The E 220 d 4Matic All-Terrain is to the standard Mercedes-Benz E-class sedan what the V90 Cross Country is to the Volvo S90 sedan.
The All-Terrain is the rugged all-wheel-drive equipped, estate version of the E-class, that bit more special as it marks the India début of the BS-VI-compliant version of Mercedes’ latest-gen OM654 2.0-litre diesel engine. Locally-assembled Mercedes cars will get the engine update toward the end of the year.
The All-Terrain might be based on the standard wheelbase E-class, but being nearly 5m long, it is still a lot of car. Of course, it’s the section at the B-pillar that typifies it. The rear overhang is long, but the large 19-inch wheels and plastic cladding on the lower section of the bodywork and bumpers keep the car’s tail from looking ungainly.
Also, neatly integrated onto the rear bumper is the scuff plate that encircles the twin (albeit dummy) exhaust ends. Up front, it gets a bespoke styling treatment (vis-à-vis the E-class sedan) with its bolder, twin-louvre grille and a different bumper.
If you’ve been in any new-gen E-class before, you’ll get a sense of familiarity in the cabin. The smooth, flowing dashboard is shared with other versions of the E-class, though the fully digital display offered on Es sold abroad has been given a miss for India; the speedo and tacho dials are analogue units. Still, there’s a genuine high quality to the car’s look inside the cabin.
You don’t sit any higher in the driver’s seat than you would in an E-class sedan, so the view to the outside is decent but not what you’d call commanding; and ingress/egress is similar, too. Passenger-seat comfort, however, is excellent, and those seated at the back have it good, as well. Sure, there’s less rear legroom than in the long-wheelbase sedan, and the seat recline function and soft pillow headrests from the sedan don’t make it to the All-Terrain either — but your rear passengers will still not have reason to complain.
The All-Terrain impresses with its massive luggage bay. Standard luggage capacity is 640 litres, and adjusting the rear backrests by 10 degrees frees up another 30 litres of space. Completely folding the 40:20:40-split rear seat backrest takes the car's cargo volume to 1,820 litres. There’s also a sizeable storage bay under the boot floor.
It comes reasonably well-specced — air suspension, a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, three-zone climate control, an electrically operated tailgate — although a Volvo V90 Cross Country does offer a lot more. The All-Terrain gets standard air suspension with three levels for the ride height that can be raised by up to 35mm at the touch of a button.
But with a maximum ground clearance (laden) of 156mm, this is no SUV. The 2.9m-long wheelbase also means the All-Terrain is not the most manoeuvrable of cars you could venture into the wild in. What does its work well is the 4matic all-wheel-drive system.There are five drive modes on offer (including an ‘All-Terrain’ mode and ‘Individual’ mode) and do alter the driving experience.
It rides with great composure, and body movements are well-contained at all speeds, effectively making the driving experience more involving than the E-class sedans. A fluid steering and neat dynamics help.
The 2.0-litre diesel engine makes the same 194hp and 400Nm of torque seen in the E 220 d sedan. Performance and refinement levels are also similar.
The engine is smooth in the way it delivers its power; and though it is not outright punchy like a like-sized BMW diesel, the Merc unit feels strong. The nine-speed auto is slick in its shifts as well, but it does tend to trip, at times, when you floor the throttle. A tug at the steering-mounted paddles does help performance, however. Mercedes claims a 0-100kph time of 8sec for the E 220 d All-Terrain, reasonable for a car that weighs an upward of 1.9 tonnes (1,900kg).
In isolation, the E 220 d All-Terrain is a nice package. It’s distinct, luxurious, more than pleasant to drive, and offers every bit of the practicality that estates are famous for. It’s no off-roader, but the all-wheel drive also brings in a degree of added usability that no E-class sedan can match.
The trouble is, buyers willing to pay the estimated ₹65 lakh (estimated, ex-showroom) price for the car, have other options to choose from, too — least of all, the better-equipped and higher-specced Volvo V90 Cross Country. In the same price bracket, you could have a full-fledged SUV from a premium marque (even within Mercedes, itself) with all the trappings that have made this genre of the vehicle so popular in India.
Good as it may be, then, the All-Terrain is not the first Merc — or even the first car, for that matter — that springs to mind for anyone with a shopping budget of about ₹65 lakh.
