Donny_Dubz

i was takin a look at the brochure of the E class and i notice that there is a column shifter and a floor shifter, whats the difference?

gaazmon

Sedan has column (such as S class and CL). Coupe has floor (such as SL). I think this is how it is. So, if you buy the sedan, then you automatically get paddle shifters, right???

QQQ

In NA we only get V6 V8 7 speed sedans and they come std with column shifters like S and CL. Paddle shifters come as std.

Elsewhere there are more engine choices and you may get a 6 sp manual or a 5 sp auto and those are conventional floor shifters.

stogie1020

E350
Sedan - Column and Paddle
Coupe - Floor and (optional-'Appearance' package)Paddle

E550
Sedan - Column and Paddle
Coupe - Floor and (standard)Paddle

erichen

Went to E Class event a month or so ago... front looked good, sat in it.. put my hand down and said... WTF! where is the floor shifter? Damn, E-class now goes the way of the ML, GL, and S with the nasty column shifter? that's so sissy... It was a stylish, sporty sedan, now... it's an Oldsmobile! what the heck! To get the floor shifter, have to get the 2 door coupe. Can't have 2 door, wife wnats 4 door family sedan... so, opted for 2009 E63 instead. What's next? SL65 with column shifter? this trend needs to be nipped in the bud for MB!

Diesel Benz

You should have looked at the E220CDI (any of the smaller engines, I know these are not available in the US) or the E63AMG (coming some time soon).

lukemcv

All the 4 cylinder engines in the new E-Class also get a floor shifter but you don't get those in the USA anyway.

QQQ

Yep.

Jen_Kenne

Dude = floor shifter

Dork = column shifter

K-A

Column shifters really are something that should have never made it back into anything short of a car marketed for the elderly.

gaazmon

Dumb idea. *******g BMW got the trend back in. Maybe it's good only for the SUVs, but that's about it.

For the elderly??? Lol, it would make it more confusing for them Lol. My father (he's not that old), couldn't figure out the shifter in the 745i I test drove nor the 528 with the new alien electronic shifter.

The current MB floor shifter is the BEST design with the tiptronic being engaged on "D" versus a separate gate.

Jen_Kenne

They should revive the MoPar push-buttom shifter.

K-A

Some older guy at a family event I was at was sitting in a 530i to move it, and couldn't for the life of him figure out how to get the damn thing in gear, was sitting in it for minutes, I finally had to go over and show him. Funny think is he drives a Rolls Royce, and owns a Limo Company.

Jen_Kenne

I had a similar experience with a twenty-something. He was clueless. Of course, those BMWs are so poorly designed, the twenty-something's problems were not a surprise. BMW should stick to making simple cars, and not over-reaching. Maybe things will be better, now that they've fired Chris Bangle.

gaazmon

When did auto transmission shifter designs become a selling tool for cars??? It's ridicoulous. Why can't they just stick to a regular shifter with P, R, N, D, and manual mode? And the column shifter is SOOOO SUV/truck looking.

Jen_Kenne

This is what we need:

K-A

Yup. One of the many reasons my Mom wanted to get rid of her '08 525i is because she said it's the biggest PITA to just get in it and go. First the key in the ignition, then foot on the brake, then press the stupid gimmick of a button (if we're already putting the key in, just let us turn the damn thing), then press a button on and move down the "joystick" of a shifter, and having to press the top button to put it in "Park" is something that also takes some getting used to.

Actually I think Bangle left on his own actually, wanting to pursue "other endeavors" from what I remember.... Who knows what the real reason is though.

Jen_Kenne

Or perhaps this approach:




I think I read that BMW asked him to leave aka he was fired.

K-A

Lol, that's probably true, I think I read the "official statement", which gives you as much real info as a Politician running for Office.

erichen

nice to hear that many people agree with me on the floor shifters. Maybe we should start a petition to MB and get rid of the column shifters for good! It's for Old People! probably even the "old people" on this board hate it too!

gaazmon

Even the new 750 has a floor shifter again, unlike the outgoing 7 series which bangle designed with the column shifter. However, it is the weird "alien" shifter.

erichen

I'll take the alien shifter over a column shifter! At least I have something to grab with my hand, not twiddle with my fingers... sissy!

Diesel Benz

I guess I would qualify as one of the old people although I've never had an American car with a column shifter and cannot hate it just because of the similarity.

One of the points on selecting a 350CDI instead of the 250CDI was that the 350CDI comes with a column shifter that I'm used to with the 221.

Someone praised the MB floor shifter implementation which I would agree when compared to other brands but the steering wheel buttons or paddles are way better for manual gear selection compared to the MB floor shifter. Now that all column shifter cars have steering wheel buttons or paddles and the 7G-Tronic is anyway driven by wire from the shifter, I find the floor shifter just a waste of space and blocking access to buttons and storage compartments (that are fewer with the floor shifter).

Way less work for your hand with the column shifter plus paddles option than the floor shifter. I understand a different opinion if one is used to grabbing a stick and twiddling, or was that the favourite of one poster.

MB_Owner

I would assume the forthcoming E63 AMG Sedan will have a floor shifter.

gaazmon

+1

Since they have only a sedan on the way, it will probably have column shifter just like the other sedan E's