The 2022 Mercedes Benz E450 4Matic All-Terrain – the best wagon?

Great news for fans of station wagon cars, they’re still around and the latest E450 All-Terrain from Mercedes-Benz may be one of the best you can find. Built around its legendary 4Matic all-wheel-drive system, this wagon features a brilliant combination of luxury, tech, and some decent off-road prowess. 

First off, under the hood, we have an inline 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine with a mild hybrid system. It’s good for 362 horsepower and a put-you-into-the-back-of-your-seat 369 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to its hybrid system, you can feel that torque kick in very soon after pressing firmly on the accelerator pedal. It sends power to all four wheels via a slick-shifting 9-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters for more of a manual-shifting mode, if that suits you. It’s rated at 24 miles per gallon, combined highway-city driving, and has up to a 590-mile range. If you want to tow things, it also has a towing capacity of up to 4630 pounds. 

If there’s one area in that Mercedes excels, it is its interiors. Their cars have had the singular instrument cluster/infotainment screen for a few model years now and in this 2022 E450, it looks as great as ever. Drivers can customize how the layout of the 12.3-inch instrument cluster, which also changes with the various drive modes selected. 

More things are packed into the 12.3-inch infotainment system than one can shake a stick at. Everything from “Her Mercedes” – the snooping app similar to Amazon’s Alexa, a Burmester multi-speaker audio system that churns out sublime audio performance, built-in navigation, various applications, a web browser, and various vehicle settings. 

Front seat occupants will love the massaging seats that are both 3-stage heated and vented. Additionally, there’s great seat control to find a position or support level for almost anyone. While the rear seats don’t massage, they provide more than ample room for two adults and can accommodate a third passenger in the middle, if that person is on the smaller side. If you need even more seating, there is a tiny pop-up third row that faces the rear window that’s frankly only big enough for small kids. 

Driver aids are nothing short of what one would expect from MB – adaptive cruise control, lane-keep-assist, lane change assist, frontal collision alert with emergency braking, pedestrian alerts, blind spot monitoring, anti-locking brakes, traction control, stability control, crosswind assist, and a driver attention system. 

Of course, the huge advantage of a wagon over a sedan is the cargo capacity and with the E450 All-Terrain you get 35 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up and that nearly doubles to 64 cubic feet with the seats down. 

On the road, we found the E450 to drive like a dream, a bit intoxicating, actually. It’s a super quiet ride and more than ample power delivery reminds you that you’re driving something special. There was minimal body roll around hard cornering and the braking left one feeling confident. No brake fade, not even after miles and miles of downhill driving in the mountains of Washington State. 

If you want to go off-road, there is a height-adjustable air suspension for some added ground clearance, however, with the stock tires, you can do some modest off-roading – the 4Matic drive system really shines here.

Pricing on the E450 All-Terrain starts around $68,000 and can quickly climb to $83,270 fully optioned out like our test vehicle was. There’s a full vehicle 4-year / 50,000-mile warranty, along with 24-hour road assistance. 

In the end, Mercedes-Benz knocked this one out of the park – especially for fans of wagons. It offers almost everything we love about wagons, cargo room, amazing comfort, and flexibility for some mild off-roading, and will pamper you all the way to and from your next adventure.