E400 WAGON A PLEASURE TO PILOT
Newest Mercedes-Benz a viable alternative to a luxury sport ute
HAMBURG, GERMANY Once a regular sight in showrooms, the station wagon is an endangered species in Canada, rejected by buyers who prefer the taller stance of a crossover or sport utility vehicle. But Mercedes-Benz bucks that trend; its E-Class Wagon now morphs into an all-new generation, following in the footsteps of its recently made-over sedan sibling. And it’s a real sweet ride.
Half the company’s European car sales are wagons, and buyers there will have a choice of several variants, including four-cylinder gas and diesel engines, and an AMG performance model. With considerably fewer wagon buyers in Canada, we’ll get a single model: the V6-powered E400 with 4Matic all-wheel drive. (That’s the official word for now, although I won’t be surprised to see an AMG version arrive eventually as well.)
The E400 will go on sale early next year and pricing hasn’t been announced, but it’ll be a few ticks above the E-Class sedan, which starts at $69,400. It will also be equipped similarly to its sedan sibling, and with numerous packages and stand-alone options available.
The twin-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder is a thing of beauty. It makes 329 horsepower, and churns out 354 pound-feet of torque at just 1,200 rpm, but what’s most impressive is that it doesn’t feel turbocharged. There is absolutely no lag, and no harsh power whip when you push the throttle. Instead, it’s just smooth, swift, linear acceleration, all the way to don’t-even-think-about-it-in-Canada speeds on the unlimited-speed sections of the German highways. It’s delivered through the E-Class’ new ninespeed automatic, which keeps it in the sweet spot and with none of the gear-hunting that some multispeed transmissions can exhibit.
A dial on the console lets you choose the steering, suspension and throttle settings, from Eco up to Sport Plus. Even in the sportier modes, though, the E400 is primarily a luxury cruiser, with steering that’s responsive and well weighted, but a little light on feedback. Add in the quiet cabin, and piloting this car is downright relaxing.
The interior is equally impressive, and while all models come with a long list of standard features, my tester had several items that will cost extra, including a panoramic sunroof in place of the default single-pane one, premium stereo, leather-wrapped dash, head-up display and 360-degree camera.
One thing my Euro-spec wagon didn’t have, but which will be standard on all Canadian models, is a rear-facing third-row bench seat. When not required, it folds down into a bin under the cargo floor. The second-row seats also fold flat for extra cargo room.
Interior tech includes smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Qi wireless charging and a touchpad where you can trace letters or numbers to bring up contacts and navigation routes. Alas, Mercedes-Benz still hasn’t embraced the touch screen, and the centre display remains handled by a somewhat clunky joystick system, along with voice commands.
Several other technologies, depending on your outlook, are either decent add-ons or just plain unnecessary. In the former category, I’ll put the automatic cornering lights, traffic sign recognition — the speed limit appears in the head-up display, and it’ll even alert if you’re entering a one-way street the wrong way — and a forward cross-traffic alert that warns and can brake if vehicles, bicycles or even pedestrians move into your path.
In addition to parking itself, the E-Class will also drive itself, but I’m not sold on that — in any car. It’s not autonomous, but when its Drive Pilot feature is engaged, the car stays in its lane, keeps a set distance from the vehicle in front and handles braking and acceleration in stop-and-go traffic. It will let you take your hands off the wheel for several seconds before insisting that you take control again.
It all worked fine until I entered a construction area with altered lanes. I knew to follow the solid orange lines, but the car didn’t. It was confused by the old dotted white lines between them, and then by a concrete barrier near the outermost line. It abruptly braked and then tried to steer sideways, and while I immediately overrode it and brought it back, it startled me and could well have put a less-experienced driver in trouble. These systems can only react to road conditions, and there’s stuff that’s still beyond them.
Also new, and available when Drive Pilot is on, is a lane-changing assistant. Hold the turn signal, and the car checks the adjacent lane with its blind-spot system and then moves over. Some people may like it, but I can’t get used to a car doing my job, and could only try it a couple of times. If there’s any bright side, it might finally get some people to use their signals.
Beyond my dislike of these selfdriving options, I’d leave them off simply because this car is such a pleasure to pilot. Personal preference is everything when it comes to vehicle segments, but this could be a viable alternative to a luxury sport ute for a lot of people.