1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 Passion and the German station wagon. By Paul A. Eisenstein, New Car Test Drive .com

Big, solid, superbly engineered and finely crafted, those are thoughts that the sight of a

Mercedes-Benz readily brings to mind. But passionate? Passion is a word we might associate with

Jaguar. Yet passion is an emotion Mercedes is laboring to claim for itself as it rolls out a wave

of new models-all backed by a joyously addictive TV commercial featuring Marlene Dietrich crooning

"Falling in Love Again."

But does the image fit the product?

When the E-Class sedans were redesigned several years ago, Mercedes stylists gave this mainstay

luxury sedan a personality infusion. The chic, asymmetric headlights, aggressive rake, and modern,

streamlined grille provided a facelift to the traditional, boxy styling of the E-Class. The Mercedes

tri-star was still there on the hood, but the car instantly became more contemporary, more hip. It

was also more fun to drive. The E-Class is the best-selling Mercedes ever, and sales continue to grow.

For 1998, Mercedes has instilled its newfound passion into a new E-Class wagon. The entire E-line

gets a pair of new engines that deliver better performance and increased fuel economy. And a raft of

goodies shows that Mercedes can still deliver the technological breakthroughs one expects from the

wizards of Stuttgart.

There was a time when new Mercedes features were more complicated-and more expensive-than anyone else's. The old 4Matic drive system was arguably the best all-wheel-drive technology on the road. But it may also have been the most expensive. For 1998, Mercedes introduces an elegant and effective all-wheel-drive system that doesn't require a second mortgage. And even with other new features, base E-Class prices weren't raised over last year's. That's certainly something all of us can get passionate about.