New Eclass Estate less capacious.

[24 VRT]

I've just moved from c.14 years with our 210 to a 211. I did look at the 211 when it first came out but at the time was in the middle of property renovations, university runs, family holidays (why do wives have to take the kitchen sink?) and I felt the useable loadspace wasn't up to that of the 210. To me, the curvature of the tailgate in the 211 would have prevented getting big box-sized objects in it. The 210 happily swallowed a 4 seat teak Lutyens bench in its time - pretty certain the 211 wouldn't have managed it.
Load capacities quoted are volume - more important are the internal dimensions of the loadspace for those needing to move big square shaped items. Thankfully my load lugging days are largely over, so I'm happy with the 211 now. Unfortunately the MB plastic loadbay liner for the 210 wouldn't fit the 211, nor the roof bars - the latter still sat on ebay with seemingly little interest.

 

[Will]

I have had them all except the 213 - several 124s, 210s, 211s and a 212 and have been very happy with the load space on them all.

Something to consider is the protrusion of the rear wheel wells into the load area. I guess the 124s on narrow 15” wheels didn’t need as much of a wide wheel arch as later cars, they seem to have grown about an inch in diameter with correspondingly wider section tyres and lower profiles as the years pass by. But as someone else mentioned, the load liner from a 211 fits a 212 so perhaps there’s not a lot in it dimensionally. Not sure how they compare to the early cars though now.

I honestly can’t think of anything I have wanted to move in an E-class estate that I couldn’t. You’ve always got the option of sticking it on the roof rails too!

GL is pretty good too