Enlarge / The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the brand’s workhorse, covering millions of km a year ferrying German taxi passengers around. (credit: Peter Nelson)

Mercedes-Benz’s E Class badge possesses a lot of canon. When asked to picture a ’90s-or-newer Mercedes full-size sedan, it’s hard not to conjure up mental snapshots of W124-and-up generations schlepping around well-heeled suburban communities. I bet a lot of folks also picture the taxi lineup outside any German train station, too.

Well, at least I do. But I’m not talking about envisioning surly Munich cabbies but rather the faithful four-doors they putter around in. A lot of them are E Classes, which further proves that the cars have always been quintessential Mercedes luxury workhorses.

The brand-new 2024 E 350 4Matic, with its thrifty turbo-four powerplant, might have the most direct lineage in the US market to those cream-colored rickety diesels. It’s easy on fuel for its size and ready to soak up all the miles across both traffic-ridden cityscapes and high-speed stretches of highway. And with its expansive suite of tech and mild hybrid propulsion, it’s an overall great next chapter for the badge.