vrracr

my salesperson called me on Monday night and said they're here! she told me that all dealers here got at least one and that their dealership got 2 of them. she said there are tons of people wanting to check it out so they are putting one out on display and have one for people to test drive. the test drive model will be ready wednesday (today) and i had to schedule a time to check it out (1:30pm CST). i couldn't wait and i was in the area last night so i stopped by to check them out. they had the launch edition on display and the silver tester was still getting preped in the back. honestly speaking, the launch edition color (indium gray i believe) is not as appealing to me as black and silver. when i originally ordered, i ordered a dark gray color exterior because that's what I have right now, but while in Europe in November, i saw almost all the colors and really didn't like the look of the gray. the black was the best and silver was a close 2nd IMO, but to each his own of course. i would love to get black, but its to hard to maintain in houston. i ordered silver.

also, they put some funky wheels on the indium gray model...i dont know if that's what they come with, but that with the enormous gap above the tires made the car look even more strange.

here are pics of the car from my phone so excuse the quality. i will post pics and thoughts of the silver tester today after i drive it. i sat in and drove a CLS350 in switzerland around a parking lot for a couple of minutes, but this should be a more exciting experience.

vrracr

wow! what a car! i just drove the silver tester at my local dealership and its amazing!

the car had exactly 48 miles on it had a charcoal interior with a dull but dark wood trim. i'm glad i ordered the high gloss wood. since i had more time to pay attention, i found that seating space in the front is very much like that of the S-class and feels roomier than the E for sure. the seat can go way down to accomodate my height even with the low roofline.

only a small person can probably sit behind me though with the seat as far back as i like to have it. its def. hard to get in and out of the back for adults i think, but once inside, it okay.

the design of the interior is fantastic and everything flows together and is placed in comfortable to reach areas. and the cup holders are awesome! in never even noticed them before.

the door panels are really high, but it didn't really make a difference to me. the winsheild is huge and visibility is great.

the keys to the car go from salesperson to salesperson and they literally have appointment after appointment for the CLS. i went back out to take pics and the car was gone!

vivaki

How was it to drive? Handling compared to E class? (If you've driven the E)

vrracr

i've driven the E, but never hard enough to judge the handling. same thing with the CLS...it really feels solid and powerful, but i was only able to gun it in a straight line while on the highway.

john87699

Hopefully they don't pull to the right like my damn e-class - they never really fully figured out that problem with my 2003 sport. It was so frustrating and amplified 5-fold when I had 20's on it.

vraa

Ew those wheels look awesome but the gap is uglllly!

I don't like Greenway, but I have a few friends there. Good dealer, bad service.

adam76

looks like the air suspension is jacked all the way up...

vrracr

can you set it to stay lower? how do you lower the car (aftermarket)? brabus told me they have a software which will lower it and the other way is to change some kind of linkage. what do you guys recommend? i'm new to MB and this airmatic suspension.

vraa

Yes there is a way to lower it, and usually it WILL lower when you drive it about 15mph (IIRC).

MANY aftermarket tuners make aftermarket lowering systems. I suggest you get the car first, and see how you like the ride height and then change it. No use in blowing money on unneeded stuff.

vrracr

i'm 100% certain the car will need to be lowered after putting on the Brabus 20's. and its cool that the car lowers once you hit 15mph, but how did the model they have stay jacked up so high? is that the normal stance when stopped or going less than 15mph?

vraa

I meant that with Airmatic IIRC there are three settings.

High (which that is on probably)
Normal
and Low / Loading

The car when it is in low or high, after 15mph it goes back to normal, and around 62mph or so it lowers a few milimeters for air drag purposes.

adam76

theres 3 rides hieights with the airmatic; sport, middle (not actual name) and like luxury, new for me too. Carlsson has the C-Tronic lowering system, not sure how it works, but it is an upgrade to the computer...

http://www.carlsson.de/en/tuning/cls...hrwerk/03.html

vraa

Ooops. I was completely wrong!

Awiner posted a review on a bunch of different lowering modules (but they were for ABC). Still gave a comprehensive review though and I suggest you check it out.

john87699

There's an easy trick to lowering any mercedes with ADS. Globe in Los Angeles and 310 Motoring do them all the time - it's super cheap like $250.00-$500.00 - Funny trick too. You simply lower the "sensors" under the car - the computer reads the settings as normal and lowers the car automatically. Kinda hard to explain but it worked perfect on my E500 plus there is no aftermarket crap or ride difference. You know how it lowers when you drive - well it reads this setting all the time when you lower the sensors so the computer thinks that it is the car's "normal" height. Will save you lots of trouble and a lot cheaper than Brabus's 3/4 inch bulls**t - even with the sport kit - gotta drop this car about an inch - especially if you put 20's on it - my only concern is having to do any fender mods to handle the big wheels.

vrracr

thanks for the great info! i just hope i can find someone here locally that can do this for me.

i too am against rolling fenders but i dont even think it will be necessary...i'm not looking to slam the car...just lower it about an inch or so to close up the big gap.

adam76

good stuff. this will save me from going with something like the C-Tronic mod from Carlsson. know of any good docs or places online on how to do this?

im concerned about rolling fenders myself, although ive heard if the shop has the right tool, its harmless, but if they break out the baseball bat, run!

bm75204

Vrracr --- Please let me know if you locate a shop in Texas that will do this. I'm getting my car in L.A. in April and might have it done while I'm out there, but time restrictions might make that difficult. I'm all about a clean, inexpensive way to reduce that fender gap.

vrracr

will do.