With dog and kids to cart about, downsizing just isn’t an option for me, and even previous long term cars such as the 5 Series Touring and Q5 have on occasion felt a bit on the cramped side. There’s no chance whatsoever of that though with the E-Class because despite its hi-tech, and brilliant, powertrain it remains resolutely a trusty estate in the classic tradition.

In other words, it is designed to carry vast amounts of stuff. In fact, only the Skoda Superb comes close in terms of volume. Handily ours is fitted with rails in the boot which means I have divided it into a one third/two thirds space so that shopping bags and the like don’t roll about. As any good seaman will tell you, stowing your hold properly is vital for a well-handling ship and I can’t bear things bouncing about when I’m driving.

Talking of thing bouncing about, the kids are being kept quiet and still by the rear seat entertainment. It’s a rather indulgent option but the cordless headphones and built in system is much tidier than those ones with wires all over the place you can buy in Halfords, and a remote control in the front ensures they are always able to skip the scary bits in Mary Poppins or Jungle Book. Not that I realised there were scary bits, mind.

So the big Merc is proving a perfect car for the family, and still returning more than 50mpg on long journeys. In fact, so good is it that I promise to spend the next month trying to be mean and find fault with it. I will report back with my swingeing criticisms in the next issue. Wish me luck…

However, I now have six months with Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class diesel hybrid, and even in the first couple of weeks things are looking up. What is initially striking is how much time it spends running on electric power – far more than any hybrid I have driven before, and how seamlessly it switches between EV mode and the diesel engine.

As a result, without even trying this vast great car (for it is the estate, which is about the biggest on the market) is already averaging early 40s mpg. Add in that a company car taxpayer is paying BiK on CO2 emissions of 119g/km and it looks an incredibly enticing proposition.

My kids are pretty happy too, because our car has come specced up with TVs in the back with, mercifully, headphones, which means we can zip about silently on electric power while they are engrossed in Peppa Pig.

At more than £41,000 it isn’t cheap, but it’s about the same price as a standard E250 CDI estate. I get the feeling it’s going to be a very interesting six months…