Loum67

I picked up a 2018 E400 Coupe about 3 weeks ago. I've always gotten the E350 sedans, but frankly after seeing and driving the new E300 it's the first time in years I considered other Makes. That 4 cylinder is terrible, even with the turbo and the new design looks exactly like a C from a distance. Then I saw the coupe and decided it was time for a two door.

I got a P3 AMG package with massage seats.


In a nutshell very happy with it. love the way it drives, feels, looks and the neat "toys".

A few minor silly issues that I chalk up to being a first gen on the new design.

-The little rear windows don't have automatic up. To open, you press and they zip down. To close, you have to hold the switch - kinda dumb considering the 2 main windows have auto close. First few times I got out of the car and had to restart it to close them.

-No rear passenger window controls. For a coupe, the back windows are pretty decent, as is the legroom and two adults fit comfortably, but the drive needs to open and close their windows - again, silly oversight or a silly way to shave some cost.

-The entire dash is a pair of giant screens. Customizable too. Overall pretty cool, but can be pretty distracting at first. Despite a 1 hour session at dealer, it took me a few days to get comfortable with it - just so many settings and menus to go through. For example, my old massage seats had a hard button on the console - now the same control is four menus in. When you're driving, that's distracting. Radio is now better in that you can scroll only through presets on the knob and touch pad and not just the steering wheel controls, BUT to get to other stations it's more menus. A trade off I guess.

-Mine is pretty buggy which I attribute to it being new and HOPE they fix. Takes a while to "boot up" so to change a radio station isn't instant. Ironically you get the "don't be distracted" message which is distracting when you are trying to just change a radio station. I've also experienced nothing happening despite inputs and then suddenly 20 things happening at once, like it hangs up. Also in the "operators manual" section, it says the chosen language is English, but it says it....in French. Change it a few times and it is back to English. Again, new, so somewhat expected.

- Drives like a dream. Comfort mode (which is now, thank God the default, not ECO) is good enough. For a bit more pep Sport is more than enough and it growls in that mode and you don't have to press real hard on the gas. Sport + is what I call "ludicrous speed" because it torques up so hard that you hit the gas and it just pops into action. I've driven it in that mode once.

-Handles well, a bit stiff compared to the E350's I've had, but still comfy. I wanted the air body but couldn't find a car with one.

- The seats are VERY comfortable, firm yet cozy. Leather is standard but it is the stiff German leather. I HIGHLY recommend the massage seats. They are real massages and it's both front seats. The wife now likes the car.

- The self driving tech is much better than previous generations, though a bit more aggressive (you can adjust it though, I just have to figure out how). If you drift into a line, it pulls you back in pretty harshly. The distronic is smoother and when you put on the blinker it changes lanes for you.

- The cameras are all around and fully controllable and unlike previous gen, in order for front to go on, you don't have to back it up first - as soon as sensors detect so much as a curb in front, the front or sides cameras go on and warn you.

- My only major complaint is iPod integration. I've had 5 E's before. ALL had iPod integration that worked flawlessly albeit in some instances lower volume. In this car it simply DOES NOT WORK. I have tried every cable, every port (you are supposed to use port 1 in the center console compartment), reset the iPod, the car and bubkiss. It will detect the iPod. It will show you a song playing after a very long pause, but it does what it wants. If you turn one of the many methods of control, you'll see it scroll through tracks. You will select one and ....nothing happens for like 2 minutes, then suddenly it will go through all the tracks and randomly pick one you saw along the way. Sometimes it will play, sometimes it won't. In basic terms, it plays, but is virtually uncontrollable. Haven't seen anything online about this, so I wrote an email to Benz. Their response was talk to your dealer. Talked to my dealer. He hasn't seen anything like this (but then I bought the 3rd one, so he hasn't had any in). He said he would check but so far, nothin. One guy at the dealer actually said "well it's totally new software". Uhh.... ok, well the 10+ year "old" software worked, how do you screw it up. If anyone has figured out how to fix this please help. I have tried Blue tooth, but the problem is the battery on the iPod - you forget it's not plugged in and it dies.

-And for those who are children, like me. When you turn on the car and the headlights come on at night, you are treated to a light show. The way the lights come on creates a really cool effect on whatever the lights are hitting. Also, when highbeams come on it looks like a curtain of light opens in front of you. Silly, but cool.

Great car, very happy with it so far. And actually really nice styling too. I thought about the convertible, but the way they designed the pana roof, and the pillar-less sides, when all windows and the roof are open, it's very airy and though not a convertible, feels more like one than the sedans.

Mr. Toad

That's not an acceptable excuse.

That tickled me.

BenzMan369

Thank you for your well-written and thorough impressions of the car after three weeks of ownership. Please keep us posted as you continue to drive the car.

I'm particularly concerned about how bugged I may be with the apparent minor but continuing software issues and basic endless-menus design, despite the fine performance and comfort, especially after having a full model year to get rid of issues with the E300.

Please post pix when convenient.

Best of luck with your new ride.

Benz44

Thanks for your post. It prompted me to contribute my own experiences (after 1 month) of owning my E400. I just uploaded a new thread and should be available after moderator approval...

Agency

Not sure if you're referencing it, but you can access the massage function from your home "favorites" bar. (Just hit the little home icon, then swipe down).

I didn't realize this at first and kept going through [car settings] to turn it on, which as you say is a PITA.

You can also add home address and work address to the favorites bar to quickly navigate as well, which I only figured out recently too.

fvc

Strange that you have no rear passenger window controls. I've seen them in some video reviews, and the owners manual discusses the operation of the rear window control disabling button on the drivers door. I wonder if it's a designo thing?

Loum67

Thanks.

Finally got around to finding a photo. This one from delivery.

Still love the car, though still finding little bugs that can be annoying and some little features that I stumble across.