Mercedes Benz E220d 2016 car review

How do you review a car that drives itself? It is a question I have started to ask myself as we drive an increasing number of cars with technologies that hint at the autonomous vehicle future.

On paper, the 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the next step for the New Zealand market in assistance technologies. Let's be clear, this is not an autonomous car and Mercedes-Benz does not pitch it as such, but it is incredibly smart. The ‘Intelligent Drive’ systems are more aimed at safety and comfort.

Does it work? Yes, certainly on our motorways, although less so on our secondary roads where inconsistencies in lane markings and road surface make it a little harder for the car’s camera’s to keep track of its location.

The E-Class looks a lot like a stretched C-Class, and I almost wonder if Mercedes have done themselves a disservice by keeping the family styling so tight. I do like it. The E-Class looks long – very long – and low. The glasshouse and rear taper down, almost to a coupe-like look. 

Upfront the Mercedes grille sparkles in chrome and a matte-iridium finish to give a level of bling to the car. The standard E220d wheels are 18-inch, but our test car benefits from ticking the option box for some larger feet.

Inside the interior is limo-like. The room is cavernous front and rear, with Artico man-made leather on the seats. The front ones are heated and electrically adjustable with a four-way electric lumbar adjust system, the ready 40/20/40 split-folding – something I found handy, fitting in a 1.5m long box after a trip to Bunnings. On the numbers, the boot is slightly smaller at 540-litres, but still huge.

If there is one thing dominating the interior it is the pair of huge 12.3-inch LCD screens that run two-thirds of their way across the dash – replacing the traditional dash cluster and infotainment systems.

It is tough designing two large slabs of flat glass into a generally-flowing group interior design style, and Mercedes have done a reasonable job of it. They are also both finished in a surface that keeps most glare in check. 

The real estate is needed to provide all the indications and situation awareness displays for the drive systems mentioned above, but also give a genuinely rich experience and look to the built-in sat-nav and other controls. Plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come into their own when displayed at this size.

I am not convinced of the Mercedes-Benz methods for controlling the system. There are the usual centre-console mounted dial, buttons, and touchpad, which work well enough but in my opinion, lags slightly behind both BMW iDrive and Audi’s MMI controller. On the steering wheel are two new touch-based directional controls. I understand once you are used to them they are great.

The 2-litre turbo-diesel in the E220d provides more than enough motivation, no doubt assisted by the use of aluminium in the body to keep weight at a trim 1680kg. The unit, as seen in the C-Class and other medium Mercedes, puts 143kW and 400Nm to the rear wheels through a slick and incredibly smooth nine-speed automatic transmission.

How does it drive? It is quick but not a performance machine – that role will be played by AMG options further up the line.

The diesel can be a little audible, but it is a burble rather than being rough. The ride, on variable-rate dampers and steel-springs, is almost butter smooth without being too soft, and if there is a downside in the drive of the car, it is that the driver-assist systems can give the steering somewhat of a disconnected ‘digital’ type feeling.