bugatti

Hello all, I am a newbie here and working my way into an E550W. I want to see get some comment from the owner with Panoramic roof. Is it a good option to go for? any regrets?

Pretty much want to see if it's hot? I am in California.
I personal like the contrast of the pano roof, especially with arctic white.

What do you guys think? Thanks in advance.

QuadBenz

I wouldn't get it just for the fact that a lot of owners with the pano roof have experienced lots of creaks and rattles coming from it.

DHI

In Canada, all W212 come with Pano roof.

I don't believe MB would open themselves to the warranty exposure if the Pano roofs were problematic.

aeggroup

I used to have pano roof in 2 of my previous white cars and enjoyed it.
Basically, this option gives you only show off effect. Looks like 1 mil dollars on a white car.
If you buy your car I see a point to get it. I think it will attract more buyers when the time to sell comes.
And...it's not hot inside b/c you can always close a shade and no any sun will go thru.
Good luck.

petee1997

I have had my W212 3.5 months with no problems. The sun shade seems to keep the sun light out of the car. The Pano roof is standard on Canadian cars but if it wasn't, I would buy the option.

firefighter608

I love my Pano

emilner

It does not heat up the car at all. The look is awesome- it is huge inside the car and it adds a nice contrast to the outside. The only downside is the rattles. My car has a few from the roof and my GLK350 loaner has a pano with the exact same rattles...

303E550

I love mine. No problems at all.

E550-Coupe

i would say get it and you'll love it.

DCist

I would not get it for 2 reasons:

1. It does not cut off all light and sometimes that is what one might want - darkness.
2. One cannot close the back and leave the front open or vice versa. The curtain works in unison.

ipp

That wasn't two very strong arguments especially since the first one isn't true. I love the pano roof, the second statement is valid, but in what kind of situation would that be a problem?

RJC

Never had an issue with the pano in my 06 E55...my 55 was silver/charc and the black glass roof really set off the car.

E550-Coupe

+1

AMGTTV8

i say do whatever you like...

i get the appeal from an inside and outside perspective, but only with the roof closed...

when the panel is tilted up, or slid back, the car looks absolutely awful..

bugatti

Thanks for everyone's reply, I really appreciate it.
The inside is ok for me. I just really like the exterior contrast look with arctic white. glad to hear that there isn't any climate issue.

silberrosa

The only thing I do not like about the Pano roof is you cannot tilt the sunroof without completely opening the sunshade. With the regular glass sunroof, this is possible and I enjoy being able to keep the shade closed (out of the direct sunlight) while having the sunroof to vent the cabin in the tilted position.

DCist

My argument is true. If you actually tried to look directly into the sun through the pano roof curtain you would not accuse me of lying.

The fact that You love the pano roof is irrelevant. That is an emotional response. The truth is that non all light gets blocked by the curtain. I am ready to wage my brand new E550 on this.

ipp

Ok, maybe we don't have enough sun around here this time of the year. But I'm completely sure that I can't notice any sun shining through. Are you talking about the sun shining through the material itself or through around the edges of the curtain? Is it a 'problem' you also notice with the regular sunroof?

DCist

The regular sunroof can be shut down completely using a hard shell sliding "door". It will completely block any light.

I am not saying that the sun is shining through per se. I am talking about small amounts of light penetrating through the curtain itself. One can see small amounts of light through the curtain ion a sunny day if you looking at the sun through the curtain directly. There is a term for professional grade curtains for office or for home - Black (or Block) Out. Well, this cannot be said about pano roof. It will not Black Out or Block Out 100% of light. I do not have the exact percentage figure, and I am sure one can obtain it from MB, but my guess would be that pano roof shades 97% of light. Moreover, as you correctly pointed out, it lets sunlight in on the edges.

In general, if you are OK with sunlight seeping in then pano is a good way to go. Some prefer to shut off as much light from the cabin as possible on certain days - for these folks I would not recommend pano roof.

220S

fwiw, and I live in super sunny SoCal, my pano shade blocks out 100% of the light. And there is no light leaking on the sides. Maybe it's a different material on the AMG (?) The headliner is alcantara but the pano shade is an opaque dark textured cloth. It is 100% opaque.

However with the reg sunroof, the "hard shell door" as you put it, has vent louvers in it that let light in. I had a E350 loaner and it let in light at certain times of the day. And I couldn't block it off. It was super annoying while driving.

I'm assuming the vents are to let heat dissipate since the glass can get pretty hot. There had been early reports of BMW E90 sunroof glass breaking when the door is closed and heat builds up.

ipp

Ok, thanks for clearing it out!

Out of curiosity isn't the light coming the rest of the car's windows making the small amount of light seeping through the roof curtain undetectable?

ipp

Also, from which MB model are you experiencing this? W212?

kala416

Was just wondering. If there is a concern about the transfer of heat and maybe UV sun rays getting through the pano shade- like how some of us tint our windows, can't you also tint the pano glass?

E550-Coupe

don't they come already tinted??

chokaay

From my experience, I believe that the pano roof rolling shade between the W211 and W212 models are different (just like the W203 vs. W204).

With the previous generation vehicles (ie: W211, W203, etc), I've noticed that the rolling shade blocks out 100% of the light, and seems to be made of a somewhat thicker tightly-woven fabric with a thin slick plasticky (or semi-rubberized) coating.

The latest generation vehiclces (ie: W212, W204, etc), uses a thinner non-coated (or less-coated) "almost mesh-like" looser-woven fabric that lets light into the cabin even when fully closed (I'm guessing maybe around 10% light... but I don't have any means to measure it accurately). Basically, it's more like a tightly-woven "privacy screen" rather than a solid piece of fabric, which also lets a little light in on the sides as well.

I'm not sure why MB changed it, but I know that it would drive me NUTS if I couldn't block out 100% of the light with the shade. I'm thinking that it MIGHT be a cost-saving measure (the new fabric does seem "cheaper" quality to the old fabric). It could also be that MB planned to have the car be able to vent the cabin with the rolling shade fully extended (although based on my experience it's not possible to do this using manual controls... maybe it has something to do with the few reports of the W212's sunroof tilting up after locking the car?). Or maybe it's what 220S suggested... that it's to ensure the pano roof glass doesn't "overheat" when parked in the sun for hours.