datrader

Have had the E-500 sport for 5 days now. The good: nice trunk size, fast on the highway, nice looking body styling,nice looking ****pit, controls on the wheel are convenient. The bad seat belt connector is to far down on side of seat hard to connect. The window ledge is rounded so not comfortable to rest arm on while driving, small side mirrors, small glove box will not hold manuals, keyless go I have to touch the key in my pocket to car before it will work will not work from any distance. Sunshade for pano roof will not let you have one open and one closed. Its either both closed or both open. The ugly I had a 2000 continental this car drives the same way like a boat.Except the continental drove like a boat on a cloud. To me the new E drives like the S that is why I did not purchase one. My E-420 drove very good much more agile and sporty of a drive and not rough. The E-500 sport you feel every bump. Not sure if the non sport drives like mine have not driven one. By the way that was in the plush drive you have three options because of the air suspension sport semi sport and I call it plush. I contacted the salesman at mb and he is checking to see if you can adjust the ride. Also drove it a rain storm the water hitting the fender wells sounded like a drum in the car my 420 did not do that either. I guess you guys will hate this but a friend of mine drove with us to purchase a vw beetle for my roommate and his comment was that the beetle had a better ride. He is a long time mb owner he now has the clk500. Just my two cents.

rayscar

Well that sure is depressing. After the posts from the various E-motion events i was very excited. I thought the ride would be much improved. I almost hope there is something wrong with your car. Well I'll just have to take mine for a long test drive over different conditions when it comes in October and then decide whether to keep it or not.

BTW, other than the sunshade on the pano roof, how do you like that option? I think it will be cool to have all that glass. I'd appreciate any feedback.

I also have two children. How is the back seat. It should be comfortable for them how has your experience been with adults back there?

Thanks again for the info.

thug_law

So, is it worth getting the keyless go or its just waste of money. When you approach to the car the doors should unlock.
Is this the case with your keyless go.

Beltfed

Well, I knew about the Pano roof........nothing new. We have a 00 S500 coming off lease and it doesn't drive anything like a Lincoln Continental. I have heard good things about Keyless go, will have to see for myself.

bmms8

the keyless go is very cool, all you do is touch the handle, and it opens, same thing to close

rayscar

Yea we know. That's the way it is supposed to work but Datrader is saying his car doesn't. See his post above

KrispyK

My own impressions of the E500 are markedly different. Albeit, I had a brief, 20 minute drive in one, but I thought it compared favorably to my buddy's new M3 that I'd driven just the week before, at least when the AIRMATIC DC was in "sport" mode. The E500 handled quite well with little drama, when I took it through some S-curves near my dealership. Whereas in the "comfort" mode, the car felt almost Lexus-like. But that's just my opinion and YMMV.

As for the keyless Go, I had a question -- the car I drove had a slot for the ignition key, but it was equipped with keyless go, and my salesman showed me all the neat features of it. He didn't have to touch the key to the handle to lock/unlock so I'm thinking maybe your keyless go system has a defect? At any rate, I was wondering -- with the stop/start button and all, why does the keyless go model have an ignition key slot like the regular models?

datrader

lol, I hope there is something wrong with my car. The roof is nice I like the option. We opened it at 80 mph and no one thought there was any excessive noise. The back seat is fine you seem to sit back further than before and the digital display and adjustment for the ac is nice. Not sure if you know what the pano looks like form the inside it looks like two sun roofs one front and one back. You can also adjust the back seat temp from the master control.

datrader

When you drove the cars were they on flat lots?

KrispyK

No, we took it on a "street course." Their's a local community college behind the dealership, and my salesman told me to "let 'er rip" as it was a weekend and there was no one around.

E55 KEV

You give the key to a valet, your service advisor, etc. I guess and keep the transponder in you wallet. Is that correct bmms8.

Barney

The 'new' keyless go no longer requires a transponder, it is contained withing the key itself.

At my dealership, the salesman had a hard time getting the door to reliably unlock each time he touched the handle. Didn't look too promising.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is and think it is a waste of $1000. You have to carry the key around anyway. How hard is it to press a button on the key to unlock the car and then stick it in the ignition? MB keys don't even have any traditional metal key part sticking out for goodness sakes! Besides, with keyless go, how do you do the really cool stuff like open all the windows and roof and get those seat fans on (if you have them) before even entering the vehicle?

KrispyK

Excellent points. I guess KeyLess Go is cool to show off to non-MB owners ... but I figure the novelty will wear off soon enough.

E55 KEV

No transponder in your pocket and still need the key? That is silly - the option really sounds like a waste.

jhb

I totally agree with E55 KEV. The most important benefit for me would have been not having to carry the key!

KrispyK

What I know is (and this is very limited knowledge) is that the old KeyLess Go was on a card that you carried in your wallet, whereas now, you get a key that looks similar (if not identical) to the common SmartKey. The KeyLess Go-equipped E500 I drove had a ignition key slot, but the salesman didn't have to insert the keyless Go key into the slot -- just pressed the start/stop button with the keyless go key in his pocket.

I think I'll save my $1k and put my key in the slot, thank you.

Beltfed

I don't think its a waste, just keep the key in your pocket like you would the transponder (the transponder was a card,that didn't fit so well in my wallet actually)......I would rather carry the key.

There a few guys on the CLK 209 board that have it and really like it, so go figure.

rayscar

I don't see the benefit other than it's a cool toy. I'll keep my $1K for other cool toys that I think I'll like better.

Beltfed

Thats exactly what it is and always was.....a cool toy, not something that is going to enhance the driving experience or even add that much more of a convenience. So, its not going to do it for everyone.

bmms8

i think it is awesome....you need the key in the car, thats all, you dont need to put it in anything, just in the car, then your car will be able to start.

Dema

Could somebody clarify how it differs from Lexus wallet key? The wallet key looks like a flat aluminum key inserted in a credit card sized plastic frame. It can open car and start engine if a plastic wrapper placed near it. It's difficult to carry such key in your wallet since the plastic frame is thick. However, this plastic frame can be left in a car and the key itself can be placed in a small pocket of a swim suit. In this case you have ability to leave a car and swim and return back and open a car and be able to start engine. An aluminum key is water proof itself and only frame contains some electronic which can fail at contact with water, so reasonable leave it in a car.

Barney

That was a funny post though I don't know if you intended it to be.

The lexus wallet key is merely an emergency key in a very small package without any electronics or bells or whistles. It is a nice thing to have.

The MB key is the opposite. While not particularly or unusually large, it contains a lot of data stored electronically and in fact 'keys' the car via electronics whether you do that by sticking it in the dash or via radio signal to the keyless go.

BUT...contained within the complex MB key is a small metal (?aluminum) key that is about the same size as the Lexus wallet key, maybe even a bit smaller. You could safely take that one swimming and hide the bigger piece in the car.

bmms8

dont all toyotas/lexus hae the plastic key....i thought u couldn't sart it with that....that key is used only if you placed thr real keyes in your car....so that plastic one will open the car...but not start it...right? And i am not sure if you are reffering to key-les-go but that is a option that is built into the smart key....as long as the smart key is 3 feet away from the car, you can open the car by just pulkling on the handle..the button is on the back, so with the force of your hand pulling, it will open...that is on all 4 doors...also..to close, there is a little black box, rith by the handle..or basically in the handle..just push that and your alarm is activated...that button is also on al doors

Barney

No. The lexus emergeny key does most everything the mechanical part of the regular lexus key does. It will open the doors and start the car. I don't remember if it will open the glove box or trunk though there is also a separate valet key. The emergency key is extrememely light but doesn't look strong enough for day to day use. The only thing is it doesn't have a plastic 'handle' which can be small and basic (valet key) or contain the transmitter to unlock the doors.

bmms8

oo, well our camrys...not our 2002 though came with a little plastic key....if you put your keyes in the car, that plastickey will open it...it is a creat card type of plastic thing....with a plastic key cut out in it..to use it, just rip off the end...