emilner

I picked up my E550 yesterday!! I got an '07 black with cashmere, p2, and the sport package. As a preface I have been driving GM trucks for 8 years with a few Vettes as a second car. All I can say is OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was excited as expected when I picked the car up, but I really was not ready for how amazing this car drives. It truely is a bank vault. The power handling, comfort, gadgets are all amazing. The car is so quiet and linear when it accelerates (I haven't floored it yet, I'm waiting for breakin to be over), the handling is flat and inspiring.

The reviews I have heard all faulted the handling abilities of the car, but I think they have it quite wrong. Its abilities are better than expected for a luxury sedan. I have drivin' many pure sports cars and I can say I used their handling limits only a handful of times. More often if I was driving aggresively it was still only at 80-90%. This car fits the mold of the average sporty driver who wants great performance on tap, but for most of the time wants that confident but comfortable drive.

I guess you can say my eyes have been opened, as this is my first German car. I quite honestly didn't know how great they drive

There are a few quirks I knew about before I got the car, one being the archaic Nav system, geeze guys, even entry level chevys have a better system. The fact that there is no fog lamp switch, you have to switch from auto to headlights on and then pull out the switch to activate them is just unnecessary. You now have to remember to shut of the headlights (witch I don't think I have done in a decade thanks to auto functions). The center armrest is not very comfortable, I will try to find a good looking pad that can be placed there to help out. I also don't care for the small center console and the corresponding cup holders.

Don't missunderstand me, these are really minor quirks (except for the NAV ), I am just trying to give my impressions good and bad.

All in all I can say my view of automobiles has been changed and for the better. I am looking forward to the next 33 months and to this forum...

Ed

MotorWerkz

Welcome to the family

sgaar

Welcome! Glad to hear that you are enjoying your new car. The things you mention that are drawbacks was also what I initially complained about. Especially the NAV since it seemed so far behind feature wise than the one I had in my Navigator. However, after I started to use it it is not bad. You need to get used to the way you have to enter destination etc but one you are it works just as well as other. I still miss the touch screen but as it was pointed out to me, touch screen are not allowed in cars in Europe after a certain MY – I think it is 2010 – since the fear is that it distracts the driver from driving. So new cars coming from Europe with Nav will have the knob like the S and new C class.

But enjoy your new car and welcome once again.

starbrite

Welcome Ed and congratulations on the new ride !

Maybe we'll get a chance to meet you at one of the Sat/Sunday meets.
(this Saturday there's one at Roosevelt field, cars arriving @ 12:30-1:30 PM, 2nd level parking Macy's)

Edit: Thread here - https://mbworld.org/forums/events-gatherings/195759-nyc-bmw-mb-alliance-gathering-june-9th-2007-a.html

emilner

I will actually be around on saturday, I might be able to make it...

sgaar- I hear ya, but it sounds counter intelligent, I find this nav infinitly more difficult to operate than a touch screen. It is far slower when you need to scroll through letters etc. I also miss being able to enter "costco" and other POI stores.

New E350W4

Being a longtime Volvo enthusiast and occasionally driving the E350 I can make direct comparisons of ride and handling. My V70 is great BUT, the E is VASTLY superior.
The E is smooth and so quiet! If I had the money I'd likely consider the E350 wagon but, gotta pay BIG bucks when my sons start St. Anthonys in the fall, 13K+/yr!!! for high school!

starbrite

Hey, between the 3 of us and Barry45rpm, we could have a Huntington meet!

emilner

Works for me, we could go to Prime or someplace like that for a few drinks...

murman

Want to sell me your NAV drive?

FormerC32Owner

Congrats on your new ride!

I agree with you on NAV. I traded in a Lexus IS350 that had touch screen NAV - and it was great, and got used to it. I liked it so much, I put in an aftermarket NAV (Pioneer AVIC-Z1) in my M3 - which has the bells and whistles and touch screen. So I feel I have gone 'backwards' with my new E550, when it comes to NAV. But oh well...

Dema

If I right remember, headlights have auto position, to auto on/off, check manual. Regarding Nav I consider it the best. It has some trouble to entering address, but it provides very accurate guide and never fail. I remember my Lexus nav always brought me in some other place, Worst mistake was 30 miles from destination.
Enjoy your car.

jimm

I agree. Although I haven’t used a MB Nav, I have read a LOT of reviews.
While a few say they like it, 90% agree that it is antiquated! I’ve only used
GM Navs, which I think are great. Take you right to the house, not just the
“general area.” Sometimes in the rain, or dark, that “specific” destination is
the most valuable part of the routing.

I’m 76. If I remember correctly, MB's Nav came out right after my birth.

Before I ordered my 350, I was “seriously” considering a Lexus 460. It has an
absolutely OUTSTANDING Nav. Even updated from just last year! Because
electronics (especially the Nav) are so important to me, I came within an inch
of buying a red 460 which I could have had right then!

But, as I reported elsewhere, I didn’t like the way it drove, compared to the
E350 Sport. So, woe is me on the MB Nav. Hopefully when my car comes I’ll
learn to “accommodate” it's Nav. But, the Nav is a definite persuasive feature
for me .. now AND in the immediate future.

jimm

==========

On Order: 08 E350 Sport, P2, Black/black,
Parktronic, Voice, Bluetooth, Burl Walnut,
Split rear seat, Rear mud flaps

Dema

Do not worry, you will be satisfied with MB navigation.

Untertürkheim

There is a very good reason for the design of the headlight & foglamp multi-switch. Since it is illegal in Germany, and unsafe everywhere to drive with the foglights on when they are not needed, the switch was designed so that they could not be switched on in the "Auto" position and left on. The switch on the new cars is identical to those of the past 50 years in that the foglights will return to the off position when the headlights are switched off. Since foglights are only used for that purpose, the switch is designed to function best that way. Unless you always drive in fog, why would you have to switch the lights on and off...just leave it in Auto.

I agree with you about the center armrest/console. It was changed for the 2006 US model year (I believe, it may have been 2005). But in Europe the armrest/center console is the same as originally came on the W211. Apparently Americans wanted more storage space in the form of a large cabinet, so MB obliged. I personally find the original design of the center console much more useful in terms of storage and also more comfortable.

Untertürkheim

Do US nav systems not allow you to enter the house number exactly? I know the nav in my European W211, allows you to specify street address exactly.

WEBSRFR

No it just takes you to about the right street block and then you are on your own. Apparently the W211 NAV system was designed in the early 1990s. The people who designed it retired soon afterwards and MB is still looking to hire people.

emilner

As strange as it sounds the best NAV system I have owned was in my wifes 03 Lincoln LS. It was incredibly acurate- it would know if you were in the right lane to get off a highway. It was also very handy- one of the most annoying features of the GM system is its selective street naming. In the lincoln all you have to do is touch an unnamed road and the name will appear in a box. In my GM nav there were times when major roads would have no info no matter how far in you zoomed.

Oh I forgot to mention how awesome the bluetooth is!! I have a Cingular Razor and the pairing is amazing, I just wish I could use the factory antenna to increase reception. I love using the phone book, or just dialing a number using the keypad. It is certainly well engineered...

Barry45RPM

If you need more room in the USA center console, and you can live without the cup holders, pinch the center release buttons & lift the cup holder straight up & out.

You will be amazed at how much room they take up in the console.

The new glove box in the '07s has a lip in it to keep junk from falling out if you were to remove the door & drive like that. That effectively limits what you can put in & get out of there!

emilner

It isn't as much the storage (I can't compare to the cavern in my Escalalde), it is more the armrest portion, I find it uncomfortable on your elbow when driving (it's minor, more just an observation).

jimm

I, too, like a nice armrest.

Surely there must be an “armrest vender” out there
somewhere!

jimm

==========

On Order: 08 E350 Sport, P2, Black/black,
Parktronic, Voice, Bluetooth, Burl Walnut,
Split rear seat, Rear mud flaps

jimm

Someone else said that they had a 1991 GARMIN that
took them to an exact location.

How could anyone discount precise targeting?

How many times have You been given directions then
had to spend a frustrating hour .. more or less, trying
to find the “exact” spot?

Much newer technology has been available for years -
which everyone else uses! Why not MB?

And, sorry, I don’t buy the argument that because MB
drives nice, we should be happy with their antiquated
electronics!

jimm

csumt76

Haha, chances are you will forget the "quirks" after that. That thing is a monster!

PS: Save money for rear tires.