Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain for Paris

The Mercedes niche filling continues with Allroad-rivalling E-Class Estate

You wait ages for one off-road estate... Yep, following on from last week's announcement of the Volvo V90 Cross Country, Mercedes has detailed its upcoming E-Class All Terrain. For when one of Mercedes' numerous off-road cars doesn't fit the bill, presumably.

The fightback against SUVs continues!

Described as having a "powerful and robust appearance", the All-Terrain is identified over a regular wagon by its raised ride height - more on that in a sec - the new front grille and bumper arrangement, an altered rear bumper design and the black plastic arch extensions that "emphasise the all-terrain character." Both 19- and 20-inch wheels feature unique designs for this model and come with more sidewall than regular E-Class wheels to aid ground clearance and comfort - could this in fact be the most refined new E-Class of them all?

The E-Class All-Terrain will initially be offered with the new four-cylinder diesel in E220d spec, the range to be bolstered soon after with the E350d V6. Both will get the nine-speed auto and 4Matic all-wheel drive as standard.

See look, off-roadery

To the actual off-road stuff. Like many other Mercedes models, the All-Terrain will feature the Dynamic Select driving mode function; however, this E-Class also includes the 'All-Terrain' setting seen in the Mercedes SUVs. This raises the air suspension by 20mm (up to 35mm is possible), adjusts the thresholds of the driving assists and displays off-road information in the dash. Compared to an E-Class estate, the All-Terrain rides 29mm higher and now features 156mm of ground clearance. Hardly a Range Rover then, but probably more than any customers will actually require.

Following a Paris show debut, Mercedes predicts a market launch for the E-Class All-Terrain early next year. Which is about the same time as the Volvo. Probably budget a good chunk more than £40K for either. But which would it be?