Test Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC wagon

Speaking of cargo, the E-Class can out-haul many SUVs with its 1,950-litre capacity, and the lower car configuration makes it easier to load than many taller sport-utes. There’s a surprise under the floor, too: pull up on the flush handles and you’ll uncover a rear-facing third-row seat, which you “assemble” by flipping the cushion back and then pulling up the seatbacks and raising the head restraints. Their diminutive size and the sloping roofline means they’re strictly for children, but what youngster wouldn’t love to see the world unfolding through that big rear window? They come with a slight learning curve, since you have to be careful to pull up the seatbelt retainers when you lift the seatback. I didn’t check for this, and it took some fancy finger work and a few choice words to pull the retainers back out, since the seat won’t fold back into the floor unless you do.

2012 Mercedes-Benz E 350 wagon. Click image to enlarge

There are numerous high-ender features: a power tilt and telescopic heated steering wheel, navigation system, panoramic sunroof, auto-dimming mirrors (which went a little too dark), the Attention Assist program that helps to detect a sleepy driver, automatic climate control with a residual heat function that can blow out warm air for a while after the car’s shut off, handsome interior ambient lighting, rearview camera, and rain-sensing wipers that, like all rain-sensing wipers, worked great most of the time but slipped up in drizzle.

The illumination is also pretty impressive, with active bi-xenon headlamps that level themselves as needed, along with cornering lights that come on when you turn the steering wheel far enough. That said, I encountered some difficulty with the lights when travelling out to a rural event along hilly roads. The headlamps consistently moved up and down to try to level out on each hill, but they usually went too far down, with the result that they didn’t illuminate enough of the road. On some stretches, I felt like I was overdriving my headlights at just 60 km/h, and I had to hit the high beams in order to properly see where I was going. This is a situation most urban drivers will never encounter, but those who live outside the city could potentially find it annoying. On top of that, when we arrived and parked at our unlit destination, we had to sit and wait for a while – and that’s when I found out that I couldn’t shut off the headlights when the car was running, which annoyed some of the people around us.

The lighting issues aside, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this car to any wagon lover who’s willing to spend to the E-Class’ price-tag. I also would suggest that anyone looking at an SUV should take a serious peek at this as well. People-movers seldom get nicer than this.