Mercedes C-Class estate: stylish and practical family car

Price: £28,470 - £74,700

Pros: Comfortable suspension, big boot and practical interior, luxurious cabin

Cons: Diesel engines can be noisy, BMW 3 Series Touring is better to drive, air suspension bumpy at low speeds

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4.3/5, Car Buyer "The Mercedes C-Class estate enters a

class

that already contains upmarket estate cars such as the Audi A4 Avant and the brilliant BMW 3 Series Touring. It's good looking – arguably more so than its two main rivals – with a swish exterior and has the usual Mercedes qualities of excellent build quality and a luxurious cabin. With the rear seats in place, the

estate's

boot is 40 litres larger than the C-Class saloon's, offering a total capacity of 490 litres that expands to a huge 1,510 litres when you fold down the back seats. Bigger estate cars aren’t hard to find, but not really in this class, and in any case, that's still a lot of space and there's a decent amount of legroom for rear passengers. There's a large choice of engines, with something to suit every buyer, starting with the most affordable C200 2.0-litre petrol version and including a range of clean, economical and powerful diesel engines. The line-up tops out with the C300 BlueTEC Hybrid, which is powered by both a diesel engine and an electric motor. The hybrid is also the most economical C-Class, returning up to 76.3mpg, but it's also very expensive to buy. The much cheaper diesel models aren’t that far behind it, managing up to 68.9mpg. This is a great long-distance motorway car, mainly due to the quiet cabin and the plush ride. However, although the estate is a big car, anything this comfy to sit in is bound to make town journeys easier, even if it hasn’t exactly been designed to tackle tight city streets."

4/5, Auto Express “The C-Class Estate feels like a luxurious and grown-up car. It majors on comfort and cabin quality.”

4/5, What Car? “If you’re willing to trade outright boot space for more compact dimensions, the C-Class has plenty going for it. It's well equipped and has a seriously plush cabin.”