Somewhere in the irrational part of your brain that assigns meaning to inanimate objects, there is a car that represents the comforting authority that calm adults extend over children. For me, it’s a 1990s Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon in a muted seafoam green.
I realized this as a press fleet driver dropped a 2025 E 450 4Matic All-Terrain in today’s equivalent of seafoam green, a hue called Verde Silver Metallic, for me to test drive. I think the parents of a third of my high school friends drove these things. I think it was the cool ones.
My dad stood out for his love of small trucks. My friend down the street was the son of the neighborhood Saab guy, but the rest of them drove something much like this. On seeing it, my first instinct was to climb in the back seat and be overly polite to the driver.
When I overcame that and reluctantly sidled into the driver’s spot, I learned something about those 1990s suburban dads. I’m not sure they were onto something with the long cargo shorts. I know their politics don’t work for me.
But their taste in cars? Those guys were good. They’d found a stealthily great vehicle that does nearly everything well and lets you have more fun than you’d ever guess. Its modern equivalent is a gem.
My tester was an E 450 4Matic All Terrain with a Macchiato Beige and Black Leather interior and a Natural Grain Black Ash Wood console. It carried Mercedes’ immense Superscreen dashboard and a Driver Assistance Package that added several automated driver assists. A Digital Light Package added adaptive headlights, and a Winter Package added a heated steering wheel and windshield washers.
All told, it costs $83,610, including a $1,150 destination fee.
A Goldilocks Drivetrain
Mercedes will sell you an E-Class sedan with any of three drivetrains, including a high-performance AMG model with a sub-4-second zero-to-60 mph time. But they won’t bother with all that nonsense if you ask for an Estate model. They’ll just give you the nearly ideal one.
A turbocharged inline-6-cylinder engine mated to a mild hybrid system, it makes 375 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Power goes through a 9-speed automatic transmission to the excellent 4Matic all-wheel-drive (AWD) system.
No, it won’t accelerate like a supercar. But it offers more quickness than you’re ever likely to need in a longroof. This powertrain is ideal for relaxed cruising while capable of a burst of power when needed.
Secretly Great Handling
The E 450 All-Terrain’s best feature, though, is its exceptional handling.
It comes from perhaps the best 4-wheel steering system on the market. The rear wheels turn opposite the front at low speeds and with them at high speeds. It seems to shrink the car, making a large wagon handle more like a compact sedan.
I love it in the E-Class sedan, but my brain can make sense of it there. In a wagon, it feels like magic.
The Airmatic air suspension system adjusts damping based on road conditions. Road conditions were terrible during my week with the E-Class Estate — a snowstorm passed, then a polar vortex hit, freezing hard clumps of ice and snow and glassy patches of black ice all over the roadways. No problem. The suspension kept the ride serene.
SUV Space and Off-Road Capability
America’s love affair with SUVs is mostly about cargo space and all-weather handling.
America needs to meet some rugged wagons.
The E 450 All-Terrain offers 64 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded. That’s more than you get in a GLC SUV with the rear seats folded. Leave the seats up, and you get a lot more — 33 cubic feet instead of 19.2.
And foul weather capability? The two use the same 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Even the ground clearance is scarcely different. The GLC clears 7.4-inch obstacles. The All-Terrain will clear 7 inches in the highest setting its adjustable height allows.
The E 450 estate offers all the utility of an SUV with better handling. A screen available in off-road mode even shows a transparent hood view, using cameras to display what’s under the car to help you navigate over obstacles.
The Superscreen Is a Little Gimmicky, But the Price Is Fair
Mercedes’ immense door-to-door Superscreen is a $1,500 option. It appears to turn nearly the entire dashboard into a singular screen surface. In truth, it’s three separate screens — one for the driver, one in the center, and a third for the passenger. Nothing displays on the glass between them.
Getting used to having so much screen in your peripheral vision takes time. But, if you want your passenger to have their own entertainment options, $1,500 isn’t much to ask on an $80,000 car.
A Classically Beautiful Cabin With a High-Tech Twist
The screen gives the wagon’s interior a high-tech look. Take it away, though, and you have a cabin that looks old-school luxury car cool. Quilted leather seating and a huge panoramic sunroof are low-tech luxuries.
The E-Class 4Matic All-Terrain offers plenty of high-tech luxuries, too. You can program routines into it. I was able to tell it to automatically turn on the heated seats and steering wheel when the exterior temperature fell below freezing.
This technology could be expanded. I could not tell it to turn the massaging seats on above 60 mph, for instance. But Mercedes says it could add more programmable routines over time.
Those Parents Knew What They Were Doing
As I hit my late 40s, it’s time to face it — I’m a wagon guy. A muted green Mercedes wagon is pretty close to the perfect car.
It has the cargo space and sure-footedness of an SUV with the balanced poise of a sedan. Throw in 4-wheel steering, and its handling becomes precise and even fun. It enjoys a classic handsomeness, and there’s a delightful element of stealth in driving a car that looks like a sedate family hauler but hides 375 hp worth of sprint pace.
I’m not sure I’m ready for cargo shorts or a camera vest. But the 2025 E 450 4Matic All-Terrain is genius.