BMW man switches to Mercedes!

[pascal]

I drove my three MBs in Comfort (E, W, or C) for 90% of the time. With the newer electronic gearboxes, your driving style will have more bearing on economy, but the second gear starting, and biased towards early up-shifts can make a fair difference too, especially on non motorway driving. So people state that C mode can lead to an early demise of your gearbox, but I have seen no evidence to back up this claim. In fact most people use the C (W,E) setting on a regular basis.

SEE: http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/e/cars/e-class/betriebsanleitung/vertiefen/bedienenimdetail8.html
PS: S used to stand for standard, but now MB call it sport. (adverting ploy?) (sounds better when selling?)
The economy has had C, W, E, and some other odd letters over the years.

 

[GlynC]

Comfort or not

To be honest I have tried both and haven't seen a great deal of difference
I now tend to use the S setting mostly and stick in in C around town as I find the changes are less "jerky" and the car feels smoother.
That is of course if I remember!
Will all the torque on offer you can shread a tyre easily booting it from a standstill... even before the traction control grabs it.. which I find amazing as my 430 Lexus wouldn't do that and that didn't hang around.

 

[Rory]

I tried C but find the box jumps to first with a 'thunk' if you unexpectedly need to boot it off the line.
The diesels are so low revving anyway that S seems fine and I find changes almost imperceptible.

 

[BarryS]

Hi All,

Also just changed from BMW, X5 in my case, to CLK 2.7CDi, breaking 2 taboos (Merc and Diesel). Couldn't find anything interesting from BMW or Audi and found CLK by accident - but am really enjoying it apart from diesel clatter when moving slowly and soot smell when reversing out of garage.

Differences from Beemer that I find odd:
-completely pointless rear seat headrest folding feature since they are not in the way of rear view in first place and should auto fold back if of any use
- Auto options C/S where S does not stand for "sport" but "standard" and is a "must" since C options starts in second gear and is too slow off the mark

Other than that, quality is great, car is comfortable/relaxing to drive and is actually attractive to look at unlike current BMW's. I must be converted since I have never joined a BMW forum before or even looked at one.

 

[pascal]

- Auto options C/S where S does not stand for "sport" but "standard" and is a "must" since C options starts in second gear and is too slow off the mark

Not any more Barry. MB litature for the new E-Class refers S as sports mode

 

[BarryS]

Pascal, If you read this, that's your second reply to my two posts, thanks.
Whatever M-B call the "S" mode, it does not behave in a sporty manner, by comparison the Sport mode on a Beemer will hold onto a lower gear longer which is perfect for twisty roads where you do not want to shift up and loose engine breaking etc. I know you can use tiptronic to easily effect the same at only slightly more effort. I think this does begin to define differences between the Merc and BMW philosophy though.

Another difference that annoyed me again today - the strange dog-legged auto box shift. It's very difficult to get used to and zero advantage as far as I can see. My BMW (again) had a straightforward up/down movement that was absolutely perfect to use, with required no effort to know which gear was selected just by the number of clicks as it moved through the positions from P

And one more difference - why have the display on the parking sensors - I want to look where I am going (not at a display) and LISTEN to the sensors - an increasing repetition followed by continuous tone is perfectly clear.

- See, I'm not a complete convert to M-B yet !

 

[Myros]

stiff-necked

Barry, my missus's car has a display and a tone, and I'm grateful for both, as when I can manage to creak my neck around to look behind me, I can;t see a great deal at all except sky . I have to use the mirrors and the sensor display and go dead slow. Not like the good old days were you could see the corners of your car well below the level of your shoulder. I'm grateful for remotely adjustable mirrors as well. My Mum did tell me not to sit on cold walls.It has obviously caught up with me.

 

[E Class Newbie]

C mode seems more economical

Did my second long run today and tried 'C' mode all day. Interesting to see that I achieved over 41mpg, around 3mpg better than a similar trip in 'S' mode, even though I was caught in more traffic jams today. Seems fine for normal driving, only once did I notice a jerk when pulling away briskly, which I guess is what Rory is referring to. Also, I noticed that fuel consumption seemed significantly better off the motorway in 'C' mode (as much as 10mpg at times).
Can't help but wonder why MB tell you to drive in S all the time if C is more economical - especially if the performance difference is negligible?
I will keep experimenting and let you know.

 

[E Class Newbie]

First 1000 miles feedback - and advice needed

Have now had the E Class for 9 days and covered 1000 miles!

I'm still impressed by the fact that the car appears to have no obvious faults. Seems daft to be surprised with a car costing £36k, but I've learnt to have low expectations having had so many teething issues with cars over the years!

I've now settled on using the comfort (C) setting on the auto box as it seems to give me 40+ mpg, whereas the sport (S) mode never got above 38mpg. The only dissadvantage is a jerk down to first gear if you pull away too briskly (C mode pulls away in 2nd under normal load).

OK, so now the novelty is starting to wear off, I'm noticing some things that I suspect are characteristics, but I'd really appreciate some feedback on from other new E class drivers.

When going over bumps, I'm hearing (rather than feeling) a sort of knocking noise from the suspension. It really is slight and most people wouldn't notice it, but as the car is so quiet I've picked up on it (it's an Avantagrde so has sports suspension - although you'd never know, the standard set up must be like a boat!).

Secondly, I think I've tuned in to a slight but rapid high speed mecahnical noise. Could this be the a characteristic of the diesel engine? BMW's don't do this but I know that MB engines are a bit noisier and less refined - road test reviewers words, not mine! It's the Euro 4 E220 CDI Auto.

The other things I've noticed are clearly characteristics. The steering feels slow and the wheel doesn't fluidly return to the centre position after turning a corner as all previous cars I've had do (again, picked up in many road test reports). I cannot get entirely comfortable in the drivers seat - even though it adjusts every which way (Multi-contour versions) - in particular my left leg - which I need more under thigh support for (if I tilt the seat too much it feels like it's pushing in too much in the wrong place. Finally, the parktronic system isn't as accurate as the BMW version and I've had a few near misses - I'm wary of it now whereas I relied on it entirely in the BMW.

Other than these minor niggles (I am a self confessed perfectionist!), I remain very impressed with the car. It looks fantastic, especially in silver with black interior and seeing the three pointed star at the end of the bonnet makes you feel like you're driving a limo (it feels like one when you're parking too!). I find that the car has a calming influence on me (I waft along with grace rather than pace - although the performance is very impressive when you need it).

The Avantgarde is incredibly well equipped, even before all the options I added. Nice touches like Neon headlights as standard are appreciated and the Avantagarde alloys are the most attractive on any E Class, so no upgrades necessary there.

I'm getting used to the excellent COMAND system which is far superior to the one in my last BMW, my only gripe being that you have to press the soft key twice each time you want to see the estimated time of arrival / distance remaining etc. On the BMW system it always showed on the bottom of the screen which I much preferred.

 

[MOHDW211]

Glad your enjoying the E220cdi auto.

I have the third party parkatronic which is acoustic and not visual.
Found the Mbz(bosch) one not accurate. This one detects up to 15cm with continous tone after succesive rapid ones.

I would reccommend the side light bulb replacement from an amber orange to clear white to match the xenons. Its a 10 quid MOD and makes the car look cool at night. easily installed.

Other than that the car is complete and needs no MODs. Have considered lip spoiler etc but not worth the extra and the wheels on avantgarde spec are not worth upgrading to 5 spoke type which are harder to clean and don't look that sporty.

 

[PaulB190e]

MOHDW211

Where did you get your white bulbs to replace the amber/orange ones?

Would you happen to have a part number

Thank you

 

[E Class Newbie]

E220CDi Fuel Consumption

Interesting update.

Having run the last tank of fuel in 'C' mode and getting almost 40mpg, I tried the last tank full in 'S' mode just to see how much less it would be - and I've returned almost 42mpg!

In fact , during a non-stop 160 mile run at a steady 70 to 80 mph I got 46mpg.

Perhaps the engine is losening up now that I'm past the first 1000 miles.

Still struggling to find a comfortable driving position and still curious about the suspension knock over bumps.

Other than that - all seems OK, although I'm fighting a nagging doubt that keeps flashing through my head that I think I preferred the driving style of the BMW.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Suspension knock.......could be dodgy drop links, don't let the dealer tell you the knock is normal or that they 'can't hear it' [meaning you are imagining it]. Thats their usual way of avoiding warranty. My exhaust failed at 4,000 miles and they said that was 'wear and tear'. At 4,000 miles on a diesel car!! They insisted the knock from the suspension was normal, told me they all did it. Next dealer didn't even look just said 'drop links', took the car in and replaced them- it cured the problem and made the steering much better too.

I don't have the sport suspension, opted for standard instead and feel the sport would have been too hard. I have the 16" alloys with Pirelli P6000 215/55/16. The car is great, no doubt about that but the dealer network is painful to deal with.

I have the Multi contour seats too and after 94k still cannot find a comfortable position. I ended up using max lateral support, minimum lumbar support on both positions and very little on the seat thigh support. But then am only 5' 8"!! Some days I take the Peugeot....and wish Mercedes bought their seats from Peugeot, they fit so perfectly.