SLK 230 strange pipe query

[porker]

Over the weekend I had to remove the steel footplate behind the carpet in the passenger footwell in order to attend to a vacuum leak. I noticed that there was an open-ended 25mm diameter black corrugated pipe tied into the wiring loom. It looks like the sort of pipe that maybe something to do with the ventilation and was hanging vertically down from the dash. Does anyone know what this pipe is for and whether it should in fact terminate somewhere?
I also noticed that there is a speaker grille in the plastic panel to the left of the passenger footwell, is this for a speaker upgrade perhaps?
The vehicle is 1998 vintage.
Any clues to these observations would be most welcome.

 

[benzover]

the pipe sounds like it could be the a/c drain and the grille is were the after market phone kit speaker goes, ok

 

[porker]

Benzover,
I think that you could be right with regard to the speaker grille. I don't think that it can be the AC drain as it is inside the car and the footwell would get wet!