metres of torque. At market launch, all models are equipped as standard with the new 9G‑TRONIC nine-speed automatic transmission.

From a tech point of view, perhaps the most interesting feature is the KEYLESS-GO with HANDS-FREE ACCESS. Effectively a bunch of sensors mean that if you want to open the boot, all that is required is to make a kicking motion with a foot underneath the rear bumper and the boot lid can be opened and closed fully automatically. You don’t need to have your hands free or to place any items of luggage on the ground.

Another interesting feature is plug-and-play iPad integration in the rear seats. Otherwise there’s the option to adorn the instrument panel with two 12.3-inch HD screens. The driver may configure the fully digital display to show the information and views that are relevant for them. There are three different styles to choose from: “Classic”, “Sport” and “Progressive”.

Check it out: