northbenz

Apparently the sport package comes with a wood steering wheel in black birdseye maple. Anyone with the sport package also have a heated steering wheel? Is there any other way to get a factory installed wood steering wheel other than by ordering the sport package? If so, can it be ordered heated?

clembo

My car has the wood wheel and it is heated. The switch to turn it on is the end cap of the wheel positioning lever on the left of the wheel. Only the leather parts heat up not the wood.

If you can get the wood wheel it is very nice, I also recommend the heated wheel especially if you live in Boston.

pat a.

I have spent more time than I care to think about discussing this issue wtih Mercedes Benz USA and my dealer.

Currently, the wood steering wheel IS NOT available for order as a factory option. Word is that it will be orderable as of Dec. 1.

The wood wheel is available as a dealer installed accessory ii both bird's eye and burl walnut wood, with the four different leather colors, at a price of $705 plus installation. However, it is not available in any wood configuration with the heat option. Do not know if the wood/heat configuration will become available in the future - you would think so since someone with as original equipment from the factory could have it damaged, and there would have to be a way to replace it. Obviously you would need to have the heated steering wheel option on your car to start with to provide power and heta control to the wheel.

My advice - wait another week to order your car - vehicles to be built after Jan. 1 will be orderable with this option.

ValueplusClass

So there are four codes for odering the Wood/Leather steering wheel? I thought it just came in dashboard grey and just one code!

etenn

My wood/leather wheel matches my charcoal interior. The dashboard is the same charcoal or so close I can't tell the difference. Are all the dashboards grey...I remember that they match the interior.

BTW...The wood wheel is worth waiting for. I would not really need the heated wheel, wood or not.

ValueplusClass

I believe that for lighter interior choices, the dash is always in darker grey. This is to minimize the reflections on the windshields that a lighter dash would produce.

saintvir

http://www.clairparts.com/

There are indeed 8 possible combinations for the wood wheel: four each for burl walnut or black birdseye maple. Try the link above and click on "Accessories"; input the required info for your car (plus Category = Interior). The Wood/Leather Steering Wheel is the last item on the search results page. Click on that and the next page will show a drop-down menu for "Color".

ValueplusClass

Thanks. But I did not see a "dashboard grey" code. And I know it comes in this "dashboard" grey color from the factory! I'll check further.

saintvir

Could grey be equal to Ash?

If you could get your hands on an E Class brochure, all the color swatches are excellent representations of the actual colors.

MBUSA will gladly send you a copy. That's how I received mine before making a final decision on car config.

ValueplusClass

The Ash I have seen is a lighter color than the dashboard grey.

ValueplusClass

I have gone back and found a picture that you posted a while ago that I am includiing here for reference. The dash and steering wheel are the same color which is darker than the "stone " interior. (I cannot tell the real color due to lighting, camera, picture/monitor etc.)

see page two of this link
saintvir has attached this image:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=2

ValueplusClass

here's another one in grey. Notice the dashboard grey is darker than the Ash and the steering wheel looks also darker than the Ash but in this picture/lighting looks not as dark as the dashboard grey.
see page 1
03E500 has attached this image:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=22726

ValueplusClass

Correction: The picture by 03E500 is of a Stone interior. The steering wheel definitely looks grey!.

jim256

The ash interior has a darker gray dash, the steering wheel is the same darker color, but it is not the charcoal/black of the charcoal interior. It's gray, 3 or 4 shades darker than the seats. The area above the wood on the doors is also the darker shade of gray. I don't think MB uses a standard black/charcoal dashtop.

saintvir

I do believe that, except for the charcoal, the dashboard is always finished in a two-tone color with the section above the wood trim being darker than the rest of the interior. The leather on the wood wheel then matches the darker color.

matt5555

what is so great about a wood wheel?

we are looking at a new e-320 in the next 6 months or so, and i see lots of threads and people raving about the wood wheel. we have never had a wood wheel before, so we don't know what is so great about it.

someone fill us in

jposhea3

Largely aesthetics.

Cool look (to some eyes),
interesting differentiator between your car and "everyone else's",
richer looking interior (more wood)

I didn't order one since I'd rather have uniform grip around the whole wheel (I figure the wood area would be a bit 'slicker'), but from the various ones I've seen on the site I can understand how it improves the look.

Certainly if I won the lottery and got an SL55 I'd go for the wood wheel - it really looks neat in a roadster, has a nice design link to the 'classic' cars of the past.

mco

I just checked with my dealer and they said they just spoke to mercedes and the wood wheel will not be available for order Dec 1. They said that they were just told it would only be available for later in the 1st quarter 03.