Mercedes E-class Estate (2010): first official photos

By Alex Michaelides

First Official Pictures

05 August 2009 00:01

Take a look at these first official pictures of the Mercedes Fascination concept’s more sober cousin, the Mercedes E-class estate. It’s the latest variation to join the burgeoning Mercedes E-class family, leaving only the convertible and – possibly – the Fascination-emulating sport wagon to come.

At the front, you’d be hard-pushed to find a difference between the new E-class estate and the saloon. We see the same bold grill, geometric quad-headlights and angular day-time running LEDs.

The saloon’s dramatic creases along the body side are present, too. At the rear the estate doesn’t look as frumpy as one might imagine – the waistline curves down and the D-pillar follows, evoking some echoes of classic shooting brakes. The tailgate is plain and unsculptured compared to the rest of the car; Merc says this is to outline the load-lugger’s practicality.

Naturally. The E estate gets all the usual Mercedes gadgetry, complete with baffling names.  ‘Airmatic’ self-levelling suspension and ‘direct control’ adaptive damping help provide an E-class spec ride. ‘Attention assist’ drowsiness detection,  ‘Distronic’ proximity control and ‘Pre-safe’ braking - which starts braking if it predicts an accident is imminent and then tensions the front seatbelts once the car’s fate is sealed – help keep you safe.

The E-class estate also adds pelvic bags to the other seven airbags that are standard on the saloon. They’ll even fit side airbags in the back if you want to bring the ‘bag count up to 11. Very Spinal Tap.

Further silly names come courtesy of the ‘easy-pack’ tailgate which opens automatically, and the new ‘quick-fold’ rear seats, which fold flat in one easy movement. That generous rear overhang helps yield a cavernous load space of up to 1950 litres.

Of course. In fact, only one model doesn’t wear the Blue Efficiency badge – that’ll be the 388bhp 5.5-litre V8 E500. Go figure. More sober variants are the two diesels: the E220 CDI and E250 CDI with 170bhp and 204bhp, respectively. Both cars will return 48.7 mpg and puff out just 150g/km of CO2.

Two 1.8-litre four-pot petrol units are offered, the 200 CGI and 250 CGI. The cheaper of the two has 183bhp, musters 36.7mpg and emits 179g/km of gas. The more expensive unit is more powerful and only slightly less frugal, giving 204bhp, 35.3mpg and 191g/km CO2. A 292bhp petrol V6 E350 CGI is also offered and efficiency figures are still respectable – it’ll get you 32.8 miles on one gallon of fuel, and puff out 208g/km of CO2 whilst doing so.

The new Mercedes E-class estate goes on sale in early 2010; expect prices to start at £33,000 for the basic petrol model.

By Alex Michaelides