Triple test: Audi A6 Avant vs Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate vs Volvo V90

The large executive estate car sector is in rude health with new cars from Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. How does a sector stalwart from Audi fare up?
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Rob Adams|Autocar30 December 2016

One of our favourite large posh estate cars at the moment is the new Volvo V90. It’s a real return to form for the Swedish brand and had no problem seeing off the challenge from the Audi A6 Avant. Now there’s another new premium load-lugger here to take it on. Can the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate unsettle the versatile Volvo?

If you were challenged to pick out the new car from this triple test, you’d still point to the Volvo. It may be all-new but the E-Class Estate is very familiar. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s down to the V90 to provide the shock good looks of this trio.

There’s a fine car hiding beneath as well. Derived from the XC90 SUV, it’s currently sold with a single 2.0-litre diesel engine in two power outputs. We picked the mid-range Inscription D4 version, which costs £37,555 new.

Naturally, we picked a four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate too, despite the broader range offering V6s and either comfort SE or sporty AMG Line trim grades. The E220d test car was an AMG Line, £40,430 in a dealer but nearly £51k once the options added to our test car were totted up. The Audi equivalent, an A6 Avant 2.0 TDI 190 Black Edition, has enough extras as standard to make its £40,915 list price seem good value.

They’re a fancy-looking threesome in the metal, these closely-matched cars. Inside, the E-Class feels more like an S-Class than a normal executive car. Fit and finish is impeccable. Mind you, the V90 is terrific within as well, really light, airy and exquisitely put together. Saying that, striking as the 9.0in touchscreen remains, we’re starting to wonder if it isn’t a little too fiddly.

Compared to the other two, the A6 Avant is more sensible and sober. It’s older, and it shows, because it’s less decadent and tantalising. It’s probably the easiest to use from the off though. Like the Merc and the Volvo, it also has a superb driving position, perfect for eating up high miles.

Surprisingly, the Volvo’s boot isn’t the biggest. The sloping roof means 560 litres with the seats up, 1526 litres with them down. The A6 is a bit bigger, with 565 litres and 1680 litres. The Mercedes-Benz, however, boasts 670 and 1820 litres. Easily the largest. It’s the biggest in the rear cabin too, if also the cheapest-feeling. Because the A6 feels claustrophobic, we’d take the Volvo there.

They’re all roughly similar in terms of performance; around eight seconds to 62mph and settled, low-effort manners at speed. The Audi’s engine is quieter than the Volvo’s engine though – in D4 guise, it lacks the faster response of the pricier D5 motor. The Mercedes is quiet too. You don’t buy these cars as performance machines.

You do buy them for comfort though, and here, the Volvo beats the brittle ride quality of the Audi. It glides nicely and just a little excessive knobbiness on some surfaces lets the side down. The Audi’s body is better tied down but its gravelly ride doesn’t work for us. Nor does its unsatisfying steering.

The E-Class Estate aces both of them. It may be in AMG Line trim, but the ride is composed and settled, balancing the absorbency of the Volvo and the control of the Audi. It’s more agile than the others and is the most satisfying to drive.

This, plus the fact it’s the biggest, has the most luxurious cabin and arguably the strongest engine, sees it win this triple test with ease. The Volvo is lovely, and remains a plush and appealing machine, but the Benz has the broader range of abilities. And the Audi? It’s not disgraced, but you can tell there’s a new one coming in a couple of years. See you then for another luxury large estate triple test shoot-out.

Follow Evening Standard Motors on Twitter: @ES_Motors.

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