Mercedes-Benz E-class review – executive tour-de-force still one to be reckoned with - Performance and 0-60mph time

The 2143cc four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel may not have the quickest credentials on paper but it will get you to 62mph in a claimed 7.3sec and go on to 149mph – two-tenths and 2mph quicker than BMW’s 520d.

The E-class’s real powerhouses all have six- and eight-cylinder engines, once again proving there isn’t a replacement for displacement. The all-new in-line six petrol and diesel are both rapid to 62mph, the E400d taking just 4.9sec, while the E53 does the same sprint in 4.5sec. These sound marvellously impressive until you read the E63 S’s figure, which sits at an astonishing 3.4sec, an achievement as impressive today as it was at the time of the model’s launch a few years ago.

These high-performance engines all produce massive numbers everywhere in the rev range too, with torque curves flatter than northern France. Mercedes engineering at its very finest.