New York 2010: Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic Wagon

With a refreshed R-Class debuting this morning and a general understanding that most automakers think Americans prefer trucks to wagons, it was a bit of a pleasant surprise to find Mercedes-Benz taking the wraps off a U.S. market 2011 E350 4Matic Wagon here at the 2010 New York Auto Show today. When we first saw this estate at the Frankfurt Motor Show, we were told not to expect an American showing of the vehicle. Well, Mercedes has apparently had a change of heart as they debuted the wagon, and in 4Matic trim no less.

The E-Class Wagon joins the thoroughly revised sedan and coupe variants of Merc's mid-sizer and shares much of their styling outside and in. The one big difference obviously is the wagon back, which looks very handsome to our two-box-lovin' eyes. There's also the surprise of available jump seats in the "way-back," which pop out of the floor of the cargo area and go back-to-back with the rear bench, giving the little ones a great view of traffic behind them. The outgoing model had them as an option as well, but we can't think of any other U.S. cars that still sell these rear-facing "way back" seats.

Mercedes is only bringing the E350 4Matic version of the E-wagon for now, although hope springs eternal that an E63 AMG Wagon might be in the cards eventually, even if it's only a special-order item like the last one was.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]