PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-Benz E-Class crosses over

Do you like the idea of a bit of dirt-road ability without everything else that comes with SUV ownership?

Plenty of people have, over several generations, at Audi and Volvo, and now they can choose from a third luxury brand with Mercedes-Benz joining the genre.

In fact, such is the popularity of SUVs and crossover wagons Down Under, that when the all-new E-Class All-Terrain goes on sale in Australia during the second quarter of next year, it could be the only version of Mercedes' new E-Class Estate to be offered here.

Like its direct rivals in the Audi A6 allroad ($112,665) and Volvo's upcoming V90 Cross Country, the E-Class All-Terrain comes with a higher ride height and body cladding, but it also gets its own specific off-road software program and will come only with all-wheel drive and air suspension.

It builds on the successes (and there are many) of the new E-Class Estate and promises to deliver an even softer, more accommodating ride thanks to higher-profile tyres and increased suspension travel.

Ignoring Audi’s success with 3.0-litre turbo-diesel versions of its A6 Allroad, the E-Class All-Terrain will initially launch with only a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. It does admit that a six-cylinder version will follow, probably later next year.

“No E-Class has ever been as versatile as the All-Terrain,” Daimler’s board member for sales and marketing, Ola Kallenius, said.

“The new model combines a striking look in SUV style with the intelligent space concept of the estate.

“This is coupled with lots of innovative safety features and the multi-award-winning E-Class interior.

“With 4MATIC all-wheel drive as a standard feature and increased ground clearance thanks to the multi-chamber air suspension the All-Terrain is a flexible all-rounder for unpaved roads, family and leisure time.”

The E-Class All-Terrain will get the uncomfortable full nametag of E 220d 4MATIC All-Terrain, complete with 143kW of power at 3800rpm from the 1950cc engine.

The motor, from Benz’s new generation of four-cylinder turbo-diesels, also delivers 400Nm of torque from just 1600rpm and accelerates the five-door wagon to 100km/h in eight seconds and on to a 232km/h top speed.

Mercedes-Benz claims its new ultra-soft roader will use 5.1L/100km on the NEDC combined cycle, which should be good enough for a claimed 137g/km of CO2.

Mercedes mates the new engine to a nine-speed automatic transmission, and then to its own all-wheel drive system.

While the E-Class All-Terrain scores a unique carbon-aluminium-look interior trim style, the bigger news is in the car’s suspension and in its exterior design detailing.

It uses air suspension as standard equipment, which has the ability to raise the ground clearance from 121mm to 156mm. In its default format, the highest point of the E-Class All-Terrain’s roofline is 29mm higher than the standard E-Class wagon.

Mercedes admits 14mm of this is down to the taller sidewalls on its 19-inch tyres (there is a 20-inch option) and the rest comes from the operating range of its suspension system.

It upgrades the standard Dynamic Select switchgear of the E-Class Estate with an All-Terrain driving mode, which will bump out the choice of driving modes to five.

The All-Terrain mode is modified from the GLE SUV’s off-road software and governs the engine, transmission, suspension, skid-control, traction-control and steering behavior of the wagon.

In All-Terrain mode, the body lifts automatically by 20mm at up to 35km/h, while the car also has an intermediate ride-height setting for standard work and the lowest setting is reserved for higher speeds on freeways.

It also introduces a new set of display graphics for the E-Class’s enormous multimedia screens on the dash, including delivering information on the steering angle, the suspension ride height, the inclination angle and even a compass.

It sends out a slightly SUV visual vibe, too, with the grille swapped out and replaced by the two thicker silver bars Benz uses across its larger SUVs and with the badge in the middle of the grille.

The lower part of the front bumper is dominated by a stand-alone mix of chromed pieces surrounding the air intakes and an electroplated chrome-silver brush guard.

The black wheel-arch covers dominate the side view of the E-Class All-Terrain, while a new three-part bumper sits at the rear of the car, complete with its own underbody protection panel.