Test Driving The Mercedes-Benz E 450 All Terrain, A Most Elegant Wagon
📝 usncan Note: Test Driving The Mercedes-Benz E 450 All Terrain, A Most Elegant Wagon
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All about the rear bodywork, from Sindelfingen with love. Mercedes-Benz E 450 All Terrain and its AMG brother are elegant and luxurious alternatives to an SUV. All Terrain has the profile of a slingshot stretched to full extension, ready to fire. Or perhaps a shooting star is the appropriate metaphor. Roof, shoulder and character lines all arc to the rear bodywork.
Mark Ewing
Family legacy can demand out of the ordinary tasks, like a 250-mile round trip in a tight timeframe to retrieve family heirlooms. For this rapid-strike journey, I was blessed with this Mercedes All Terrain wagon, which transformed what could have been an onerous duty into a pleasurable and comfortable journey, this elegant wagon eating up miles with aid of intelligent cruise control, air suspension set to Comfort, and the depthless joys of Sirius/XM radio. Upon return, I had a brief stretch of back and legs, then and headed to the garden to work for a few hours, no trouble.
A mountain 2-lane might not be a wagon’s native territory, but it’s the best place to snap photos in peace, and the E 450 All Terrain acquitted itself well. As one expects with a well-sorted German vehicle, all the weights and actions of controls instantly read the brain. Location of all controls and switchgear follows logic sorted by Mercedes over the decades, and new technologies like the touchscreen panels of the Superscreen dash are smoothly integrated. Coolly logical.
Mark Ewing
With its long hood, swept but tall windshield, sharp lines defining the flanks, and long arc of the roof ending in a curvaceous yet taut rump, All Terrain has the profile of a slingshot stretched to full extension, ready to fire. Or perhaps a shooting star is the appropriate metaphor. It’s all about the rear bodywork: From Sindelfingen, with love.
Big door frames for easily clambering in and out. High-quality leather and interior materials. On a 250-mile round trip, the seats proved supportive and comfortable. Massage function available. No, not supercar seats with massive side bolstering, but perfectly executed luxury chairs. The car will lope along at any speed you choose up to three digits. It’s very, very happy on the open highway.
Mark Ewing
Mercedes has a “parts bin” of subsystems the envy of all other manufacturers. In All Terrain, we find the tidy 375 horsepower straight six turbo that pairs with a mild hybrid system that adds a bit of torque at lower speeds.
Rear seats also comfortable for full-sized adults. Note the squared-off upper rear door frame—no bonking of heads climbing in or out. Obviously in the photo, foot, leg and knee room are plentiful. Driver seat in the photo is set for me, six foot two+.
Mark Ewing
Squeeze the throttle pedal firmly to the carpet and the engine room answers with more forward thrust, the 9-speed kicking down several gears nearly instantly, and the car rushing onward with accompaniment of a classic but subtle straight six yowl. Excellent acceleration is available anywhere below 100 mph, which is right where you want it. Dawdlers and people cruising on the highway while staring down at smartphones, are dusted off with ease.
All Terrain covers 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. When I was a mere Boy Editor, very few sports cars, no matter the size of the engine, could match or beat that time. These are the good old days for acceleration junkies.
Mark Ewing
For data hounds, it covers 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. When I was a mere Boy Editor, very few sports cars, no matter the size of the engine, could match or beat that time. These are the good old days for acceleration junkies.
Test car equipped with the Superscreen option. The passenger can control numerous functions like navigation and audio, becoming copilot on any journey. For family travel, it’s worth every penny. Steering column adjusts widely. Plenty of cubby space in center console. Smartphone recharging pad in lead cubby. Note camera on center dash top, for Zoom meetings when parked.
Mark Ewing
Air springing is standard, and those “balloons” combined with superb suspension architecture and advanced dampers (nee shock absorbers) deliver excellent ride quality even with the optional 20-inch AMG wheels. Set to Comfort, the car simply glides along the highway. Even in the hellacious conditions of Greater Los Angeles, the suspension absorbs severe potholes, broken surfaces and expansion joints with little more than the sound of a muffled timpani strike.
All Terrain is about as German and Mercedes as a car can be, with final assembly on the holy grounds of Sindelfingen. My test car wore a rich shade of Patagonia Red from Mercedes’ in-house atelier service, MANUFAKTUR. Optional AMG 20-inch wheels are most desirable. Note long hood, shoulder lines and character lines on flanks. A shooting star.
Mark Ewing
On the much better highways leading north to Santa Barbara or south to San Diego, All Terrain loafs along, its intelligent cruise control reducing stress. On a decent stretch of highway, there’s little or nothing to disrupt mental contemplation of life’s mysteries, pure Zen Time.
Mercedes has evolved this approach to seat controls for decades, and it works. That little “pillow” at the leading edge of the bottom cushion extends the seat bottom outward for those with long legs who need more under-thigh support. Several memory settings that incorporate mirrors. Heating and cooling functions. The cooling function helps traveling long-distance, particularly in summer. Burmester audio is standard on Pinnacle.
Mark Ewing
An elaboration of the newly launched E-class, All Terrain is about as German and Mercedes as a car can be, with final assembly on the holy grounds of Sindelfingen. My test car wore a rich shade of Patagonia Red from Mercedes’ in-house atelier service, MANUFAKTUR.
On a decent stretch of highway, there’s little or nothing to disrupt mental contemplation of life’s mysteries, pure Zen Time.
Mark Ewing
My car was also Pinnacle trim level, meaning most of the good stuff is standard. I strongly recommend the optional Superscreen and the driver assistance package with all its sensors and braking/steering interventions. Both make life behind the wheel more pleasant.
Almost anyone who does not need the maximum cargo capacity of an SUV will find this a pleasing daily driver.
If you want an elegant German station wagon, E 450 All Terrain and its AMG brother are arguably the best choices. Other German luxury wagons exist—with and without enormously powerful engines—but those options are more aggressively “styled,” and thus not truly elegant. All Terrain has far more than enough power to deal with the eventualities of everyday life in the big city.
All Terrain proved entirely competent in the expected German way on open highway, mountain two-lanes and on the rough streets and freeways of Los Angeles.
Mark Ewing
