2003 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon (S211) 500 V8 7AT RWD (306 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Mercedes-Benz launched the station wagon version of the W211 E-Class almost a year after the sedan, during which time the old E-Class T-Modell S210 was kept in production. Internally codenamed S211, the 2003 Mercedes-Benz E-Class T-Modell (S211) mirrored its sedan brother in being only the third Mercedes-Benz generation to be officially named E-Class.

That said, the model came from a long line of mid-size executive station wagons wearing the three-pointed star emblem. It continued the tradition of offering the largest luggage compartment in its segment, with taxi companies in Germany and other European countries making it their first choice in their fleets for this very reason.

Taxi drivers and their customers weren’t the only ones who appreciated the roominess of the model compared to its direct rivals, such as the BMW 5 Series E61 or the Audi A6 Avant C6. To put things into perspective, the trunk had no less than 691 liters (24.4 cu-ft) of volume without using the entire height of the interior or folding the rear seats.

Apart from the cavernous interior and luggage compartment, the E-Class S211, like its sedan brother, was also a technological tour de force. Its platform’s development, shared with the sedan and the first-generation CLS, had cost no less than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), and the models were years into preparations. Some technical bits and pieces were also used by the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger, the Challenger, and the Magnum, some of which have been in production in one form or another for over two decades.

Several technological breakthroughs debuted on the model, with the most talked about being the SBC (Sensotronic Brake Control) system, a unique innovation in the automotive industry at the time. A combination between brake-by-wire technology and a traditional braking system. Unfortunately, it only worked as an innovation, as the system was plagued by huge reliability problems and was killed off by the time the E-Class got its mid-cycle facelift.

Design-wise, the E-Class Wagon S211 had an evolutionary design compared to its ‘four-eyed’ predecessor. The front end kept the twin-headlight look but became more aerodynamic, while the taillight design was also more of an evolution than a revolution. Moreover, it had a similar ‘hearse-like’ profile, a look that has since become traditional for E-Class station wagons and is also a reason for its humongous interior.

Like the E-Class sedan, the exterior and interior had three trim lines with different looks and standard equipment: Classic, Elegance, and Avantgarde. Apart from the ill-fated SBC system, the model was also the first ever E-Class to get an air suspension, albeit the E-Class station wagon and its predecessors had had rear self-leveling suspension as standard since the 1970s.

Under the hood, both gasoline and diesel powertrains were available, from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder to a 5.4-liter, supercharged V8 in the E 55 AMG version, which was the first ever AMG E-Class wagon to have almost 500 horsepower from the factory. Advanced safety features included adaptive cruise control with automatic braking, Pre-Safe, which could anticipate collisions, active head restraints that can minimize whiplash, and up to 11 airbags.