The $134,000 Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class has been named as the New Zealand Motoring Writers' Guild's (NZMWG) Car of the Year for 2024. This is the second time the E-Class has won the award, with the previous generation also taking top honours in 2016.
The traditional mild hybrid luxury sedan ended a run of EV success at the NZMWG awards, with the Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Hyundai Ioniq 5, BYD Atto 3 and MG4 having won in the previous five years.
The E-Class beat out nine other contenders for the 2024 award, including the Honda CR-V, Volvo EX30, MG 3, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota C-HR, Kia EV9, Suzuki Swift, Polestar 4 and a pairing of the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X, which the Guild treated as a single car.
While the E-Class was a finalist in our own AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year awards (and likewise won the overall award in 2016), it was kept from the top step in 2024 by the Range Rover Sport in the Luxury category, while the overall winner (selected from the winners in each individual category) was the BYD Sealion 6, a plug-in hybrid SUV that bizarrely didn't make the finalists for the NZMWG award, a move that irked BYD's local distributor.
"World-leading safety credentials are but one of many features that helped the new E-Class stand out from very talented rivals for our 2024 Car of the Year crown,” said NZMWG president Robert Barry.
"In an era when many new cars feature blunt, assertive styling, the E-Class is sleeky styled to achieve top-tier aerodynamic efficiency. This and its mild-hybrid powertrain optimise fuel efficiency, but not at the expense of performance, which is more than adequate to fill its brief as an effortless long-distance tourer."
"Add in outstanding refinement, a sumptuous interior, and the latest in AI-enabled driver support systems, and the E-Class is, above all else, a great all-rounder."
Mercedes-Benz New Zealand general manager, Joerg Schmidt said that the company was honoured to receive the award and sincerely thanked the Guild members for recognising the exceptional qualities of the new E-Class.
"This accolade is a testament to Mercedes-Benz’s commitment to delivering unparalleled design, cutting-edge technology and award-winning safety," he said. "We appreciate the Guild’s recognition for everything the new E-Class offers."
The award, now in its 36th year, is presented each year by the the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild, the professional body for motoring media from around the country. The organisation's voting members tested the vehicles in their home environments across the country, which the Guild says ensures a ‘real-world’ result.