I drove it...a sport model, MB Tex, Sport with standard suspension, Multimedia package.

It was very nice...interior is very well trimmed. Definitely nicer than the current E-class.

However,

European reviews say the comfort suspension on the base and luxury model is a bit too soft; none of the Airmatic settings are right...either two soft or too firm. The Sport suspension if the Goldilocks pick. Autocar said they may have been better off getting one suspension right rather than offer multiple options. Since we would like the luxury package, this is an issue

No sunroof? The German price list shows a regular glass sunroof for €1050 and the Panorama for €1770. The US shows the Panorama only for $1480. I don't want a black roof without an opaque shade (the cover on the Panaroma roof is a single fabric layer, translucent). I figure the dealers will get lots of push back on this and it will appear by the MY2016.

The surround camera is shown as available on the German price list in late 2014 for €320 more than the parking package without it. An early US ordering guide showed it as a special order option; later ones didn't show it at all.

The Audi has Google Map satellite views. This is useful when trying to recognize what the streets look like. Not on the MB.

The touch controller seems to be a release 1 software. The touch controller is great. MB's is unique (everyone else put it on top of the wheel) and it seems to need another 20 minutes in the oven of software development to get the kinks ironed out.

Interior colors, specifically on the luxury...grey with blue trim? We want a grey interior but not a blue dash, wheel, and door trim. We could, reluctantly, live with the expresso/beige.

No heated steering wheel. Rather odd since this is becoming more available on a wide variety of cars.

The rear legroom is a bit cramped and the rear seat cushion a bit short. My knees were near the seat back (and would have touched if it wasn't for the sculptured shape) and my feet under the driver's seat. The front is better but doesn't give a roomy feeling.

No night vision. MB nixed this on the E-class also. Audi has it on the A6. Where we live, the night vision's ability to highlight deer is very useful.

No rear foglights. Standard in Germany. And very useful. There are lots of foggy mornings and providing other drivers with brighter rear light provides a greater sense of comfort. Especially annoying since it is virtually a no cost item (a pair of extra contacts in the switch and some software, the light is just one brake light).

The phone pad I'm used to in MB models is gone. Being able to quickly dial the phone by touch was handy, especially for going through menus or entering extension numbers. I'm not sure if the voice activation system even provides a way to enter extension numbers.

Runflat tires. I hate runflat tires. Super expensive. Very limited choices. Rough ride. And when you get a flat it usually requires a new tire and a new wheel. Very, very expensive. If you get a flat in the middle of nowhere (Say halfway between NYC and DC at 11pm on a Sunday night, the runflat isn't going to get you there. A spare, or even a space saver spare could.

All-season tires. Summer tires are only on the 19" wheels. This means a tire swap out the door. Our last car did also. Expensive. Not a lot of choices if you stick with runflats. The Michelin PS2 ZP was best rated...but a bit of antique. The new Corvette front comes as a Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP...but it is the 18" rear for the sport model. The front would require the rear rims for enough width and may have clearance and/or warranty problems in that application. For the Luxury the choice would be the Conti 5 SSR runflats. The risk of an inflation kit with no spare or runflat is really getting stranded. The chance of finding a 225/50-17 locally anywhere is very, very small.

When do we get the diesel or the hybrid? The hybrid is the C300 Bluetec Hybrid which is the 200hp diesel with an electric motor. 0-60 should be in the 7 sec or under range with both. But the big advantage is range. NY to Boston or DC and back with some side trips on a single tank. A week of commuting on a single tank. In Europe the hybrid is rated at higher mileage than a Prius. These should both show up next summer.

European delivery? Possibly never. Possibly later. Possibly only for some special models (e.g. AMG, hybrid). Note: I believe the diesel engine is being built in the US in a plant jointly owned with Nissan (which uses MB diesels).

 

Night vision on a C-class? The feature is only really effective on an S-class, because of the digital speedometer. You probably the only person who misses the phone pad, which looks UGLY on previous and current generation models.

 

^^ I liked the phone pad...its really good to quickly change radio presets.

 

You get into your car and it tells you your next service is due. You use voice dial or lookup to dial your MB dealer and the phone system says: "press "1" for sales, press "2" for service".

How do you press "2"?

It seems that MB has replaced the phone pad with the touchpad. I'm not sure how well that works during a call though.

 

I just traded my A6 on my first MB in many years. I haven't figured out the touchpad yet. The A6 was a great car. I miss the Google Earth view, but there are nice features in the MB too.

 

Mercedes Benz C Class W205 2014 Touchpad How To Use:
This one is shown on the S-class:

How To: Touchpad -- Mercedes-Benz USA Owners Support:
IMHO, MB is lagging on the interface. Some feature are just not implemented well (e.g., selecting a letter when the touchpad finds it ambiguous). Some are just dumb (e.g. requiring you to rotate a two finger touch to turn a virtual knob). Others are just missing (e.g. using the pad to send a DTMF tone, such as "select 2 for service").

The overall screen interface with horizontal menus just requires too much visual distraction while driving.

1. The should have left the telephone pad with the touchpad.
2. They should have used the touchpad on the knob like BMW and now Audi.
3. They should use color and magnification to give more easily, more quickly recognized feedback.
4. The interface should allow all operations from the touchpad, not require a combination of touchpad and voice. Ambiguous letter selection should be from the touchpad and not require the knob.
5. All features should be quickly accessed from the touchpad in 1-to-3 letters like Google Gesture rather than just a menu interface.

 

"No rear foglights. Standard in Germany. And very useful. There are lots of foggy mornings and providing other drivers with brighter rear light provides a greater sense of comfort. Especially annoying since it is virtually a no cost item (a pair of extra contacts in the switch and some software, the light is just one brake light)."

I'm not sure what spec of the new C-Class you sat in but for all the New W205 I've seen which are about 15 so far are equipped with a Rear Fog Lamp switch and also a w205 doc. I've seen shows the switch(button)...

 

I tried to get them the way I'm used to (pulling out the switch), didn't work, asked dealer, he said they weren't there. I see on the UK site it is a separate button and the 2014 C-class had it in the US, but don't have a US manual. The 2015 C-class is made in Alabama so it could differ.

I may have made an error here. Can you confirm the rear fog lamp is there?

The C-class, especially in C250CDI and C300 Bluetec Hybrid forms are very close to what we are looking for. So it may be that waiting for the 2016 will add fixes to what we have concerns about. Or maybe getting a 2017 or 2018 W213 E-class will be the way to go.

 

Agreed. However Google Streetview is featured using the POI downloader app once your phone is connected (and Hotspot is on if you are using an iPhone). I use an app called SendToCar to send addresses I type in or copy and paste from the Internet to POI downloader where I pick it up (saves manually selecting each individual letter, etc). One of the options is 'Google Streetview' where it immediately loads up a streetview of the location on the COMAND screen. This has been a huge help and timesaver for me.

 

The W213 will have its own set of problems initially. Lease a W205 in a few yrs' time and then return it for the W213 (when, presumably, the initial bugs will have been fixed).

 

Hope this helps.......