C Class GREAT for continental driving!

[ian l]

I have just returned from touring Norway and Sweden in my 55 C Class saloon and was amazed at how well the UK spec car was adaptable for use on the continent :
1) could switch the bi-xenon headlights for RH driving,
2) could select headlights on permanently (required for Scandinavia)
3) distance switched to kilometres and speed shown in kph on small display
4) Speedtronic switched to increments of 10 kph - really useful in Norway with low speed limits which seemed to change for no logical reason.

I know I should have appreciated these features from reading the handbook but when they all work together you realise what clever designers MB employs. I don't know why MB doesn't make a feature of this adaptability in sales brochures, it really makes continental driving stress free!

 

[blassberg]

careful on that RH xenon switching - seems easy to break the lever.

nice story.

 

[jon_harley]

I have just returned from touring Norway and Sweden in my 55 C Class saloon and was amazed at how well the UK spec car was adaptable for use on the continent :
1) could switch the bi-xenon headlights for RH driving,
...

Note to self: get the xenons next time. The standard C-class lights don't have such a switch.

I've enjoyed lots of continental driving in mine (and off for more later this year). Haven't done Norway and Sweden yet. Interestingly (or perhaps not), according to the VIN decoder my car was originally built for Norway!

 

[NewMB]

I have just returned from touring Norway and Sweden in my 55 C Class saloon and was amazed at how well the UK spec car was adaptable for use on the continent :
1) could switch the bi-xenon headlights for RH driving,
2) could select headlights on permanently (required for Scandinavia)
3) distance switched to kilometres and speed shown in kph on small display
4) Speedtronic switched to increments of 10 kph - really useful in Norway with low speed limits which seemed to change for no logical reason.

I know I should have appreciated these features from reading the handbook but when they all work together you realise what clever designers MB employs. I don't know why MB doesn't make a feature of this adaptability in sales brochures, it really makes continental driving stress free!

Wahey....Sweden. My home country. Great roads too and not much traffic (unless in big cities at rush).

A few words of advise for future drives in Sweden:

1. Do not drink and drive, the limit is 0.02 promille (as in not even a beer would be under!). Over = instant ban and prison! You drink, drive and kill = life sentence.

2. Be careful with the speed. Instant fine (hefty!!!) and ban if over 140 km/h in Sweden on the motorway. They will take your licence and report to the UK.

3. Never park the opposite direction of traffic (like we do in UK). I have tried... not cheap, over £100 fine. Same goes for Handicap places (never done that though as I have to much respect for that).

 

[television]

My SL performed well in Sweden, switching the lights was very good feature.
The only thing I noticed was that the steering had to be corrected constantly due to the camber. I got almost 500 miles from 70 liters of fuel.

I do not wish to comment about driving in Danmark where it cost me £420 for driving at 199kph.

Malcolm

 

[SLinKyjoe]

. I got almost 500 miles from 70 liters of fuel.

did you press the throttle at all during this?

its really quite good!!

 

[niva441]

careful on that RH xenon switching - seems easy to break the lever.

nice story.

Unless, as I found at Dover docks on Friday morning, the factory had already broken it and saved me the trouble.

 

[television]

did you press the throttle at all during this?

!!

No, you cant do that with my ex in the car, she would throtle me if I did.

malcolm

 

[television]

Unless, as I found at Dover docks on Friday morning, the factory had already broken it and saved me the trouble.

Did the plastic stick ons work.

Malcolm

 

[niva441]

The car is only 2 months old, so I'd never looked before. The offside lever was a thin metal strip. So I was able to switch that. I hoped despite all the fog and rain not that the nearside wouldn't get noticed. I think all the French police were resting after the Le Mans 24 hours, so no problem.

 

[SJMaxson]

4) Speedtronic switched to increments of 10 kph - really useful in Norway with low speed limits which seemed to change for no logical reason.

How do you this - I can see this being very handy in France in a couple of weeks?

 

[television]

How do you this - I can see this being very handy in France in a couple of weeks?

When the orange light is on in the cap of the stalk, lifting the lever raises the speed, and pushing down lowers the speed, if the display is set too KM it will do this in 10km increments.

malcolm

 

[niva441]

Unless, as I found at Dover docks on Friday morning, the factory had already broken it and saved me the trouble.

Just got back from the dealer to get it fixed. When I booked the car in I checked they would have the parts in, so I wouldn't have to make 2 trips.

Naturally when they hand the keys back they tell me I'll have to bring it in again when they have the parts in.

 

[ian l]

Increase kph/mph

When the orange light is on in the cap of the stalk, lifting the lever raises the speed, and pushing down lowers the speed, if the display is set too KM it will do this in 10km increments.

malcolm

You can also flip the stalk towards you to increment the speed in units of one kph/mph

 

[Blobcat]

You can also flip the stalk towards you to increment the speed in units of one kph/mph

The units of 1 change is on the Cruise Control the increments of 10 is on the speed limiter.

 

[ian l]

The units of 1 change is on the Cruise Control the increments of 10 is on the speed limiter.

On my 2006 C220cdi when in 'speed limit' mode, moving the lever upwards or downwards will, as Blobcat states, increase/decrease the speed in units of 10, however moving the lever towards the steering wheel will increase the maximum permited speed by 1 unit.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

On my 2006 C220cdi when in 'speed limit' mode, moving the lever upwards or downwards will, as Blobcat states, increase/decrease the speed in units of 10, however moving the lever towards the steering wheel will increase the maximum permited speed by 1 unit.

same as mine.

its can be annoying that it drops 5mph in one go tho as it applies the brakes on mind for me.