The Mercedes-Benz E250CDi has been kicking around the office for a couple of months and we have chalked up more than 5000km in the sleek, four-door beast.

Possibly one of the most interesting cars in the Mercedes range, the E250CDi offers incredible fuel economy (5.3-litres/100km) combined with strong performance in a large, five seater sedan car.

The engine is a 2.1-litre, four cylinder, turbo diesel but don’t scoff – it has as much torque (pulling power) as a 5.0-litre petrol V8 and as much power as a 3.5-litre petrol V6. At 150kW/500Nm, the E250CDi driver won’t suffer from feelings of inadequacy.

All that power and torque is basically down to a high pressure injection system with advanced injector nozzles and a twin scroll turbocharger that lights up right off idle. It keeps pumping performance boosting pressurised air into the engine right up to redline around 5000rpm.

The engine itself is a technical tour de force right down to a specially developed balancer system to quell vibrations.

If you didn’t know it was a diesel, you wouldn’t realise it from behind the wheel.

The test car was fitted with an AMG pack including a steering wheel paddle gear change system, a sporty look to the body and larger wheels among other goodies. It’s worth the spend.

There are many positive aspects to the E250CDi but some in particular stand out like the bi-xenon headlights with adaptive function that turn with the steering. The cornering lights also are handy.

We liked the hill hold system and the attention assist that monitors your reactions through the steering wheel and recommends when you need to take a break.

It has plenty of goodies in the cabin including Bluetooth, a killer audio system and voice control for the audio, navigation and phone. The keyless go is also handy allowing you to gain access and to start the car without taking the key from your pocket.

The on-road feel is aided by direct steering that alters the steering rack ratio to suit fast or slow driving. At low speeds, the E250CDi turns corners in a blink. We also like the adaptive suspension that changes calibration according to driving conditions.

Any complaints? Manual fore/aft seat adjustment came as a shock and we’d like to try it as seven-speed auto.

Overall, we would own one in a heart beat.

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