Mercedes E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid

What is it?

This is the mid-life update for the Mercedes W212 E-Class which was first introduced in 2009 – one of the most far-reaching revamps the company has ever carried out on any of its models.

There are extensive bodywork changes that result in a smoother, although perhaps less imposing look. Gone is the traditional E-Class four-headlamp look, and the complicated creases that cluttered the side panels of the old car have been simplified as well.

Here we feature the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID, the updated version of Business Car Manager’s current SME Car of the Year, which, thanks to its combined diesel and electric drivetrain delivers both excellent performance and very good economy and emissions.

Handling and performance are comparable with the previous model – excellent in short. Nor does it feel remotely ‘hybridy’ to drive – it’s just like the straight diesel.

That makes it a particularly interesting choice for the well-heeled company car driver.

Prices across the new range are generally higher, although Mercedes says improved equipment levels more than compensate for this. But, as a by-product of spec adjustments and changes to trim levels, the starting price for the E 300 BlueTEC hybrid is actually slightly lower than before.

First deliveries of the new models take place in April.

What’s hot?

• The new E-Class range is available in two trim levels in the UK (previously there were three); SE, which is based on the previous Avantgarde model, and AMG Sport, which is based on the previous Sport variant.
• The SE gets improved equipment levels including seventeen-inch alloys, partial LED headlamps, Artico artificial leather seat coverings, the COMAND online system combined with a DAB radio, Active Park Assist with Parktronic, Collision Prevention Assist, folding exterior mirrors and an automatically dimming rear-view mirror.
  

  

• The AMG Sport gets eighteen-inch AMG wheels, sports seats, COMAND Online with DAB radio, and Collision Prevention Assist.
• Key options include nappa leather upholstery (£1,935) and AirMATIC semi-active air suspension (£1,455).
• Engine choices include four diesels and two petrol engines. The E 220 (170 PS), E250 CDI (204 PS) and E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (204 PS plus 27 PS for the electric motor) all have 2.15-litre four cylinder diesel engines, while the E 350 BlueTEC has a three-litre V6 diesel. The E 200 and E 250 petrol models have four-cylinder two-litre engines providing 184 and 211 PS respectively. In addition, the new car is available in full AMG form with a 5.5-litre V8 delivering 557 PS in standard form or 585 PS in the new AMG “S” variant.
• The E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID continues to offer an exceptional blend of performance and economy, although the combination of a four-cylinder diesel engine and electric motor is not as cultivated as the big V6 diesel in the E 350 BlueTEC.
• As before, the E-Class offers high levels of space, comfort and well-being. It is, in short, a proper Mercedes.

What’s not?

• Entry level prices creep up by £2,280 to £32,400 on the road for the saloon and £34,310 for the estate in SE trim, although Mercedes says this is more than compensated for by improved equipment levels – and the E 300 diesel hybrid featured here is actually cheaper than before as it is being offered with the usual SE and AMG Sport trim levels, rather than being a standalone model as before.
  

  

• The new car is less distinctive in appearance than the old, and some Mercedes enthusiasts will mourn the loss of the traditional bonnet-mounted star on most models sold in the UK in favour of a larger Mercedes emblem set into the radiator grille.
• Only the E 220 CDI is available with the option of a manual gearbox in the new line-up.
• Right-hand drive cars can’t be ordered with Mercedes’ 4MATIC all-wheel drive transmission.

Business Car Manager road test verdict

The latest mid-life updates allow the Mercedes E-Class to maintain its strong position in the market compared with the Jaguar XF, BMW 5-Series and Audi A6.

Most buyers will probably accept the higher starting prices, given the revised car’s improved spec levels, and Business Car Manager’s SME Car of the Year is one model that actually emerges from all the tweaks cheaper than before, a lower P11D and those exceptional CO2 emissions boosting its attractions as a company car compared with the lesser E 220 and E 250 CDI models.

Performance and handling are comparable with the pre-updated car that we reviewed just before Christmas. (Mercedes E 300 hybrid – pulling off the impossible.)

The styling revisions to the latest Mercedes E-Class and the loss of the bonnet-top-mounted Mercedes star badge make the latest E-Class appear a little less distinctive than the old but on the road, thanks, in particular, to high levels of space and comfort, this still feels like a proper Merc.

The Low Down…

…and what it costs