The new Mercedes E400 Wagon will reach U.S. showrooms in "early 2017," says the maker.
SUV and crossovers may be the big trend in the U.S. market, but Mercedes-Benz isn’t ready to walk away from the classic station wagon, with a new version of the E-Class set to go on sale “by early 2017,” the maker revealed today.
The German maker will be among a dwindling few brands to continue offering that body style when the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E400 Wagon comes to market. But there remains a small but surprisingly loyal core of buyers that Daimler’s luxury brand thinks it can continue tapping into.
“The new Wagon is as dynamic as the Mercedes-Benz brand and as spacious as our customers expect,” said Ola Kallenius, the board member in charge of Mercedes marketing and sales. A key selling point, he suggested, will be the fact that the E400 will feature “all the innovations of the new E-Class,” which Mercedes claims is “the most intelligent executive sedan in the world.”
(Click Here for a first look at the all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan.)
That includes a wide array of infotainment technologies that update the familiar Mercedes COMAND system. There is, for example, a new smartphone-style touch control system built into the steering wheel. The various new E-Class models will be the first vehicles equipped with Connected Car technology designed to let it talk to other vehicles and a highway infrastructure – though that’s a largely academic achievement for now.
The E400 Wagon will be powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter six making 329 horsepower.
The optional Drive Pilot system allows not only the ability to drive hands-free for short periods on a limited-access highway, but doesn’t need to have visible lane markings at speeds up to 80 mph – a notable limit of the AutoPilot system recently launched by luxury rival Tesla Motors.
The updated Pre-Safe system now can assist a motorist not only stop for a pedestrian or oncoming car but even steer around an obstacle, if need be, to avoid a crash. And it can sense a potential side impact, as well as a possible forward crash.
As for the wagon itself, the new E400 picks up key design cues from the latest-generation E-Class sedan, such as the bolder grille and new multi-beam LED headlights.
(For spy shots of the next Mercedes E-Class Coupe, Click Here.)
The U.S. version of the wagon gets a standard 40:20:40 split/fold third-row bench seat and improved cargo capacity, the maker notes, with one of the largest load compartments in the midsize wagon segment globally. The seat can be reclined – or positioned more vertically to allow for additional cargo without giving up the additional seating.
The E400 Wagon interior is essentially the same as the sedan's, but for the folding third row.
Picking up a cue from the brand’s extensive utility vehicle line-up, the Mercedes-Benz E400 wagon adds as standard gear a power-operated tailgate with hands-free access that requires only a wiggle of the foot under the rear bumper to operate.
As with the E-Class sedan, Mercedes has taken steps to reduce mass on the new wagon. But it also has stiffened up the body, a move that it says reduces both noise and vibration. Even the exterior mirrors have been revised to reduce interior noise.
Mechanically, the new E400 features a self-levelling rear air suspension as standard equipment, as well.
On the powertrain front, the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E400 wagon relies on a 3.0-liter twin-turbo six making 319 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. The engine is paired with a 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission.
The debut of the new E400 Wagon comes a half century after the August 1966 launch of the brand’s first-ever wagon. Sales were modest but began to pick up two years later with a debut of the successor model, the Wagon 123. Mercedes has followed with a wagon version of every E-Class update since then.
(What’s Hot for 2017? Click Here to check out the year’s most exciting new models.)