Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate (2016-2023) review

We ran both the pre-facelift E220d AMG-line and an E350d All-Terrain as Top Gear Garage long-termers and found them to be utterly reliable and free of both engineering issues and technical glitches. That’s not to say the E-Class is unimpeachable, but in our experience, they don’t go wrong as often as some internet doom-mongers would have you believe.

Standard trim is Sport, complete with dowdy 17-inch rims, LED lights all round, automatic anti-collision braking and blind-spot guardian angel, cruise control, and heated front seats.

From thereon out, you’ll be looking at some derivative of AMG-line trim, which means a handsome bodykit and 18, 19 or 20-inch rims as you go up through the ranks from AMG-line and AMG-line Edition to AMG-line Premium and the top-grade AMG-line Night Edition Premium Plus, told apart by its gloss black exterior trim, panoramic glass sunroof and excellent Burmester hi-fi.

At the time of writing, Mercedes is offering free installation of a £500 BP Pulse 7kWcharger or two years free use of the BP Pulse charging network, which can juice up the battery in the plug-in hybrid E300e in as little as 1.5 hours, good for up to 33 miles (more like 25 in the real world) of EV running.