2024 Mercedes-Benz E450 All Terrain First Test: Elegance Isn’t Spelled “S-U-V”
Whether or not you buy into the E-Class wagon’s SUV cosplay, it’s an incredible vehicle.
Pros
- Beautiful ride quality
- Luxurious interior
- Supremely practical
Cons
- Not as quick as Benz claims
- Could do without the raised ride height and cladding
- No third-row option
Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class station wagon has been a quiet staple of the German automaker’s lineup for decades. Unless you frequent high-net-worth zip codes, where Mercedes says loyalty among its wagon customers is among the highest in its portfolio, you’re likely to have encountered only the four-door E-Class sedans that make up the overwhelming share of Benz’s midsize car sales here in America. Otherwise, you’re forgiven for probably having no idea that the E450 All Terrain, which was recently redesigned alongside the E-Class sedan, is one of the best vehicles you can buy, period. If you can afford it, of course.
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The longer-roof E-Class is only available here in America in faux-SUV, vaguely Subaru-ish “All Terrain” guise, which translates to a slightly raised ride height (by about 1.8 inches), plastic fender and bumper cladding, and standard 4Matic all-wheel drive. It’s been this way since the previous-generation E-Class, which was the last one sold with a regular (read: car-height, uncladded sedan-with-more-butt) station wagon variant (not counting the even rarer fire-breathing V-8-powered E63 wagon). To most observers, the E450 All Terrain is a wagon. We agree, mostly because it's the same as the E-Class wagon sold overseas and the next-generation E63 wagon, only in the SUV drag.
What’s New?
The styling, cabin technologies, and platform are mostly new. The wheelbase has grown by 0.9 inch, width is up 0.7 inch, and both increases translate to slightly more passenger room, especially in the back seat. Benz’s latest driver assistance features are available, including a hands-free driving assistant capable of automatically changing lanes to pass slower traffic, as well as a new “Superscreen” dashboard with up to three displays (one for the driver, a central touchscreen, and a passenger-side touchscreen). The MBUX infotainment system now supports phone-as-key tech and even in-car Zoom meetings (when parked, via a cyborg-like camera atop the dash—it’s optional). It can also be programmed to automate certain routines (such as navigating to a specific location at a specific time on a specific day—say, a consistent weekly appointment—or activating the seat massage after a set amount of driving time) and even includes mood curators. In short, the technology inside the E450 takes the biggest leaps forward.
Mechanically, Mercedes has carried over the last-generation E450 All Terrain’s turbocharged mild-hybrid inline-six engine and 48-volt electrical architecture, but has boosted it to produce 375 hp, up from 362 (torque stays the same at 369 lb-ft). Only E-Class sedans are available with a lower-output, more affordable four-cylinder engine or a higher-output inline-six in the E53 AMG; again, the forthcoming top-dog E63 will be available in both body styles.
All four corners are once again suspended by height-adjustable air springs and adaptive dampers, 4Matic all-wheel drive is standard, and the cargo area remains generously sized. The All Terrain’s long, low body gains a few more curves along with taillights with interesting star-shaped elements—you know, like the Mercedes three-pointed star—and the headlights are now integrated into a masklike element shared with the grille. Some of our snarkier staff think the darkened surround gives the Benz’s face a resemblance to a raccoon, or even the McDonald’s Hamburglar character. Most everyone else finds it low-key and handsome.
A Legacy of Greatness
Midsize Mercedes wagons dating back to the pre-E-Class-era W123-generation models sold from 1978 to 1986 have a well-earned reputation for being overengineered, serene family-haulers that pour themselves down open roads. There is a direct through-line from those early wagons and their adjustable-height hydraulic suspensions (only at the rear axle at first, later at all four corners and swapped for air suspension) to the 1987–1995 W124 generation that picked up the E moniker (and, for the first time, optional 4Matic all-wheel drive) to their successors and, finally, to this modern All Terrain. All have been a little bit complex and, for the most part, very expensive.
The 2024 E450 All Terrain is expensive, but it could be argued it isn’t as pricey as it could (or probably deserves to) be. Adjusted for inflation, earlier examples cost the equivalent of six figures; this author’s 1995 E320 wagon, for example, started at $47,500 when new—$101,000 in 2024 money—and came loaded with frippery such as an electric soft-close system on the tailgate that somehow had to play nicely with the pneumatic door locks (quieter than electrics), a hydraulic load-leveling rear suspension, three-row seating via a jump seat in the cargo area, and a 228-hp inline-six.
A 2025 model equipped identically to this one starts at $77,250, and only approaches $90,000 if you check every box on the order form. As tested, the E450 you see would set you back $88,810, and is pretty much missing only the massaging front seat option. The new Superscreen is among the chosen options, along with 20-inch wheels, the full-bore Driver Assistance package with the new hands-free setup, leather, and the aptly named Pinnacle trim, which adds acoustic- and heat-insulating glass, ambient lighting, a backlit grille, and a head-up display.
The Performance Is There, Should You Need It
If luxury is all about having what one wants but hardly needs, the E450 is swimming in old-money vibes. That inline-six under the long hood, with its electric assist, spreads its power out like butter on warm toast, effortlessly flinging the E450 forward, feeling as unburdened as a trust-fund kid skipping classes at the Ivy his parents donated his way into. Sixty mph arrives in 4.9 seconds, and quarter-mile runs are dispatched in 13.4 seconds at 105.3 mph. Both figures improve on the last All Terrain (a pre-redesign 2021 model) as well as the most recent Audi A6 Allroad we evaluated (a similarly lifted take on the A6 sedan’s wagon sibling), and the current four-cylinder E350 sedan. But its 0–60 mph run is, curiously, 0.3 second slower than Mercedes-Benz’s 4.6-second estimate. Less curiously, it’s 0.2 second behind its lighter E450 sedan sibling with the same powertrain.
Fuel economy is one powertrain metric that exceeds expectations, though. EPA estimates are 21/31/25 city/highway/combined mpg, and we never struggled to beat the combined number—and we enjoyed that 375-hp inline-six thoroughly. On one 12-mile, multi-lap run around a high-speed oval test track, we saw nearly 36 mpg from the E450’s onboard computer at a steady 75 mph. It was an easy test, seeing as how we could take our hands completely off the wheel with the assist system running.
It gave us time to come up with another test: seeing how fast we could go with the hands-off setup in operation. Answer? The feature works all the way up to the E450’s top speed of 130 mph. This might seem like one of those extraneous, overengineered features present solely for bragging rights, so you can tell your country club buddies that your adaptive cruise control works at top speed. But remember, this E-Class is born, bred, and sold overseas also, including in Germany, where you’d have ample reason to expect a hands-free driving assistance widget that operates at such velocities. On a practical level, this means the system works flawlessly at American highway speeds, and its automated lane changes are as smooth as those from GM’s Super Cruise system.
The E450 is a vehicle that begs to be placed in this state of precision apathy, too—the ride is cushy, almost entirely isolating bumps (and their noises) from the cabin, and the seats are supremely comfortable. Handing control of the steering, braking, and acceleration over to the computers simply allows for further relaxation on the driver’s part. But should you decide to grab that steering wheel, the E450 All Terrain rewards you with athletic moves and gobs of grip. Around our skidpad, the E450 scores a sports car-like 0.88 g of lateral grip and comes close to the 25-second mark typical of far sportier vehicles on its figure-eight lap time. Hustling comes with some body roll, dive, and squat from the comfort-focused suspension, even in the Sport modes, but the 4Matic all-wheel drive helps balance the wagon’s inherent understeer with an extra helping of torque to the rear axle. The brakes are more than up to arresting the 4,500-pound All Terrain’s forward progress, too, even from triple-digit speeds; in our 60–0 mph test the E450 halted in a very short 114 feet.
But Wait, There’s More
Traditionalists can huff and puff over the All Terrain’s nods toward off-road capability, a seeming concession on Mercedes-Benz’s part that even its fiercely loyal wagon buyers needed something to keep them from wandering into one of the brand’s SUVs instead, but the E450 is no mere pretender. Within the context of its maximum ride height, all-wheel drive, and carlike approach, departure, and breakover angles, it’s surprisingly good off-pavement.
Switching over to the Off-Road drive mode raises the suspension to its maximum height (just over 7.0 inches), softens the throttle sensitivity, and enables a “transparent hood” view in the 360-degree camera that lets you see what’s immediately in front of the vehicle (as if the hood were invisible—get it?). Thanks largely to the soft suspension that’s so good on the road, the E450 floats over uneven dirt roads. We even clambered up a steep, rocky embankment in it—and reversed back up another one after descending into a ditch that seemed certain to scuff some of our test wagon’s stunning Verde Silver paint. The 4Matic system delivers 69 percent of engine torque to the rear axle under normal conditions but can direct nearly 100 percent to either end of the car as needed, and our off-road excursions faced no traction issues. You’ll make it to your favorite ski resort or upstate cabin, and about as far off-road as most Mercedes customers will ever take one of the brand’s full-on SUVs, without issue.
Take all the above, combine it with the E450 All Terrain’s 40-20-40 split-folding rear seat, which expands the cargo area from a merely huge 33.1 cubic feet to a humongous 64.6 cubic feet, and its elegant looks, and the wagon is the only car most people might need. Mercedes wagon nerds among us (OK, this author) lament the disappearance of the rear-facing third-row seat option, non-All Terrain specification, and traditional three-pointed star hood ornament (all E-Classes continue to get only the in-grille star and a small hood badge, as they have since 2021), but the 2024 E450 All Terrain is a Benz estate car through and through. It still delivers more of everything than it should, from power to efficiency to comfort, and all in a package so totally excellent it’ll not only make you question why everyone keeps buying SUVs but also help power the E-Class lineup to our 2025 Car of the Year award.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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