OUR TAKE: The E-Class makes for a pretty car, inside and out. We've always been fond of the wagon version, too; it's a near perfect size, not too big, not too small.

This particular car drove heavy, however. That is to say, it was fairly evident how much the all-wheel-drive system and all its attendant hardware added significant poundage. It's in no way a dog, even with nearly two tons of heft at to drag around, but power is definitely a little lacking. Never having gotten a chance to test it out with a full load of luggage and people on board, we can only guess the extra weight would only serve to tax an already hard-working motor.

The ride was always comfortable, however, and the body felt well controlled in all driving circumstance. Handling felt perfectly surefooted. In a nasty rain the car just cruised along, the awd taking care of everything.


- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

M

Short article but it sounds about right. I didn't find the car to be brutally fast driving around, but it did have more than adequate power. One drawback though is this car still has the old 5-spd Automatic, not the 7-spd.

I'm not sure what they mean by heavy, it didn't heft its weight around while being thrashed on the track, but the acceleration wasn't as instantaneous as say a Porsche. When you press the pedal, its not a linear resistance feel compared to our E430, its heavy, then eases up as the power kicks in.