DavidNJ

Was at a dealer and they had a charcoal designo. Now, I had never really spent a lot of time looking at that package because of the price.

Now that I've spent a lot of time analyzing this model in detail I looked again.

The first differences are obvious. The leather, used on the seats and doors, is the thicker, smoother, richer feeling Nappa. The door armrest themselves were in the Nappa leather. On an E55 also there, the door armrests were the standard leather even though the seats were in Nappa.

The wood, including the wood/leather wheel included with the package, was a lighter color which didn't go well with the graphite grey leather IMHO.

The paint, on closer inspection, appeared to have many more metallic particles than normal and was sprayed dryer so the particles were on edge. They were smaller particles than many paints, giving a sheen rather than a more metallic look.

However, now slowly becoming an expert in little details. On a standard E320 'Leather Twin' interior, the doors have a concave MB Tex panel above the armrest. On a standard E500 premium leather interior, the panel above the armrest has a tufted leather cover. I have found that the tufted cover takes away nearly an inch of room to rest your arm on the armrest. From a comfortable resting position to the edge of the armrest.

On the designo package, the armrest was subdivided. The top half was tufted; the bottom half was flush and concave! Both halves covered in Nappa leather. The best of both worlds and then some more!

BoSoxFan

My dealer had a designo in the showroom and I almost ordered one in my custom build. I also thought that the quality of the leather and exterior paint was superior. But, when I saw an Appearance Group with the different front apron and flared side skirts, I decided that I preferred the looks of the Appearance Group car more than the better interior and paint job.

Green E-300 DT

My dealer cannot seem to discover whether the designo option is available for the 2005 CDIs.

The factory brochure says it IS available, but the MBUSA.com site doesn't show it amongest the available options!

saffrontiger

DavidNJ,
And I though I was a car fanatic and a nut for details...

Green E-300 DT

Do you know if that option is available?

I'm probably more nuts than you, being as I'm older, and have been at it much longer! :p

DavidNJ

Don't know. However, if it is available for '05 it probably is on the CDI.

Beck Imports in NC has their own configurator (which doesn't have the package content and prerequistes correct or upto date), which shows the designo packages as available.

Remember though, on a CDI leather, wood wheel, and metallic paint add up to a $2590. The extra $3600 (or more for '05) is the tarrif for the Nappa leather and special paint.

And also remember, the light colored wood may not be to your preference (I don't know why they included it in the graphite edition, it simply clashes with the interior. And the graphite edition probably has the nicest paint.

If they had the Mystic Blue or Mystic Red colors from other markets, my wife may have wanted that package.

Green E-300 DT

Thanks David for the information.

We thought that we might be interested in the Designo Silver edition (paint code 029) with the Stone Nappa leather, but we've not seen one yet, so will wait until we do and get the skinny on availability.

Thanks again.

They're are strike now. Sure hope that doesn't interfere with your delivery.

TPAbnz

Has anyone seen Brilliant Silver with Stone Premium? How does it look?

DavidNJ

With a September pickup, I don't think it will be issue. However, my wife and I are worried about quality. Usually workers are pretty angry before a strike and after a strike of they feel they made too many compromises. So our car may be a disaster.

I only hope that the delivery center in Sindelfingen does extensive pre-delivery preparation.

DavidNJ

Virtually all the greys go well with stone. MB Stone is a beige with a relatively low chroma and not too much yellow. So the match is good and retains the sophistication.

With ash and the greys you need to be more careful. I think the shades are so close that occasionally their is a mis-match. For example, pewter and ash is a no-no in my book.

Green E-300 DT

Hopefully everything will turn out just fine!

When going for the ED, are the savings approximately 7 percent?

Sorry for all these dumb questions, but I know you've got the answers, having been there, done that!

scorchie

I've seen the workers in Sindelfingen several times even at their best... and it can be scary. I think it's a matter of luck and how hard the workers yanked your wiring harnesses through the firewall.

As you suspect, the real quality comes from the attention of the PDI technician.

On the designo, I am surprised you didn't mention the leather dash, and the nappa leather covering the top portion of the door panel (above the wood trim); also the center and middle consoles. They're quite nice.

Incidentally, my E55 has nappa on the armrests. Very strange that this has been changed. I must admit I am a bit concerned about the longevity of that particular piece, because nappa leather does not wear very well.

-s-

DavidNJ

Well, I'm not there now, however I don't think they were leather. I believe noteing the top of the doors specifically.

There was an S600 next to the designo E320, and it had the leather dash and doors. And they were obvious. Equally obvious was the plastic around the light switch. Now I know why Porsche has an option to cover that in leather.

The E55 was in the used showroom. The leather on the armrest had the grain of regular leather, not the smooth finish of the Nappa.

Do they have good PDI technicians in Sindelfingen? Would MB be ahead to move all production to China?

scorchie

It's possible that the armrests were replaced on that E55, after the nappa was damaged. It is relatively fragile, and I consider the armrests the softest and most "touchable" parts on my car.

I have never looked closely at any cars being delivered in Sindefingen... I hope you can relate your experiences to us all.

Also note, that if you adjust your trip schedule for a stop at AMG in Affalterbach, they have pricing to cover most of the exposed plastic portions of the car. I am not going to do the lightswitch surround (despite the removal of backlit illumination on the W211, I still think the symbols are useful to see. I am considering having the grab handles above the doors and the innenraum spiegel (rear view mirror) covered! As the price of the designo dash is significantly lower on the W211 than previous cars, I am planning to replace the dash, upper door panels, and middle- and center-consoles myself.

I do think the designo does add an extra "exclusivity" to the cars, but it's sad that being a Mercedes-Benz is not exclusive enough already and that those touches aren't included on all models.

-s-

DavidNJ

scorcjie, were are you located. Your profile says California, and you tag your signature with a Dutch site.

scorchie

Right now? I am in California... the website in my sig is not mine, just a "suggestion" of where to get parts... and recently I've been trying to get to Germany every 2-3 months (sometimes I get there against my will like when a flight is diverted to Frankfurt).

-s-

Kar don

scorchie, just treat it with zaino Z10 or a quality leather treatment (leatherique is awesome) regularly and it will last a long while

scorchie

I've found that all those conditioners help against the elements, hardening, etc. but they don't really help against abrasion or creasing... all my nappa is creased... and we're not just talking the seating area, so it's not because I am a fat American!

-s-