Yes, yes, everyone wants crossovers these days. But that doesn’t prove that wagons are undesirable, because they’ve actually become more prestigious.
Hooniverse editor Jeff Glucker took the E-Class Wagon out for a video review and quite likes it. But Jeff is an admitted car enthusiast, so he’s going to love the fact the E350 wagon has all of the space of something like an ML350, but none of the fat.
The usual Mercedes traits apply, with the stately image and tough build quality. Unfortunately the new C-Class shows how old the E-Class looks inside. But in the age of tacky Range Rovers and even Mercedes SUVs with their light-up logos, the E-Class looks restrained, refined and classic. That might be the height of luxury.
If you value space, you buy a crossover. The wacky pricing wagon-makers throw on the consumer makes it almost a no-brainer to go for the high-riding alternative if you want a family hauler. Volkswagen only gets away with it because there’s no Tiguan TDI in the U.S. (and the Tiguan isn’t exactly commodious compared to rivals).
Yet I’ve seen lots of wagons and wagon fans in my lifetime. People who lament the Subaru Outback becoming an inflated crossover, as the Audi Allroad and Volvo XC70 have become. These people are forced into buying a crossover like a Ford Escape.
But at the same time, in California and New England, I’d see Mercedes E-Class wagons on a daily basis. They’re popular and prestigious.
And owned by people who really want that old money look and snub the new money in their Range Rovers. All things considered, an $80,000 Jaguar wagon might actually do well now.
Take a look at the video below, and tell me you would feel more like the establishment by driving an E Wagon.