pcmb230

Having had my 2015 C300 for about three weeks, thought I would give a small review. The car is a Nov 2014 build - Steel Grey - Black Leather - Lighting Package - Command - Burmeister System - the only thing it doesn't have is the Airmatic Suspension - This is my 6th C Class and a very noticeable difference from my latest 2013 - to me it feels like the car has more get up and go then the V6 - it has the "sport package" - I did look up the suspension codes and it has the 485 suspension - there is the "gap", but at times I don't even notice it and honestly living in MN with the roads and construction, I like the feel of this suspension vs my 2013 with the sport suspension - question for all: Would putting 19's on the car close that gap?? The jury is still out on the run flats - I have always run dedicated summer 18's and 17's in the winter - sure, there are little things that have to be adjusted and will do that when I get the car in for service A - but all in all I think its a great car. Things I really like:

- Seats - What a HUGE improvement over the past models - makes driving the C300 a real pleasure.

- Adaptive LED's - yesterday was the first night out driving it - WOW - I would never pick up another car without them.

- Burmeister Sound System - really love the sound of this system - had to actually turn the bass down to around 4, as it was way too much at the higher end.

There isn't much I don't like about the car - dedicated radio buttons (like the old days..LOL) its just a short learning curve and changing old habits. The wife loves the car and she has always been an S class or E class person - she currently drives an '05 E500 and is looking at getting the new C - she likes it that much!

BlackjackM

It truly is a fantastic car and a huge step up over the W204. Other competitors like the IS from Lexus are not in the same ballpark.

rbrylaw

It's posts like this that make it hard to wait as my C300 (optioned pretty much like you'rs - including the Intelligent LED Lighting package) won't be here until sometime in October. Congrats on your car!

c4004matic

The car is truly a class in itself. I hope all the early production gremlins have been ironed out.

pcmb230

People have commented on the wind noise issue - I haven't had that issue - been at 75+ mph a couple of times and yes, one does notice wind noise at that speed..lol. I think there will always be little issues with any model year - some can be taken care of and some we just have to live with.

hpilot

Congrats on the new C300. So you are saying you got the sport package, but no sport suspension? Is that what you wanted? It is my understanding that adaptive LEDs are illegal in the US for anything other that turning the Hi Beam on and off. I could be wrong, but I have seen many reviewers of this car say that.

c4004matic

I don't think wind noise is an issue, is the car bank vault quiet, no. Is there some wind noise during cross winds? definitely. Overall the car is very quiet even at full speed. IMO the wind brings itself more notice since everything else is basically silent.

rbrylaw

I don't think your last comment is accurate. The Intelligent LED Lighting system in the US includes the following:

Active full-LED headlamps and LED taillamps
Adaptive Highbeam Assist
Active Curve Illumination

c4004matic

Correct.
A lot of people confuse the LEDs on the car because there are 2 optional LEDs. The base cars has no LED headlights, then there are LEDs that dont swivel and only one of the lamps is LED and finally there are the active LEDs, where both lamps are LED and they swivel. They also adjust their brightness etc. Best headlights ever made, period.

hpilot

Well maybe they just changed the law:

http://blog.dupontregistry.com/merce...al-in-the-usa/

http://jalopnik.com/a-50-year-old-re...hea-1594900077

rbrylaw

I'm really looking forward to having the Intelligent LED Lighting package in my car. When I placed my order, I didn't include them. I had a feeling I had made a mistake, almost left the dealership, but walked back into the order persons office and had her change the order immediately to include them. I would have regretted not getting them.

rbrylaw

The law must have changed if it's now available from Mercedes in the US.

pcmb230

Yes, these swivel and adjust - simply amazing - my wife even commented on them and she knows nothing about cars other than driving nice Benz's..lol. If you have the option, I would highly recommend going with the lighting package, you won't be sorry.

hpilot

I find that amazing. I have very purposely tried to notice any adjustment, and I can never see any - only the turning lights that come on with the turn signal. The high beam has never come on, probably because you have to be on a road with absolutely no other cars or street lights. They are nice and bright when I turn on the high beams manually. Sure beats halogen!

c4004matic

Yes the high beams require almost absolute darkness, however, don't forget to turn the high beams on. I have on occasion wondered why they weren't coming on automatically only to find they were off They are also wonderful to remind other drivers to turn off their high beams, a quick flash is enough to burn other driver's retinas.

hpilot

I did some more research, and I was correct. The law is still in effect, and therefore Mercedes has crippled the Adaptive Highbeam Assist to comply. All the best features have been disabled. All it does is switch the highbeams on and off, and adjusts the range of the lowbeams (check your manual). In Europe they call it Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus. The Partial Main-Beam feature that does all the cool stuff is gone. Here is the full system:



The Motorway Mode is also Missing:



This also does not work. The only thing you can turn on and off is the Daytime Running Light:



So my original statement vis-à-vis my post is correct. The links in my last post also confirm this. It's just to bad the outdated US laws will not allow us to use the full functionality of the Adaptive Highbeam Assist.

c4004matic

We certainly don't have an intelligent light submenu. However the lights do vary intensity, swivel into curves and the high/low beams switch automatically. I guess our adaptive LED system is "dummyfied". Interestingly it does seem to have the fog setting mentioned in the article you put above. The US mid level system both the LED lens and the non LED one are fixed.

kellens

Good info hpilot!

tivoboy

So what exactly does the adaptive lighting system do then?

Does the curve adjustment work?
Does the auto HI/LOW work?
Does it actually do any adaptation of the beam form/shape for oncoming or following cars?

c4004matic

It does auto high low.
It does curves.
I dont know if it adjusts the beam. It would be dificcult to tell since the beam always seems to be higher on the passenger side in on low beam.
It also looks cool when you turn on the car since they do yoga moves when they turn on
One other thing, the system seems to always disable itself when you raise the ride height (airmatic).

c4004matic

It does auto high low.
It does curves.
I dont know if it adjusts the beam. It would be dificcult to tell since the beam always seems to be higher on the passenger side in on low beam.
It also looks cool when you turn on the car since they do yoga moves when they turn on
One other thing, the system seems to always disable itself when you raise the ride height (airmatic).

hpilot

As far as I can tell:

The first two - yes
The last one - no.