We’re used to seeing sporty prototypes strutting their stuff around the Nurburgring dressed with all their best lightweight gear, so why shouldn’t the 2024 Mercedes E-Class do the same? The difference in this case is that we’re not taking about lightweight wheels and seats but a stripped-down disguise that leaves little to the imagination.
Our previous sightings of the non-AMG E-Class estate have all been of test cars dressed from head to toe in camouflage, but Mercedes has revealed the E-Class sedan since then, so the Benz engineers have no reason to keep the front end and most of the sides covered up any longer.
These shots confirm that the front half of the E-Class wagon will look identical to the sedan, including the new black grille surround. The star-pattern tells us this car is in ‘Progressive’ trim, but we have no doubt that buyers will be able to choose the more traditional slatted grille that comes with the ‘Classic’ trim, just as sedan buyers can.
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The 2024 E-Class estate is scheduled for a summer launch, but Mercedes is intent on keeping us guessing a little until it’s ready to officially take the wraps off. This test car still wears a fair amount of disguise around the rear end that does it’s best to obscure the D-pillar, rear bumper and taillights, but you don’t need to be a soothsayer to predict that it’s going to be a blend of C-Class wagon and E-Class sedan.
And if it borrows much from the latter, that will mean a horizontal chrome bar stretching right across the rear end and wrapping around the two corners, and a very cool three-pointed star light graphic in the rear LED lights.
In the cabin and under the hood, things are sure to replicate what the E-Class sedan delivers. So expect four-cylinder E200 and E200d petrol and diesel options at the bottom of the non-AMG Euro lineup, each with around 200 hp (202 PS), and two plug-in options, again with four cylinders. Both of those feature 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol engines mated to 95 kW (127 hp /129 PS) electric motors that can deliver up to 62 mph (100 km) of electric driving range, but the E300e makes do with a 308 hp (313 PS) total system output while the E400e pumps out 376 hp (381 PS).
Mercedes hasn’t officially confirmed the wagon for the U.S., and it’s possible it might only be available as a crossover-style E-Class All Terrain in North America. But if it does get the green-light and is offered with the same two mild-hybrid engines fitted to U.S. sedans, buyers will be choosing between a four-cylinder E350 with 255 hp (259 PS) and a 3.0-liter, six-cylinder E450 with a punchier 375 hp (380 PS).
