STUTTGART, Germany – Mercedes-Benz reveals the E-Class All Terrain, a new high-riding version of the German automaker’s latest luxury wagon.
The E-Class All Terrain will compete against the Audi A6 Allroad and Volvo V90 Cross Country in selected global markets but is excluded from sale in North America during the initial production phase, Mercedes officials say.
The model aims to provide the comfort and convenience of the recently introduced sixth-generation E-Class wagon, as well as the increased ground clearance and off-road ability of the automaker’s dedicated midsize CUV, the GLE.
Helping it achieve this dual role is a revised version of the E-Class’s optional Air Body Control air suspension offering up to 1.4 ins. (36 mm) of additional ground clearance. By pressing a button on the center console, the driver can raise the ride height of the new model from a standard 4.8-in. (122- m) ground clearance through an intermediate setting of 5.6 ins. (142 mm) and to a maximum setting of 6.1 ins. (155 mm) at speeds up to 22 mph (35 km/h).
A specially tuned version of Mercedes’s 4Matic all-wheel drive system in combination with standard 19-in. wheels shod with tires featuring higher sidewalls than the standard E-Class are claimed to enhance traction while providing additional ride comfort on rough roads.
Additionally, a standard Dynamic Select function offers the choice of five different driving modes. One is All Terrain mode described by Mercedes as being specific to the E-Class All Terrain. When engaged it sets the suspension in the intermediate setting with 5.6 ins. ground clearance and alters the threshold of the electronic stability program, active yaw control and acceleration skid control for maximum off-road ability.
As with the GLE, an All Terrain program displayed on the E-Class All Terrain’s Command infotainment monitor shows the steering angle, suspension level, angle of slope and angle of inclination as well as the position of the accelerator and brakes.
Differentiating the new model from the standard E-Class are a series of external styling tweaks, all of which give it a more rugged appearance than its more on-road-biased sibling. Included are a re-profiled 2-tone front bumper, prominent twin-blade grille, wheel-arch cladding, roof rails, beefed-up sills underneath the doors and a 2-tone rear bumper with integrated trapezoidal-shaped tail pipes.
Styling changes inside the E-Class All Terrain are more subtle. They include exclusive aluminum-carbon fiber-look trim applications, stainless-steel pedals and floormats with All Terrain identification. The standard equipment is based on the Avantgard line of the standard E-Class wagon.
The E-Class All Terrain will be launched with a single engine in European markets, where deliveries are planned to begin during second-quarter 2017 following the new model’s public premiere at next week’s Paris auto show. The newly developed turbocharged 2.0L 4-cyl. common-rail-diesel unit, known internally as the OM654, provides the E220d 4Matic All Terrain with 191 hp and 295 lb.-ft. (400 Nm) of torque on a relatively narrow band of revs between 1,600 and 2,800 rpm.
Drive is channeled through a Mercedes 9G-Tronic 9-speed torque-converter-equipped automatic transmission and 4Matic all-wheel-drive system.
Mercedes claims the new wagon makes 0-62 mph (100 km) in 8.0 seconds and achieves a top speed of 144 mph (232 km/h). Combined-cycle fuel consumption is put at 46.1 mpg (5.1 L/100 km) on the European test procedure.
A 6-cyl. E350d 4Matic All Terrain model featuring Mercedes’s new 3.0L inline diesel engine, the OM656, is to join the lineup later in 2017.
