I think my 2006 E500 and 2007 GL are the best all around vehicles in their class. 2 small things I can't really understand. 1. transmission does not blip revs on downshifts. 2. front seat memory buttons have to be held down until seat is fully repositioned. It is particularly odd since the MB tranny and seats are otherwise the best out there and much lesser cars have these features.

 

I have an 07 GL450 myself and agree with the statement that its the best in its class of 7-passenger vehicles. It irks me as well that you have hold down the memory seat button in order your for position to be re-established. I mean, in my 36K G35 Coupe, it press it once and it's good to go.

All in all, I know the E's have been holding it down. I have an 04 E320 also and it not only looks good but performs/handles well for only a 221 HP(?) sedan...

 

They say it is a "safety feature" so that you can not press the memory button once & crush your kids feet by not paying attention. Typical overthinking & clunky day to day operation by the Germans. I am not aware of thousands of crushed kids feet in American cars.

 

Also, if you are driving and you need to react to a oncoming accident you don't need the car moving you seat while you are trying to drive, it is a well thought out feature.

 

So, did M-B delete the feature on my '03 that automatically adjusts the seats to the settings associated with the key in use? I don't have to press a button to get my memory settings.

People may manually adjust some part of their seating position while driving, but will adjust the seats to the memory position only once during a drive, when they first get in and while the car is not moving, no? So, I don't quite follow the safety danger in having the seats move to a "memory" position without holding down the button. The windows will raise with one touch and, although I haven't tried it, I assume that they stop (or reverse) if they are obstructed, like a garage door does. It should be possible to have the seating position safely adjust to the memory settings with a single touch.

 

Yup, the seat portion of the ez exit feature has been deleted from the car. In my 04, it never worked right anyway. It was a poorly designed feature.

But youre right the press & hold for the seats is stupid. I hardly ever move the seat out of my normal position, so the only time the memory button is nice is after a valet or car wash has moved the seats all out of whack.

 

Wonder if you can list some cars that "blip revs on downshifts?"

 

The Infiniti M45, for one, a direct competitor to the E550. There are several others out there, though I can't list them all offhand.

 

sorry - but what is "blip revs on downshifts?"

 

It's when the car's computer automatically raises the engine RPM as the transmission downshifts to make the downshift smoother. The "blipping" feature is usually mentioned in connection with paddle-shifter automatics that let people pretend that they're driving a manual transmission. "Manual" downshifts with the paddles could get rough without a rev-matching feature.

 

My 05 E does have the key recognition and I love it along with the EZ Exit. I was dissapointed to learn that the newer E's have been decontented. This and other very nice featues have been removed. When time comes to replace this car in 09 I will certainly give some thought to other makes for this reason. As much as I enjoy my E the fact that it has been decontented gives me the feeling that its been cheapened up quite a bit.