2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon will go down in history as one of my family's favorite test cars ever. Sure, it drives incredibly well, has all the ooh-la-la extras you'd want in a $70,000 Benz, but even more importantly, it sports one of the best automotive inventions for families of all times: the rear-facing jump seat. Oh, did I mention it has all-wheel drive?

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The E350 wagon is a full-sized station wagon like the ones many of us grew up riding in during the '70s, but it's been whisked into the 21st century with its modern styling and amenities.

Driving the E350 wagon was a pleasure with its 3.5-liter V-6 engine and standard all-wheel drive. It's no tiny urban eco-car, but it drives much smaller than it looks. Tight parking spaces were a cinch with its small 36.9-foot turning radius. The ride was smooth enough to cancel out rough roads. It was comfortable enough for daily driving or longer road trips while maintaining a responsive feel that wasn't too floaty.

The E-Class is also available as a sedan, coupe and Cabriolet. The E50 wagon has a starting MSRP of $56,200. My test car cost $70,485.

EXTERIOR

The E350 wagon seems to alternate between looking like a retro station wagon from my youth and a pimped-out swagger wagon. Sorry, Toyota, but the term swagger wagon fits this German Benz much better than your Japanese minivan.

From the side, the old-school wagon inspiration is apparent with the E350 wagon's grandiose cargo area that looks like the large posterior segment of an ant's exoskeleton. There you have it, people — I am in fact using my zoology degree.

Then your eye carries you to the sporty rear spoiler and roof-mounted antenna, and you see more "rapper chic" than creepy insect. The 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine is paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission, and it gets an EPA-estimated 16/23 mpg city/highway that will carry you to the recording studio, the carpool lane or the ant farm.

This is a low-to-the-ground wagon, so people of all sizes will be able to climb in and out of it easily due to its low ground clearance and reachable door handles.

A power liftgate is standard, and as expected, the cargo area is expansive. When the rear-facing jump seat is folded flat into the cargo floor, the wagon is ready for anything you can throw at it. With the jump seat up, there's obviously less overall cargo space, but there's some extra space for a couple of grocery bags under the load floor where a kid's feet would normally rest when buckled into the jump seat.

SENSE AND STYLE

Family Friendly (Not Really, Fair, Great, Excellent): Excellent

Fun-Factor (None, Some, Good Times, Groove-On): Good Times

INTERIOR

The E350 wagon's interior is where this Benz makes its case to be your new family car.

The rear-facing jump seat was the most fun my kids have had in a car in forever. They loved that we had space to pick up a friend for a last-minute sleepover when typically the "we don't have enough space in our car" excuse precludes such fun endeavors. All three of my kids plus our weekend plus-one spent a fair amount of time arguing over who would sit in the back. Finally, they worked out a rotation system to keep it fair.