E100 line – worth the grind?

Despite unlocking my first tier 6 tank last night (VK 36.01 H), I’m still very new to all the nuances of WoT. Before choosing a line I read people’s overviews on what they thought the best tank lines were to pursue and settled on the German E100 line. The trouble is every time I grind myself up to the next tier, I’m massively underwhelmed by each tank’s standard performance. Now I know you shouldn’t expect much from a standard tank, but match after match of scoring 0 penetrations and sub-300 XP per match is really defeating. I play as sneakily as I can but I’m often outmatched by other tanks with far better armour and visibility range (don’t get me started on the KV’s). I’m not sure how many more times I can lay down round after round on a tank only to be taken out by 2 in return.
I can see why people are pushed to sinking actual money into buying better tanks so perhaps it’s just a ploy by the devs.
But I want people’s opinions. Do I stick with the E100 line or try my luck elsewhere?