My first impressions of the 2003 Mercedes E 500 are good overall and it is certainly a high tech car.
What I like -------
Great engine with obvious ability to accelerate;
Great handling with no body roll;
Very good Harmon Kardon sound system;
Very nice indash 6 disc CD Changer which is much more convenient than the old trunk mounted CD changer;
Very classy interior;
Very nice exterior looks;
Improved trunk space;
High tech ****pit and steering wheel control;
Improved Key control and remote;
Improved windshield wipers.
Cruise control speed designation by bar graph and the ability to have a digital speed display in addition to analog;
Nice two part sun visors;
Nice side mirror controls;


What I don't like -------
Reduced rear passenger room although leg room is made acceptable by sinking the rear occupants' derrieres deep into the seat;
Miniscule but high tech cup holders (will not hold my foam insulated drink huggers);
Poor daylight visibility of climate control heat/air cond. controls and fan speed indicators;
Overall exterior appearance is nice but the size of the car looks small like a mini-midsize or compact;
No adjustable intermittent wiper control;
No ability to search radio stations with steering wheel control;
Brakes are too sensitive with sensortronic;

What do you like and dislike?

 

Overall, I like the whole package. I've only put 400 miles on it so far, but I am thrilled with the car. I zainoe'd over the weekend and now I smile every time I see it. The new E turns heads and grabs attention. Everywhere I park people complement the car and want to look at it. This certainly overcomes any shortfalls.

As far as shortfalls go, I'm with you on only a few; such as not being able to scroll through preset radio stations from the steering wheel. Also I would like to see a digital compass in the computer display somewhere.

 

You can scroll through them with the wheel controls. Just read the manual.. sorry i am sleepy or i would give u step by step instructions.

 

Hey Silver Lana, I would love for you to post instructions on how to scroll through the pre-set stations from the wheel. I can't figure it out and I thought that the car can't do it. This has been one of the most frustrating things about my car. Other than that I agree with the other postings that this is a great car!

 

clembo, i believe you cant, i havent figured it out, but maybe silver knows a way, i know for the cds you can do that though

 

Overall it is a fabulous car and I would highly recommend it. It is the nicest car I have ever owned and others I considered don't come close in terms of doing all of the things as well that I have put on my list of things to like.

Although I had a couple of early problems that were common on the car they have been completely resolved with a great attitude and the car is now perfect in every way.

As you can see the stuff I don't like is very picky, the reason I mention it is that it would all be very easy to fix without a lot of effort.

Like:
- Engine: Instantly available power
- Airmatic: Ride, Handling, Comfort
- Remarkable light weight for overall package.
- Vault like doors, passenger compartment sealing, silence.
- Beautiful styling, fit, finish and material selection.
- Trunk Size
- Panorama Sunroof
- Standard sound system is actually very decent.
- Interior trim and style upgraded and improved from W210
- Fold down seats are handy.
- Keyless Go.
- Quality and care of dealer service department, response and quick fixes to early problems to be expected in completely new car.

Dont Like:
-Stupid diffuser on dash is ugly, nonfunctional and reflects in the windshield.
-Continental tires
-Cupholder is bogus and inadequate.
-Gas mileage is weak (such the price of performance I suppose).
-Analog Clock is a waste of dash space (would be better to put fuel and temp needle gauges and have a digital clock only)
-Radio Presets should be on wheel as mentioned above
-Beeping while entering / exiting vehicle with keyless go is annoying.
-Digital brakes seem like an on-off switch and takes a while to get used to - eventually you don't notice it at all.
-I miss the old vacuum gauge (mpg scale) (like on the old 300E).
-Would be interesting to have an "instantaneous MPG" feature.
-Phone cradle is a ripoff.
-Multicontour seats don't do much and not worth the $$.
-Salesman screwed me on ordering CD changer option (long story).
-Bought the car too early and could have waited a few months and saved some real money.

 

Instantaneous mpg may be hard to read especially when accelerating and coming to a stop. (There is a trip mpg and an overall mpg.) MPG should improve after breaking in as would oil consumption.

 

...I understand what you mean by instantaneous MPG. I know in my time/distance since start menu, that if I leave that menu up while I drive, it constantly updates my current mpg. When I hit traffic, my mpg is effected negatively. During break-in, I got in the 21-22 mpg area on the freeway. Now at 1500 miles, I get 23.X mpg on the freeway.

EDJ

 

I love the car but all that cloth!..all around the lower areas of the doors and sills and around the weatherstripping... I did not noticed until scuff marks starting to readliy appear...it's going to be tuff to keep it clean plus it takes away from an otheriwse luxurious and classy interior IMO.

 

Wait a minute! All I've heard in the past is that MB is using to much plastic and their interiors have gone down hill. Now that they have eliminated some of the plastic, complaints are arising about the use of cloth!? Guys, just enjoy your cars.

 

i agree, i mean, if you want plastic trim, that is hard as hell, get some from autozone, and stick it on there, i know it gets dirty easily, but come on, we have 70 K cars, and we are complainging how it gets dirty, just get some carpet cleaner, takes 2 minz, and works like a charm

 

ok..for those with stone interior..let's see how it looks and holds up in a year...I think cloth is ok but the location on the lower sides of the doors where your feet go in and out and wrapped around the seals will not hold up at all over time.. in our $70k cars!

 

It definitely won't......just look at some of the new E's in the showrooms with ash/stone interiors. I have seen some cars where that area is absolutely filthy (black) and the sticker still on the window. Really nothing you can do to keep it clean, especially if the car is a daily driver.

If MB had to use cloth in that spot, it should have been black regardless of interior color.

 

I had two loaners, both with Stone interior. A 320 (untitled) for a month while my car was held in the VPC, and a 230 for a month while mine was in service. Parts of the floor (above the mat) and the lower sides on the doors looked terrible.

Mine has charcoal, and it hides it much better. Still, it's possible to lightly scar the cloth by the door pocket if you whack it pretty good with leather shoes. One of the things that disappoints me is the relatively thin cloth covering. A better grade of cloth -- or even better, leather -- would have been much better. It would be worth a few hundred more to have the upgrade in a car in this class.

I think the stone looks great, but you better be an "obsessed detailer" if you're going to keep it looking great!

 

Sorry chaps... i confirmed it myself today. You cant do it. However one of the salesmen told me that he has heard of some modification that allows that to be done. Not sure how true this is but i will keep you informed if i hear anything else.
I coulda sworn the E500 i drove at the E-Motion event allowed me to do exactly this though.

 

Take this for what it's worth - I'm a total M-B newbie (all of about 25 hours of ownership) but while cruising around today I scrolled through my presets using the wheel.

I don't have the manual handy (and really didn't think much of it at the time) but I *think* I hit the "Audio" control button on the left hand side of the screen - then hit "FM" and then the left hand arrows on the wheel controlled the scrolling up or down. I won't swear that this is exactly how it happened but I know it is possible. (I have the E2 package stereo, if that matters...)

lig

 

Scrolling is something that we are aware of, the problem is that the scrolling is for any channel not just the presets.

 

If it is indeed true that you can only scroll through any strong signal from the wheel and not specific presets, this is a HUGE step backward for MB. I can scroll through presets in my '01 CLK and, frankly, having the ability to do scroll through radio channels from the steering wheel is an absolutely useless convenience feature if you cannot scroll through presets. A strange omission by MB if it's true.

 

Fortunately, with an update, this should be an easy modification for MB techs.

 

Back on topic. I really like the car overall. My dislikes are more dynamic in nature than anything else. I'm beginning to really dislike the brake pedal feel. I asked a tech about reprogramming the "brake by wire" system. No such luck.

I don't especially care for the steering "feel" either. Not much in the way of feedback and sometimes it feels like I have to prod the wheel back to center...

Other than those two things... the car makes me do this.

 

Likes:
Greatly improved appearance over W210 model - esp. the rear end
Superb ride and handling with Airmatic suspension
Effortless power
Auto headlights and windscreen wipers
High-technology dash and digital instruments
Low interior noise level
Cruise control bar graph display
Integrated Nokia telephone
High-quality fit and finish throughout
Dealer support and service here is second to none

Dislikes:
Analog clock is too large
No Nav CD available for my country - so although system is installed it's useless except for GPS position only
No handle on trunk lid - you have to grab a painted area to close it
No audio input for mp3 player on sound system
Lack of dual rear exhaust pipes on V8 model