The E350 wagon joins a redesigned E-Class that's been a success by any measure. The wagon comes up short in terms of execution, but given the car's pedigree — and the fact that there's an E63 AMG wagon on the way — that probably won't hurt early sales.

Longstanding popularity will demand a few changes, however. The marvelous quality about the E550 sedan is that it's a large, comfortable car, and it's not trying to be anything else. In straying outside those confines, the E350 wagon squanders the platform's strengths without creating any new ones.