At first glance, a thundering great station wagon might not seem an obvious choice as a classic of the future.
But how many of those well-heeled buyers who ordered a new 123-series 280TE in 1978 could have imagined that their faithful workhorses – if well kept – would appreciate to the extent that they have in recent years?
And this particular car offers a combination that looks increasingly as if it will soon be a thing of the past.
Firstly, it’s powered by a very big, very powerful diesel engine – and the black pump has a similarly big black mark blotting its copybook these days, with successive governments doing their best to ensure it is taxed off British roads.
And secondly, it’s a very large estate car, a body style that is swiftly becoming a unicorn as buyers migrate wholesale to the dreaded ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’.
Such is the extent of this migration, in fact, that even our test All-Terrain model features plastic cladding and a 29mm ride-height lift in order to make it look like a soft-roader.
(Given the choice, we’d far rather have had the lower-slung AMG Line Estate.)
It doesn’t take long behind the wheel of the latest W213 version of the E-Class to question this logic. Because this E400d is a quite magnificent thing, and the centrepiece is that mighty engine.
