AUTO

BY RICHARD POSLUSZNY

In a day and age where there’s been a significant shift to sport-utility vehicles across a great swath of buyers, the automotive world has changed. And, to be honest, I am not sure it’s for the better. To better meet demand, manufacturers of all stripes have adjusted their product portfolios.

Why? To deliver what the people want.

As the auto manufacturers tend to heavily rely on market research to determine what’s the best business case, this doesn’t always wind up being great. I wish they would take more of a Steve Jobs stance.

“Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, ‘If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, A faster horse!’ People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

And that’s why I am here to show you the Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain. Frankly, if more wagons were like this, I am confident no one would even bother considering an SUV or truck for their family hauling needs. Hear me out.

Arriving in Florida, I was greeted with a dark red E-Class wagon. With a refreshed face, it is one of the best designs from the three-pointed star right now. It’s certainly not controversial or going to make an impression if you pull up to your neighborhood’s hot spot. That said, equipped with the Night Package — which switches out most of the chrome bits for blacked out trim — and 20-inch, AMG-designed wheels, my long roof test vehicle had attitude. This isn’t the goofy Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation, that’s for sure.

What it is like, however, is a very well-tailored suit. It’s conservative and exceedingly sharp.

Getting more comfortable inside, I quickly realized that Mercedes has developed an all-new steering wheel. And, as you’d expect, it’s higher tech than ever before. Now you can control the two massive, 12-inch displays that serve as your instrument panel (IP) and your infotainment display with the swipe of your thumbs over the two capacitive pads located at 3 and 9 o’clock on the steering wheel — the pad on the left controls the IP whereas the pad on the right controls the infotainment. It takes some getting used to in order to get the right feel for delivering inputs but after several days of use, I was a pro.

For me though, the beauty of the All-Terrain isn’t all the whiz-bang technology. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate the trick ambient interior lighting, LED headlights and the Burmeister sound system — it’s all wonderful. True luxury is defined by several metrics, in

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Joining me on my Florida adventure was my significant other and her sister. Traveling with three adults is not easy, especially when two of them want to travel with all of their belongings and I am 6’8 and around 300 pounds.

That said, the E’s cabin had plenty of space in all directions and its cargo space swallowed up two full-size pieces of luggage, several duffle bags and a handful of personal item-sized bags. While I knew the cargo area was big, it still was a surprise to me just how much stuff could fit in the E450’s hatch. It turns out, I wasn’t alone. Although my SUV-driving travel companions were doubtful of the All-Terrain’s cargo space at first, they quickly became believers immediately after every piece of luggage fit without any compromises (e.g., we didn’t have to fold down the rear seats or unsafely obstruct rearward visibility).

Where the Benz continued to shine, however, was in the arena of comfort. Equipped with optional heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, two out of the three passengers were in total bliss. Unfortunately, the rear outboard seats only benefited from optional heating, which isn’t exactly good news when you’re in Florida’s humid summer. That said, Mercedes’ massage function is the best in the automotive industry. No other manufacturer can match the intensity of the feature — it doesn’t feel like you just threw some crappy massage pad from Brookstone over your seat.

Even better, the E450 All-Terrain is equipped with an air suspension. In our escape out of Miami, my wagon-hating passengers started to warm up to the Mercedes. One exclaimed, “Wow, this car is comfortable,” and the other noted, “You don’t really feel the bumps.”

Exactamundo, ladies!

Personally, I think the air suspension really makes the All-Terrain special. That’s because it feels every bit as good as the company’s flagship vehicle, the S-Class. When in Comfort mode it is perfect for around town motoring and even highway speed. But, if you prefer a touch more confidence when approaching triple digits, you can dial it up to Sport mode. Then, it firms up just enough without compromising the ride quality. Mercedes really is doing its finest work here.

Probably my favorite element of my test E450 All-Terrain was how well it handled NVH. Equipped with an inline six-cylinder, turbocharged engine that produces about 360 horsepower and nearly 370 lb.-ft. of torque, you wouldn’t know it. That’s because the engine is silky smooth. While you will hear the motor spin up if you push it, the sound is not overly intrusive into the cabin. Helping this was the fact my test vehicle had the Acoustic Comfort Package, meaning, it boasted additional sound deadening insulation as well as thicker glass to reduce noise. It really pays off as at speed it sounds as though you’re traveling at 20-30 mph when in reality you’re doing three times that. You won’t stress your vocal cords in this E, that’s for sure. Once again, this is a trait found in the flagship model. All in all, I was extremely impressed during my time with the All-Terrain. Not only did it deliver with space, comfort and excellent control of NVH, it also did the unexpected. Power was more than adequate, which says something coming from someone who regularly drives autos with more than 600 horsepower, and when in Sport mode you can have a giggle or two. During an Everglades excursion we had to slow down to travel for about five

miles on dirt roads. In most vehicles this isn’t exactly a brilliant situation since you can damage the underside of your car. But with the All-Terrain, the button to raise the vehicle’s ride height came in handy. Phew!"It is so hard to keep them reading. Reading has become a challenge Add in the extra utility provided by having a long roof and in the modern age. There are so many places you can go to not read. It

I quickly found myself examining this E450 even closer. Frankly, I am considering adding one to my fleet. has fallen out of favor and because they [students] have access to so much technology, reading pales by comparison. So film is a great Why, you ask? Well, it’s this simple: It can do anything and it flies under the radar. For me, that’s as close to perfect as platform.” it gets. Make mine black on black, fully loaded and optioned with the 19-inch AMG wheels, please.

Loccke said one of her inspirations for using film in the classroom is to provide her underclassmen with a reward. Her students are always asking her if there is a film that corresponds with the book so she uses the film as a payoff once the students have finished reading the novel. She shows as many as three movies a year to her underclassmen. Time constraints – her classes are 40 minutes long – usually prevent her from showing more. “A lot of what they read they read on their own [and not in class],” Loccke said. “The movie is a great way to provide a communal feeling and it provides something they can share together. You can have a discussion and share it and the movie is something we all experience at the same time so it is very unifying.” Such was the case when Loccke addressed the largest classroom of her career on TCM.