Hey Mercedes, please let me jump the new C-Class All-Terrain wagon
I don't care if it doesn't come to the US. The press photos show it jumping, and I need to do that.
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the new C-Class All-Terrain this week ahead of the public debut at the Munich Auto Show next month, and one of the official photos shows the lifted, body-cladded wagon getting taken on a sweet jump. Hey Mercedes, if you're reading this, I need to do that too. I don't care that the All-Terrain probably won't be sold in the US. Let me jump the forbidden wagon!!!
The C-Class All-Terrain follows the formula set by the larger E-Class All-Terrain, which has been out in Europe since 2016 but made its way to America last year to replace the standard wagon. We'd obviously be remiss if we didn't mention that this off-road wagon idea isn't new -- cars like the Audi Allroad , Volvo V70 Cross Country and AMC Eagle all predate the Mercedes. Still, the C-Class All-Terrain is pretty rad, and it's the first time Mercedes has taken the fight to the smaller Audi A4 Allroad and Volvo V60 Cross Country models.
Unique styling touches include the grill and bumpers.
Most noticeable are the new black plastic cladding elements on the wheel arches, bumpers and side skirts. The All-Terrain also gets different bumpers with faux skid plate elements, a unique grille design and model-specific wheels ranging from 17 to 19 inches. Mercedes says the All-Terrain is 0.2-inch longer and 0.8-inch wider than the standard C-Class wagon, and the ground clearance has been increased by 1.6 inches.
In addition to the taller ride height, the All-Terrain gets some other functional upgrades. There are larger steering knuckles on the four-link front suspension, while the rear suspension is a multilink setup mounted on the rear axle carrier, and the passive dampers are tuned for better ride comfort on-road and more stability off-road. The All-Terrain also gets two new drive modes, Offroad and Offroad Plus, that change the behavior of the engine, transmission, steering, all-wheel-drive system and stability control. The former is for "easy" roads with dirt or gravel surfaces, but the latter is for steeper and rougher terrain and includes a hill-descent control feature. The All-Terrain can also tow nearly 4,000 pounds, and it has features like trailer stability control and a trailer parking assist.
The interior is identical to the regular C-Class.
Otherwise, the All-Terrain is pretty much the same as the regular C-Class wagon. It's available with both gas- and diesel-powered four-cylinder engines that all have a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, and the All-Terrain of course comes standard with a variable all-wheel-drive system. The super sleek interior has a digital gauge cluster and a choice of a 10.3-inch or 12.3-inch central touchscreen that runs Mercedes' latest MBUX infotainment system. Available tech includes improved massaging seats, fancy adaptive LED headlights, over-the-air updates and tons of driver-assist features.
I'm remaining hopeful that there's a chance the C-Class All-Terrain will be sold in the US. It's been close to two decades since we last got a C-Class wagon, and bringing over the All-Terrain would both bolster that nameplate and give Mercedes a competitor to the dominant models in the class. On the flip side, the profit margins for this model are surely lower than the E-Class equivalent, so the business case is probably a lot tougher. But even if the All-Terrain stays a Europe-only affair, I still need to jump one.
