So it is with many things in life, and so it also is with car design. One good idea means another company will attempt the same thing. that's how the world ends up with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain. Fitting into a segment that began with another German firm (Audi) and is now found on every manufacturer's menu.
You know the drill by now, take a large estate car (like our long-term Passat Alltrack) hoof a reasonable amount of extra height into the suspension, supplement that with chunkier tyres and hey presto you've got it: An Estate that will go virtually anywhere, or at least anywhere that anyone is likely to ever point it. To some, they seem a little odd, but to many, they make perfect sense. Families do want to go everywhere, and many really don't want an SUV. So Merc would be potty not to try and exploit.
Specifically, the E-Class All-Terrain is 29mm higher than the normal estate (14mm through the tyres, 15 through the suspension), which means the £58,800 machine can in some modes clear 156mm in ride height. Impressive stuff. There's only one engine option for now, a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6, good for 258PS and 620Nm of torque. That'll waft you (and this is a wafter, not a fighter) to 62mph in just 6.2 seconds thanks to Mercedes' mind-blowingly smooth 9G-TRONIC nine-speed dual-clutch 'box.