Mercedes-Benz E 200D All-Terrain

Ever pictured an E-Class that could splash through slush and yet retain its elegance? Mercedes-Benz did, and they call it the E-Class All-Terrain

- Rohit Paradkar

In a bid to clean up its nomenclature, MercedesBenz decided to add the letters ‘GL’ to all their cars that could go off the road - a nod to the Gelandewagen (or the G-Class), which is the marque’s ultimate off-road vehicle in mass production. A suffix like A, C, E or S from their sedan lineup is then added to those letters to denote the equivalence of luxury and equipment in the SUV. Going by that logic, the GLE would be an off-road capable vehicle with E-Class level of luxury. But what if you would want it the other way round - the elegance of an E-Class, coupled with go-anywhere capability? If that is what you seek, then you don’t need to wrap your head around these suffixes and prefixes. You could simply walk into a MercedesBenz dealership and start configuring an E-Class All-Terrain.

How is it different than the E-Class we know?

In many ways! Unlike the E-Class long wheelbase sedan sold to us, the E-Class All-Terrain is based on the E-Class Estate that was never introduced in the Indian market. Contrary to the preferences of my compatriots, I like and endorse estate body styles for the practicality and versatility they offer and the E-Class All-Terrain scores plenty of points in that department and then some.

To give it its off-road capabilities, the All-Terrain employs the Air Body Control air-suspension from Merc’s kit, which gives it the ability to ride 15mm higher than the coil-spring setup. A further 14mm gain in ride height comes courtesy of the 245/45-section tyres shod on 19inch rims. The All-Terrain wears matte black cladding around the wheel arches and bumpers, and dons scuff plates on all sides for protection against debris that gets kicked up on trails or broken roads.