ICY

Here it is finally. I took delivery today- 2003 E320 Avantgarde, Tansanite Blue Metallic/Anthracite Leather. 6 CD Stacker, Audio 50 APS, Nokia 6310 Mobile Phone Interface, Glass Sunroof, Sports Suspension to name but a few

I ordered the car in July 2002- it has taken half a year...! (I rejected the first one because the lame-brained salesman forgot my sunroof). No probs, since I ended up getting a Nov 2002 build, Jan 2003 complianced vehicle.

craigng

Hi ICY

Congratulations!! Looks fantastic!!

Just a question from a fellow Aussie - I suppose the COMAND system is not in the car, and you got the Audio 50 APS? Were you told by your dealer as to when COMAND will be retrofitted?

Another question - what is the sports suspension like compared with Elegance models?

ICY

Thanks Craig Yeah, they originally said way back in July last year that the 2003 cars would be equipped with COMMAND APS. However, there's been some sort of hitch in the development or so the dealer says, so he told me they'll be retrofitting them around July '03. I certanily hope so.......

I don't have Nav right now. Although the Audio 50 has NAV features and the car is wired for NAV, Mercedes Australia isn't supplying the CD with the car

As for the suspension, I haven't driven it long enough- only 30 Kms from the dealer to home, and looks like a storm's brewing outside, so no evening drive However, the vehicle is lower, and the bound/rebound rates make the ride quite firm- well, a lot firmer compared to my old S. It's by no means harsh, but medium sized potholes are felt. The car came with Michelin Pilots.

Tezta

Nice car, congrats. Nice color too! the E-class loooks good in dark blue.

Callaway

Congratulations on the car!!

It looks great.

They are bloody expensive and take a long time to arrive compared with those of our American friends,don't they!!

What options did you get in the car?

Did they give you a good deal?

jhb

Enjoy it and share your thoughts after you enjoy it for a while. And more pics too. Jeff

Mellow

Congrats on the new car dude it looks gorgeous, the color looks really good, enjoy it, its been well worth the wait!

Oh as posted earlier , more pics when youve got the time

etenn

Great looking car. Tell us more about the Audio 50 APS. That is not an option in the US.

Ed

Crazy4Cars

etten: Audio 50 and the Harman Kardon upgrade that you get in the states are the same. The standard stereo is called Audio 20.

This is what you get in the USA for us is called Audio 50 APS.


2003 Options
harman kardon

The new digital surround-sound system from harman kardon® LOGIC 7 technology was specially developed and adapted to the interior of the new E-Class.

LOGIC 7 technology creates perfect surround-sound playback with surround-coded recordings. Even with conventional stereo recordings, the LOGIC 7 technology ensures outstanding surround quality by converting and transmitting the incoming stereo signal through seven output channels and one sub-woofer channel.

All the sound system's amplifier channels are equipped with frequency compensation, adjusted according to the vehicle's acoustics. Bass, treble, volume, balance and fader can all be adjusted individually.

For extended sound optimization (AGW Sound), press the "Sound" softkey. The following settings can be selected: Ambience, Driver, Speech, Surround all, Surround front, Surround mid, Surround rear.

etenn

Thought it might be, but had not remembered it referred to that way:p

Ed

Silver_Lana

Wow!



Congrats on a great car. I hope you are spared the teething pains of a new model year.
It sucks that you werent given the CD for the Audio 50 APS system, did they give a reason?

benggolf

Congratulations ICY, she is a beauty! Certainly she was worth the 6-month wait.

Tezta

it's still 6 months?

benggolf

Tezta, I meant the 6-month wait that ICY had to go through. Fortunately, it will be just a 2.5-month wait for me. Order was placed mid-December and delivery is scheduled end-February or 1st week March!

Dealer had an available slot for me.

Brav

ICY

The only options were the sunroof and the Avantgarde/Sport package. And yes, they're HEAPS more expensive here than in North America!!

Hard to strike a deal in Sydney. Tried heaps of dealerships. Ended up going to the one who gave me the best price for my S Class. I mentioned discounts @ other dealers, so they knocked $1000 off the price and threw in a Moet & Chandon, a Mercedes Umbrella, keychains and caps....driveaway price was A$133,250, my only option being the sunroof.

I saw a Pewter/Beige at the dealership, also awaiting delivery. It was almost identical to the car described in your signature. Parktronic, wood/leather wheel and sunroof/folding seats/bi-folding sun-visors. I'd say go with the beige interior.

The only reason they gave me about no Navi CD was that the COMMAND DVD APS one was being retrofitted to all vehicles in July, so they didn't want to sustain any further costs by giving out a soon-to-be-obsolete Navigation CD with the Audio 50 APS. This had better be true!

If I find out other Australian E Class customers are getting navi CDs, I'll be on the phone to the dealer straight away!!

ICY

One more photo

Callaway

Yeah,my guy in Melbourne knocked off about a grand as well,plus all the usual umbrella's,etc.

I have gone with the Pebble beige interior-thanks for yoyr help.

The car looks great so drive safe and enjoy.

P.S You currently own a lot of nice metal,are you sure you are not Rene Rivkin!! ;-)

ICY

Nice metal? Well, compared to Rene Rivkin, his platinum fleet of Mercs, Bentleys, Astons, Ferraris, Porsches etc makes my handful of cars look like bits of shrapnel...hehehe..... :p