2015 Mercedes-Benz E Class vs. Its Competition

Martin Padgett Editorial Director

One of the longtime leaders in luxury sales, the Mercedes E-Class comes in a wide variety of drivetrains and body styles, from diesel to AMG.

That makes vehicles like the Audi A6 and BMW 5-Series its closest rivals, in both performance and prestige.

The A6 has relative lightness and user-friendly road manners in its corner, but we'd still prefer its sexy hatchback A7 counterpart ten times out of ten.

The RS7 is the highest-output version on that platform, and makes a good E63 competitor, while the A6 is offered with a diesel.

The 5-Series has grown big and complex over the years like the E-Class, but in all but the most posh versions its interior is stark, and its adaptive driving controls don't always converge on a happy medium.

Likewise, the M5 can be a thrilling performer at supernatural speeds but overkill at anything resembling regular duty.

Meanwhile, the Jaguar XF is a rising contender, with beautiful design and eager responses--and recently added all-wheel drive and supercharged V-6 options.

We're still fans of Infiniti's Q70 sedan as well: it's a pretty four-door, with a choice of hybrid, six-cylinder, and eight-cylinder engines, and rear- or all-wheel drive, plus it's available in long-wheelbase form for 2015.