The 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive system increases safety in wet weather conditions, on ice, snow and on poor roads. Instead of using conventional differential locks, the new 4MATIC generation from Mercedes-Benz employs electronics perfectly attuned to the vehicle.

4MATIC delivers 45 percent of the engine's output to the front axle, 55 percent to the rear - for optimum traction in every driving situation. 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive makes use of the Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) and the 4ETS Electronic Traction System.

4ETS applies precisely-metered braking pressure to wheels showing a tendency to losing traction, in order to allow powerful starting-off and acceleration – however bad the weather and road surface conditions.

A further advantage: thanks to compact design, intelligent choice of materials and high efficiency there is hardly any weight increase over the rear-wheel drive model. 4MATIC is available exclusively in conjunction with the 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission and therefore is not available for 12-cylinder models nor for AMG vehicles.