A definite winner from Mercedes, the new All-Terrain is arguably the most complete car on the market. And it looks better than ever.
What I want to say about the new Mercedes E Class All-Terrain Station is really quite simple: I think this may just be the best family car I have ever tested.
The E-Class has always been a staple of the market and the Station was always a very, very good family tool, but this latest generation is better than ever, reaching a point where I don’t see how it can be bettered in the future. The next one will have to be something else: fully electric or flying or capable of going underwater or something. This is a topic I have written about on these pages before. Internal combustion vehicles are getting to a point where they are so perfect, the reasons for a private buyer to part ways with his car are becoming harder and harder to see.
Another important thing regarding the All-Terrain is this: to my eyes, it looks incredible. It’s bigger than it has ever been at 4.95m, but the proportions are spot on, and the harmony of the lines make it look just the right size. Much better than any SUV, that is for sure.
The press car was, without surprise, a hybrid. The Station 220d comes with a 2-litre diesel engine producing 197 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque. The 48v mild-hybrid system is capable of adding 23 extra horsepower and allows the car to run on electric power alone for short periods of time.
This is the first time the German constructor has applied a hybrid system to the All-Terrain version of the E Station, boosting even further the versatility of a car that already majored on versatility in the first place.
Objectively, the regular E Station is already excellent, of course. It’s just that the All-Terrain version adds a bit of specialness; a specialness I like because it’s not all just aesthetics – there are real engineering solutions at play here. The All-Terrain comes standard with the 4MATIC permanent four-wheel drive system and the AIRMATIC pneumatic suspension, meaning it can ride 46mm higher than the standard car – and thus do good on its go-anywhere promise.
The Off-Road mode further enhances those capabilities, electronically managing traction to maximize forward motion when grip levels are low. Ride height (17.8 cm) is just 2.6 cm lower than a GLC and, although I don’t see many customers actually taking the E Station All-Terrain on a gravel road, I believe they like to know they could if they wanted to. I know I would.
Anyway, this is a car that will spend most of its life in city traffic and on the motorway, doing the most mundane chores a car can do. But it will, however, do them with aplomb and a level of class most other cars can only dream of. An E-Class (sorry, I could not resist).
On every situation, the rolling comfort of the Mercedes is supreme. The AIRMATIC suspension doesn’t just do wonders for off-roading: it is absolutely incredible on every type of surface. It can adjust each individual wheel separately, managing how it sees fit if any given corner of the car needs more or less compliance. The result is a sense of quality and world-class engineering we usually tend to think has been lost in today’s cars. Well, it hasn’t. Kudos to Mercedes for that.
On the inside, it’s E-Class business as usual. In fact, that is not true. It’s much better than it has been for the last two generations. There is an old-school Mercedes feeling of solidity, as if this car will last forever and the cabin cannot be worn down. Obviously, there are a lot of options available, and you can personalise yours as you see fit. Just beware the final price will move a lot higher if you start adding more and more goodies.
The infotainment is called Superscreen and incorporates a passenger display screen and the central display behind a single glass panel that extends across the dashboard. Although the driver display is a separate unit, the three screens create a very cohesive whole.
Android Auto and Apple Car Play are available, and you can sign on directly to your Apple Music, Prime Music or Spotify accounts to stream music. This allows the Burmester sound system (optional of course, but so worth it) to make use of the full Dolby Atmos experience in 4D sound. Amazing.
With the seats up, the boot capacity is 615 litres. However, hybrid versions have the batteries installed under the boot, which robs 155 litres (!), for a total of 460. Lower the seats and you can get a building inside: 1830 litres for the regular car, 1675 litres for the hybrids.
At a starting price of €77,300 for this 2.0 litre model, I don’t even think the All-Terrain is that expensive. In relative terms, of course. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’s also a lot of car. A lot of a great car. One of the best I have ever driven in fact, and the car I would buy today as my everyday family run-around if I could.
So, if you can, forget about those ubiquitous SUVs everyone has: the E-Class Station All-Terrain is better than all of them. And more beautiful. And more frugal. And a lot more special. Mercedes have hit the bullseye.
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