It’s highly likely that a decent chunk of you reading this will be company car drivers. A lot of you will have climbed high enough up the greasy pole to be able to follow the ‘traditional’ Audi, BMW, Jaguar, or Mercedes route. Lucky old you.

However, there is one of group people that you need to have on your side. The company accountants.

While you’re keeping a close eye on the Benefit In Kind figures, they’ll be seeing how much your shiny set of wheels is costing the firm.

I have an answer which will keep everyone happy.

Go and try the new Mercedes E Class and head for the 300e which uses PHEV petrol/hybrid power.

Car manufacturers have quite rightly seen the advantage of having a battery powered motor working in tandem with a traditional engine. Stop-starting in a petrol or diesel car, particularly a big one, is bad news for economy, so why not, in effect, turn off the engine and let a battery driven motor do the job instead?

Mercedes reckons the 300e can manage 71 miles on a fully charged battery. If you have a daily commute of, say, 50 miles, trundling along in traffic for the majority of the time, this could be a handy saving because you’ll get to work and back on battery power alone. Plug in the 300e when you get home and you’ll have a fully recharged battery ready for the morning. Even better if you have a charger at work.

Another advantage of this PHEV Mercedes is that you get an extra dollop of power because the 206bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine now has a 131bhp electric motor to join the party. 0-60mph comes up in a shade over 6 seconds and your top speed is 147mph. You can do up to 87mph on battery power alone which is handy for those short stretches of dual carriageway.

As for economy, obviously, if you can use the PHEV facility to its full extent, you’ll hardly use any petrol. You can even switch the car to EV mode, but on longer journeys, I still managed a return of almost 60mpg which, bearing in mind the size and weight of this car, is seriously good going. The battery will also replenish itself thanks to regenerative braking.  

Company car drivers will be pleased to note that the 300e has very attractive 5% BiK rates. Limo fleets will also find the economy, space and comfort standards hard to ignore. Accountants will definitely approve of the lower fuel bills.

Of course, having an economical, roomy, fully loaded exec car is also hugely attractive for private buyers although the starting price of £68,020 will scare off some punters.

Step inside and you can instantly see why the Mercedes E Class is viewed as a slightly smaller S Class. Indeed, you have to ask the question; why go for an S Class when the E Class is so good? The fascia is a work of art (like the S-Class), even things like the air vents look good and have a pleasantly weighted feel to them (like the S-Class).

The central display is a 14.5-inch screen which melds with the optional 12.3-inch screen in front of the passenger. It looks like a slightly smaller version of the stunning ‘Hyperscreen’. There’s also a 12.3-inch screen in front of the driver. All three screens look as though they’re one huge screen. It’s clever and looks terrific, although the black glass can quickly show finger marks so keep a duster handy in the glovebox!

The ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice assistant is better than ever and, when it comes to connectivity and infotainment, along with a raft of driver assistance gadgets, this E Class rates as one of the most hi-tech cars available on UK roads. I had the car for a week and only scratched the surface of what it’ll do for you.

The sat nav is incredibly accurate and tells you which lane to shift into. The way the screen shifts from graphics to images superimposed with arrows is impressive. You can even opt for an in-car camera which would allow you to make video calls using the car’s 5G connectivity.

There’s also the chance to have your own private disco thanks to the optional, and brilliant, sound system which makes the ambient lighting pulse to the rhythm of the music. How cool is that?

Out on the road, the E-Class 300e does what the E Class does best, it breezes along. The battery is keen to do all of the work, but everything is so quiet and seamless that when the engine joins in you invariably need to check the rev counter to see if it’s running or not. You only really hear the engine when you’re giving the throttle full beans and are asking for a load of power. The 9-speed gearbox is silky smooth. Overall, the interior ambience is one of serenity and there’s a real sense of luxury around the cabin. No surprise that the build quality is excellent and all of the materials look and feel good. You also have loads of space as the latest model has a slightly longer wheelbase than its predecessor and, thanks to clever packaging, there is a stack of legroom in the rear.

One downside of the PHEV 300e is that the boot space is reduced from 540 to 370 litres when compared to the other models in the E Class range.

However, aside from that, the Mercedes E Class 300e offers the perfect combination of relaxed, long distance cruising and economical day to day commuting, which for business users, is music to their ears.

Yes, it will also be a stunning family car but I suspect that company car parks and limo fleet operators will be the likely destination of most Mercedes E Class 300e models.

And don’t be surprised if the company accountant has one too. Nuff said.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Mercedes