2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: MERCEDES-BENZ E300

Beneath its executive exterior is a high-tech, Hyperscreened interior – like a giant smartphone with a steering wheel stuck into one side, faced by two seats.

The boot is classic sedan-capacious (although missing a spare wheel) while the rear seat is superbly comfortable, if tight on foot-room compared to your typical modern-age SUV.

Around the proving ground, a dime-tight turning circle impressed while the turbo-petrol four and nine-speed auto offered the most refined combustion powertrain I’ve ever experienced – incredibly smooth and just so very well done, as if the culmination of a century of development. But some rued the lack of a traditional straight-six, especially when the otherwise whisper-quiet four was put under demand.

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Prioritising security, the ride and handling are appropriate for an E300, though the mildly hybridised engine does need to work to shift 1850kg. At Lang Lang, the ESC and ABS, and the watchful aura of active safety software felt second-to-none. Ticks against the safety and driving criteria, then.

Value was also hotly discussed – a little pricey for an E300, or a cheap, junior S-Class? Whichever it was, the E300 is unquestionably a beautiful, professional sedan.

Mercedes-Benz E300 Specifications