MercMacNY

Hi Everyone-

I am a long time lurker and first-time poster. Thanks to all of the info found here, our decision to order an E53 was that much easier. My partner and I had a 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera S with a manual and a 2016 BMW 750Li. We decided that we really didn't need or want to have two cars anymore and neither the Porsche or the BMW seemed right to be our only car. We loved the 911- it really is a great sports car, but it was also equipped as such, without any of the radar cruise or side/lane assist. While the standard suspension is fantastic, the lack of adjustable dampers proved a bit punishing on our weekly ride from the city out to the country. It was also limited on back seat space. We ended up selling it late last fall and are currently left with the 750. While the 750 is an excellent highway cruiser, it's just too big and has nearly zero sporting intentions. This car is nicely equipped with nearly every option, save for the night vision, m-sport, and rear power seats.

Our requirements for the new car were the safety assist systems we love on the BMW, some sporting intentions, 0-60 under 4.5, room for a few bags in the trunk, and the ability to carry back seat passengers for around a half hour. Enter the E53. On paper it seemed to be the best blend of sport and luxury, looks and engineering, and had a back seat that wouldn't be a torture chamber if we want to bring two friends along for dinner. Then the reviews started to come out and it seemed even better. For the 4th we went on a trip to Germany to tour each of the big-four's factory during which time we rented an E220d wagon. The car had only nav/full LCD display and little else. The cloth seats were surprisingly good. One thing that drove me insane was the heated seats would only go through their cycle of high-medium-low 3 times before they refused to come back on...is that some sort of "engineering" I should look forward to on the E53? On stretches more than a few hours the lack of heated seats got old... Anyway, we came back and made an appointment to test drive an E53 coupe a local dealer had. We drove the car on Saturday and the power felt great, the ride wasn't too brittle, the interior is great and the tech is really nice. In the end, we loved the car and even though it wasn't our closest dealer, our sales guy was fantastic so we decided to place an order.

Our Spec:
E53 Cab
Rubellite Red, Dark Red Top
RTN 5-Spoke wheels with grey accents
Designo black/grey Nappa leather
Designo black lacquer w/ flowing lines
-Driver Assistance
-Parking Assistance
-Lighting Package
-Warm & Comfort
-Multicontour seats w/ ventilation
-Head-Up Display
-Soft-Close doors
-Chrome rear accent strip

We left off only the energizing comfort since we don't want the cabin perfume and any/all of the black optic/carbon packages.

Our production is slated for the 3rd week of August...they said it may get to port end of September but MBUSA may not release the 2020s until later, which wouldn't be great, but we still have the 750 so we are fine.

We obviously have some time, but wanted everyones feedback on the tires...we ordered the "high-performance" tires, but not sure what brand/model they are, and we know they are run flats. We generally hate run flats- changed them out for Michelin A/S on the 750 and have had FOUR bubbles just this winter, so not sure they were the best tires (or our roads just suck). We could either keep them and swap for winters on the same wheels or get a set of the 19" wheels and do dedicated winter wheels set. Ideally, we would take the run flats off right away and switch to Michelin PSS but I suspect we wouldn't get more than $200 for the OEM tires. To complicate we haven't 100% decided if we should buy or lease which makes a big difference since if we lease we would be stuck with extra tires which are probably unsellable. Anyone input would be appreciated.

Looking forward to reading more posts and hopefully making the wait go by a bit faster.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

teksurv

Welcome. That is a nicely specified car. Rubellite is a great color, looking forward to the pics.

horiecz

good choice! you won't be dissapointed

pdeacon

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you spec'd out the new ride very well. I have a MY '18 25th anniversary edition cab in rubilite with the dark red top and designo interior. The car gets a lot of comments. It is also a 4 Matic with staggered 19" wheels. The runflats are horrible. Even with the airmatic suspension it bangs over pavement imperfections although on the highway it cruises nicely. I mostly drive in comfort mode.The car is luxurious for an E Class. I think the upgraded designo leather makes a major contribution to the feel. The technology is great and I'm really pleased with the way the car can virtually drive itself in congested bumper to bumper traffic. We have lots of that in the Boston area. I think you will be satisfied with the power and handling of the car. Plenty of get up and go and is no slouch in the handling department. With the top up it is extremely quiet for a convertible. Best of luck with your new ride. Post some pics when you take delivery.
As an aside, I am a Porsche enthusiast but find the cab much more comfortable and practical. Certainly distinctly different cars but not a lot of give up with the cab.

MercMacNY

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am glad to hear you are still enjoying the Designo interior. At $4200 it isn't a cheap option, but we thought the extended Nappa leather would go a long way in helping the interior to feel more luxurious. Honestly, the standard dash is quite nice, but after the full-leather in the 750, anything less feels "fake". We ordered this only based on photos and a few review videos, but I am not expecting a huge difference in comfort vs. the "base" full leather seats on our test car. If anything, the addition of the multi-contour will help...