New E Class Test Drive & Packages

[Sophocles]

I have enjoyed a test drive in the new E Class. The car I drove had Premium pack, Command Online and Cockpit digital display, it may also have had Drive Pilot.

A car overtook us on the inside then immediately pulled across in front. I noticed a proximity icon came up on the display - nice. I was told this was only available when ordering Drive Pilot.

I definitely do not want Drive Pilot because I want to control the car, not the other way around. Just my preference. I was not impressed by the cockpit display. I wondered if it was a case of too much information. I preferred the analog dials fitted to the showroom car. Again, just my preference, others may disagree. The huge Command Online displayed a birds eye view of the map and it was very impressive. Highly recommend it.

I was extremely impressed with this car. The suspension was so comfortable, even in Sport 2 mode. I could not reliably detect much difference between Comfort, Sport 1 and Sport 2 as far as the suspension goes, just the throttle sensitivity, perhaps because I was driving carefully which may have clouded the differences.

I was confused by the Mercedes Web Configuration tool. Some packages appeared to overlap, which caused my choices to be skewed. I can sympathise, it must be challenging to design it to be simple, when the car itself is so complicated. It took me several attempts before I achieved my preferences.

I still have several unanswered questions:

(I know I could have asked the salesman, but a wider knowledge base is helpful)

1. Is Remote Parking Pilot legal in the UK? A retired police officer has told me the driver must be inside the car when manoeuvring a car on the highway.

2. What is Vehicle Setup? Is it the ability to save the vehicle setup configuration to USB? It is included with Command Online.

3. Are the wipers self parking when engine is stopped? My 2014 C Class 220 AMG stops the wipers in the middle of the screen if I just turn off the engine in the middle of a wipe. Rather crude.

4. Does the clock self adjust for GMT and BST? My C Class tends to lose time and is certainly not self setting.

I am more than impressed. I believe it is a superb car, so I have ordered it .

I have chosen Kallaite Green with Macchiato Beige leather, Premium Plus, Command Online and 360 degree camera.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hello and welcome to the Forum. Nice choice of car, but I agree that the technology has certainly exceeded my requirements, and my comfort level.

I also find it hard to make sense of the MB online configurator when trying to make detailed comparisons of cars, particularly competitor models.

 

[Sophocles]

Hi Alex. Thanks for the welcome. Despite having joined a few years back, it has taken the experience of driving this new E Class to motivate me into posting.

No surprise it is difficult to make comparisons with other brands. They have no reason to help in that respect. Not that I am bothered by that aspect of the configuration, as I am a dyed-in-the-wool Mercedes driver. This new E Class will be my 6th Mercedes in 15 years.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Welcome....sounds very good, hoping to test one soon

 

[television]

Welcome to the forum again, The E has been a very good model for some years now.

 

[Headhurts]

Welcome....sounds very good, hoping to test one soon

You coming back to Mercedes John?

Well you never left really.
:grin:

 

[eman]

I am sure I read some where this week that remote parking is illegal, but cant remember why or until when???.

 

[Sophocles]

My retired police officer friend thought it would be legal parking itself off your drive into the garage, or within a private car park. But he wondered about the insurance consequences should it damage another vehicle, or worse injured someone.

My salesman took the diplomatic route and refused to comment.

What is Vehicle Setup which is a part of the Command Online package?

 

[yeh yeh]

Answere to you quishtion no 3 is that your wipers will still self park if you switch the engine off but the key still in position 1 and not completely off, witch for some people is handy for, say in the frosty month, you can stopped the wipers in the middle of the screen and it can be uesd to hold say a piece of news paper or cloth to keep your win scree free fro frost, hope this help.

 

[John Laidlaw]

You coming back to Mercedes John?

Well you never left really.
:grin:

Correct, I have invested in an SL500 as a weekend plaything meantime, but I also have intentions of swapping the A6 next year for the new model E for every day use.....mind you I seem to use the SL at every opportunity

 

[Sophocles]

Answere to you quishtion no 3 is that your wipers will still self park if you switch the engine off but the key still in position 1 and not completely off, witch for some people is handy for, say in the frosty month, you can stopped the wipers in the middle of the screen and it can be uesd to hold say a piece of news paper or cloth to keep your win scree free fro frost, hope this help.

That is most helpful. So all the times I have cursed it for hanging, I only needed to stop the engine, leaving the key in position 1. Thank you.

However, my new car has Keyless-Go. I will visit my dealer on a rainy day and ask him for a demo.

 

[yeh yeh]

Ok, I apologise, did not know it was keyless, in that case, have no idea cos never had the luxury of a keyless car, all mine still good old fashion keys.

 

[Sophocles]

Ok, I apologise, did not know it was keyless, in that case, have no idea cos never had the luxury of a keyless car, all mine still good old fashion keys.

No need for an apology. I had no idea I had the means to cause the wipers to self park on my present car. As you say it is available on my C Class, then I am sure the new E Class will certainly have it.

I did not notice that there was an intermediate ignition setting. When I started the car, with the salesman besides me with the necessary key, I simply held down the footbrake and pressed the Start button once. The engine fired up.

There was so much to take in on a single test drive, I am sure I missed most of what was on offer. Never mind, a good excuse to go back and take my time finding more about it .

 

[Yugguy]

Proximity alert? For when you're driving with your eyes shut?

 

[chuckyarla]

Kallaite green

I have enjoyed a test drive in the new E Class. The car I drove had Premium pack, Command Online and Cockpit digital display, it may also have had Drive Pilot.

A car overtook us on the inside then immediately pulled across in front. I noticed a proximity icon came up on the display - nice. I was told this was only available when ordering Drive Pilot.

I definitely do not want Drive Pilot because I want to control the car, not the other way around. Just my preference. I was not impressed by the cockpit display. I wondered if it was a case of too much information. I preferred the analog dials fitted to the showroom car. Again, just my preference, others may disagree. The huge Command Online displayed a birds eye view of the map and it was very impressive. Highly recommend it.

I was extremely impressed with this car. The suspension was so comfortable, even in Sport 2 mode. I could not reliably detect much difference between Comfort, Sport 1 and Sport 2 as far as the suspension goes, just the throttle sensitivity, perhaps because I was driving carefully which may have clouded the differences.

I was confused by the Mercedes Web Configuration tool. Some packages appeared to overlap, which caused my choices to be skewed. I can sympathise, it must be challenging to design it to be simple, when the car itself is so complicated. It took me several attempts before I achieved my preferences.

I still have several unanswered questions:

(I know I could have asked the salesman, but a wider knowledge base is helpful)

1. Is Remote Parking Pilot legal in the UK? A retired police officer has told me the driver must be inside the car when manoeuvring a car on the highway.

2. What is Vehicle Setup? Is it the ability to save the vehicle setup configuration to USB? It is included with Command Online.

3. Are the wipers self parking when engine is stopped? My 2014 C Class 220 AMG stops the wipers in the middle of the screen if I just turn off the engine in the middle of a wipe. Rather crude.

4. Does the clock self adjust for GMT and BST? My C Class tends to lose time and is certainly not self setting.

I am more than impressed. I believe it is a superb car, so I have ordered it .

I have chosen Kallaite Green with Macchiato Beige leather, Premium Plus, Command Online and 360 degree camera.

Hi, and congrats on you new W213 order. I have ordered an E220d Avantgarde with Exclusive exterior (you get the traditional grill with the bonnet emblem). I went for Kallaite green and Macchiato Beige/Black interior, 18'' alloys, Burmester and Open-pore Ash wood trim. I have never seen the Kallaite in the flesh and it appears different in every photo or video. What did you think of it and why did you choose it?
Cheers.

 

[Rory]

There was so much to take in on a single test drive, I am sure I missed most of what was on offer. Never mind, a good excuse to go back and take my time finding more about it .

Imagine arriving at an airport and picking one of these up as a hire car!

I suppose one benefit of all the technology is that if you do manage to get the car going at least you shouldn't be able to crash it.

 

[Sophocles]

Hi, and congrats on you new W213 order. I have ordered an E220d Avantgarde with Exclusive exterior (you get the traditional grill with the bonnet emblem). I went for Kallaite green and Macchiato Beige/Black interior, 18'' alloys, Burmester and Open-pore Ash wood trim. I have never seen the Kallaite in the flesh and it appears different in every photo or video. What did you think of it and why did you choose it?
Cheers.

Hi chuckyaria. My present C Class colour is Dolomite Brown. It is one of those colours that appears to change its hue in different light and in the sun. I am hoping Kallaite Green has a similar trait. In one of the reviews, it was said it resembled deep sapphire, possibly suggesting it is similar in that respect. I am not a fan of the popular colours, so that narrowed down the choices to Kallaite Green or Hyacinth Red. I like to be different .

BTW, I was not aware I had the choice of Avantgarde or Exclusive exterior. This is more evidence for the confusing nature of the Cinfiguarator tool.

 

[Sophocles]

Imagine arriving at an airport and picking one of these up as a hire car!

I suppose one benefit of all the technology is that if you do manage to get the car going at least you shouldn't be able to crash it.

It was easy to drive, providing I kept things simple. I only tried the various Activity suspension settings and the speed limiter. I cannot remember whether the heating controls were similar to my C Class or not.

 

[John Laidlaw]

BTW, I was not aware I had the choice of Avantgarde or Exclusive exterior. This is more evidence for the confusing nature of the Cinfiguarator tool.[/QUOTE]

In the UK you won't have the choice - it'll be SE or AMG line with various packs and you won't get the chance of the gunsight bonnet badge sadly.in Eire yes...

 

[chuckyarla]

I've had my new E220d for 3 weeks (1000 miles) now. Overall it's very good indeed. My economy from new has been 46mpg, I got 54 on a long run and usually 39 on the 6 mile drive to work. There is plenty of overtaking ability. The gearbox is smooth although you will notice it dropping a couple of gears when you accelerate from say 40 to 50. The kallaite green is lovely when clean and the sun is shining. The seats are very comfortable and there's tons of space. I have standard suspension and 18'' rims and the ride is excellent. The headlights (standard LEDs) are top class. The Burmester (basic version) is very powerful and clear with good tight bass. I don't think the multimedia system is as good as Audi's. I listen to music from a 64gb USB stick. You can't go back from track to album to folder. Also there is no volume display at all. The cover art only shows on some albums and there is no simple way of returning on the display to the track being played. None of these things were issues in the A6. Also the Garmin satnav can be very slow to recalculate if you make a wrong turn. My criticisms are small. On the whole it is a lovely comfortable car that feels like what a Merc should feel like - luxurious and cosseting and a bit special - three things the Audi wasn't.