Mercedes E-Class - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The Mercedes E-Class comes with five seats, although the middle seat is only suitable for short trips. The outer seats are much more comfortable, and provide a little more legroom than its closest rival, the BMW 5 Series, although rear headroom could be better. Up front, the high centre console and supportive seats mean you feel enclosed as a driver and front passenger. Despite having a lower dashboard line than the electric Mercedes EQE, the E-Class doesn’t quite have as much forward visibility as the 5 Series.

Dimensions and size

The Mercedes E-Class is a big car at nearly 5m in length and 1.9m in width. However, being a saloon and not an SUV, it isn’t high off the ground, so it’s nice and easy to get into.

It’s virtually the same size as its closest rival, the BMW 5 Series. There are a few millimetres of difference here and there, but if you’re considering one of these two cars, then you can be sure the other isn’t significantly bigger or smaller.

How practical is the Mercedes E-Class?

28

Seats & space in the front 

The front seats are comfortable and supportive, plus the driving position is very good too. It doesn’t feel hugely roomy up front thanks to the high centre console, but it’s a pleasant place to spend time and we’d be happy to spend a whole day driving the E-Class on a long trip.

Seats & space in the back

The latest Mercedes E-Class is a suitably big car and can take three across the back seat, although the middle passenger has to straddle a large central tunnel and a raised seating position, so they won’t want to be there for more than short trips. 

Fortunately, the outer positions provide more legroom than a BMW 5 Series. Rear headroom isn’t quite so good due to the sloping roofline of the saloon, but you can solve this by opting for the Mercedes E-Class Estate version. You can fit a child’s car seat in the outer rear positions using the easily accessible ISOFIX mounting points behind some rubber covers.

Boot space 

The petrol E 200 and diesel E 220 d and E 450 d models all have a spacious 540-litre boot. The narrower boot opening of a saloon body style means it’s harder to load taller items, but you can still fit a decent number of suitcases and bags in the back. If you need greater versatility, then you can always look at a Mercedes E-Class Estate instead.

However, the E 300 e, E 300 de and AMG E 53 models have a large battery pack on board, which reduces space down to a rather small 370 litres in the case of the high-performance AMG E 53 hybrid. That’s less than in a family hatchback like a Volkswagen Golf. What’s more, the plug-in models don’t have space below the boot floor for the charging cables, which means they have to live in a bag that takes up space in the already reduced luggage area. Not ideal for family holidays.

All versions come with a more versatile 40:20:40 split folding rear seat, so you can extend the luggage area if you need to carry longer items.