New Mercedes E-Class All Terrain: off-road estate gets 62-mile PHEV

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the second-generation E-Class All Terrain at the 2023 Munich motor show ahead of a planned start to left-hand-drive European sales in early 2024.

The luxury crossover builds on the latest E-Class estate with more rugged exterior styling, additional ride height, unique interior elements and a revised range of drivetrains, including a new petrol-electric plug-in hybrid system that is claimed to provide it with an electric range of up to 63 miles on the WLTP test cycle.

Among the styling changes differentiating the E-Class All Terrain from the regular car is a new look twin-louvre grille similar to that used on Mercedes-Benz SUVs.

The new model also receives uniquely styled bumpers with improved approach and departure angles, black plastic cladding within the wheel arches, chrome trim along the side sills, and a stainless steel load plate on the rear bumper.

Inside, it receives AMG-style stainless steel pedal caps and floor mats with an All Terrain logo.

At 4950mm in length, 1904mm in width and 1497mm in height, the new car is 17mm longer and 33mm wider [but no taller] than its predecessor, which was produced between 2017 and 2023.

As with the E-Class estate, the wheelbase has been increased by 22mm to 2961mm, creating more leg and knee room for rear seat occupants.

Luggage capacity is put at the same 615 litres as the regular car, extending to 1830 litres when the 40:20:40 configured rear seat is folded down. Battery packaging under the boot floor reduces reduce this load space by 155 litres on plug-in hybrid models.

The upmarket crossover will be sold with the choice of diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid drivetrains - all featuring a nine-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive as standard.

Included is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine developing 192bhp and 324lb ft of torque in the E220d 4Matic and a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-pot petrol with 375bhp and 369lb ft in the E450 4Matic.

Both receive a 48-volt mild-hybrid battery, adding 23bhp and up to 151lb ft contributed by an integrated starter generator mounted in the front of the gearbox for added performance.

Joining them is the E300de 4Matic. It combines the E220d 4Matic’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with a gearbox-mounted electric motor for a combined output of 308bhp and 516lb ft. With a 19.5kWh battery, it also provides a claimed electric range of between 53 and 63 miles on the WLTP test cycle.

Mercedes-Benz quotes a braked towing capacity of 2100kg for all models, with an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg.

Underneath, it rides on air suspension with adaptive damping that varies the compression and rebound properties on each individual wheel as standard.

It also gets an added 46mm of ride height compared to that of the normal E-Class estate, providing greater ground clearance in light off-road driving conditions.

The air suspension provides constant self-levelling, and automatically lowers the ride height by 15mm at speeds above 75mph to reduce aerodynamic drag during motorway driving.

While right-hand drive production of the E-Class All Terrain is planned, the German car maker says there are no immediate plans to introduce the new second-generation model to the UK market.

“We will start with left-hand drive European markets and when right-hand drive arrives, the new E-class All Terrain will also be introduced to the Japanese market. At the moment there are no plans for UK sales,” said Steffen Schlierholz, spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz.