dariusf

thanks for the reply, yes I realize now the differences n trans and shifter locations.

As for the seats, I still think the two have a slight deferent shape. Perhaps the horizontal lines make the black seats look more sporty and more bucket verses the flat, squares of the beige ones. Perhaps I'm just too used to my CLK sporty bucket seats and the ones in the E sedan's we test drove looked way too squared and flat.

dariusf

You bet I am I have the shifters straight now but still not sure on the shapes of the seats. Is the black and beige in my pics the same or deferent shape? The headrests do look smaller in the black seats.

dariusf

Are the leather w/Drive-dynamic multicontour seats more bucket, rounder? It definitely looks like the sides are more wrapping around in that picture below.

kingofire

The reason why the headrests looks different is because the picture of the beige one is from the wagon and that wagon has rear seat entertainment system(DVD) and thus uses different headrests to fit the system behind it.

kingofire

I think the seats are all the same except for the mb-tex and leather. The AMG E63 might have more side support since it is a a true sports car and require additional side support so you don't slide back and forth in the seat but this is a guess.

El Cid

The Luxury version has a different front bumper cover and the grill has four horizontal bars instead of three. Think the stainless steel trim on body may be different also. Don't know if still true, but you could only get the four spoke leather and wood steering wheel if you got the Luxury version in 2010. Luxury also comes with comfort suspension instead of sport suspension. Not to be confused with the sport/comfort selector for transmission which came on both. Think now labeled as sport/economy.
Very few dealers order the luxury as the "free" Sports package is a selling point and many purchases prefer it. In reality, no real cost difference to MB or dealers regardless of which package was built into the car.

Tjdehya

lol, lets argue about that picture in post 8 some more.
The E-wagon does not have a center shifter. Unless its an option because the standard E-wagons have column shifters. Its an SUV or mabe the R-class. But my money is on the GLK. I drove a loaner GLK for 4 weeks while I waited for my car to be replaced...
Thats a GLK!

I dont know if the normal leather seats look like that and those seats in that pic do look like the leather w/Drive-dynamic multicontour seats but leather w/Drive-dynamic multicontour seats also have multicontour headrests and those seats dont have them. So I would assume that pic is not the Drive-dynamic multicontour seats.


No misinformation here!!!

K-A

It's 199% an E-Wagon! Look at the door trim, it's an exclusive E design, not a GLK.

In EU there is a manual option for the E's (they have tons more configurations, for example, you can get an S-Class with cloth seats, etc.).

Tjdehya

Ah... yes the doors are not GLK, also the GLK doesnt have slide cover for the cup holder. I gues that must be a non-American E-wagon, I didnt imaginge that the Wagon would look so roomy also.

dariusf

so we have fun with 'name that car from the mystery pic'

At least the black seats with horizontal lines look much better to me then the vertical lines. I still can't get over the fact they moved the shifter to the steering column. I understand that technicaly it was easy as its all electronics but it just makes the car look and feel inside like some old American car. It also introduced two designs and all the extra parts along with it between the manual and auto transmissions. I think it would have been a far better decision both from the visual and parts perspective to keep it in the center console.

K-A

You do get used to the column shifter. I actually prefer it in terms of being suited for a serene Luxury car, and find it adds to a "sense of occasion" in that respect. I do find it funny when M-B tries to refer to the W212 as a "Sport Sedan", however, when it has a column shifter. "It is what it is", and someone would be lying if they try and say that it evokes a "youthful" feeling from a car, but from the perspective of how an M-B should feel, I think it works and feels fine.

BenzE350

I don't like it either. If MB wanted to move the shifter to the steering column to create extra space in the console between the seats - it didn't work. The cupholders are still too small, the ash tray is almost useless for any non-smokers (other than to adapt it to coin storage), there is no place to conveniently put sunglasses, etc. The storage between the seats is huge, but not exactly efficient in terms of usage. IMO not a good design.

I admire unique designs like what Jaguar did with the XF. Why can't MB come up with something that is innovative? The steering column is lazy engineering.

Tjdehya

I still wonder why cars still have center shifters in the first place. Its a waste of space. IMO well done MB. That shifter can be put anywhere. A physical shifter is not necessary today. Personally I love the Jaguars pop up shifter... innovative and sexy!

LRM1

I don't get it either and it took me a while to get used to it. Can't tell you how many times I lurched forward thinking I had it in reverse.

Since it's electronic, there's no real reason they couldn't have made a knob/lever/shifter in the center console. Must have just been one of those design things.

dariusf

I see the steering column move as move backward in design. Yes I totally agree that the Jaguar XF design is the way to go. It does feel a bit strange at first but definite shift I think in a good direction. its an innovation rather then a move back in time.

The way the control wheel slides up when you start the XF adds to the experience. Same goes for the vent designs flipping over and being an integral part of and flowing with the dashboard where in the new E the vents stand out as a main design future that does not look very well designed at all to me.

If they wanted to make the E feel more luxury/limo like then that's fine with me. But then why offer a sport package version while keeping the inside the same as the luxury version? They should have used the seats and the shifter design from the new E coupe in the sport version. If one wants the bigger Mercedes that's still 4 doors and is sporty, one has to go with the CLS. But the kicker is that the 2011 CLS, being a sport sedan ALSO has the shifter now moved in to the steering column

Tjdehya

I think your point is that if the car doesn’t have a center shifter then it’s not a sports car?!?
That may have been true 20 or more years ago but by todays modern standards the mark of a sports car is simply paddle shifters or manual transmission. The center shifter in the E63 is for people who think like you. IMO once I shift the car to D the shifter should magically disappear until I am done driving and ready to shift it into P.

dariusf

I have a feeling that this is more cultural thing. I guess people that are raised in the US are used to an idea of a steering column based shifters as this was the primary implementation for so long in the American made cars. Myself being European born and raised and being used to manual transmission cars, this always felt extremely awkward and inconvenient.

I wonder what people in Europe think about this new design in the automatic versions.

dariusf

I respect your opinion and party agree with it.

We are not lucky in the US to be able to purchase manual transmission versions. I did not have that option in my CLK and I still consider it to be sporty even with its automatic transmission.

I also tend to use the manual shifting option in my automatic car and that would not be very convenient in the existing design (if it was offered).

Its also about the feel of the car. The rear spoiler in my CLK is not very functional or needed, yet it makes the car look and feel better, more sporty.

BenzE350

Cultural, sport - jada, jada, jada...

If MB is gonna move the shifter to the steering column then put some better engineering into the additional space saved between the seats.

The cupholders are still too small, the ash tray is almost useless for any non-smokers (other than to adapt it to coin storage), there is no place to conveniently put sunglasses, etc. The storage between the seats is huge, but not exactly efficient in terms of usage. IMO not a good design.

El Cid

Actually got used to shifter on column almost instantly. Took a day longer to get used to cruise control stalk being where everybody else puts the turn signal/wiper control arm.
Looked at several cars before deciding on the E and the center console space is much larger and more practical than any I looked at.
For me, once I put it in Drive, I'm done till I put it in Park. Last two cars had console shifters with the auto/manual option. Used the manual maybe three times just to play with it. Paddle shifters are much better.
In the fifties, Chrysler products had push buttons on the dash and even had a shift lever on the dash at one point.
Shifters were moved to consoles in 60's and 70's so people would get that "sports car" feeling. Same reason they are in floor now, except for manual shifts.
All a matter of what we get used to and personal preference. Now that I am used to it, prefer the column shifter.

petee1997

It took a little time to adjust to column shifter and now I much prefer it. The fact that it is electronic, everything works with the touch of a finger.
I traded a BMW on my car and it had terribly misplaced drink holders in the dash. MB is a great improvement.

LRM1

Thats a valid point.

Funnily enough when I first got the car, a valet went to shift it like the old column shifters and I thought he was going to snap it right off.

I don't know why considering I have a 2011 so it's not "brand new" as a design. I guess he never saw one.

LRM1

I don't disagree that the space could have been put to better use. I smoke, though I don't smoke in the car, but if I did, the location of the ashtray isn't convenient either and I'd probably end up burning the heat controls.

But the cup holders are Infinitely better than the W211. At least now I can put a cup of coffee there and still rest my arm and not knock it over or have to work around it to shift. I hated the "afterthought" cup holders in the W211.

dariusf

speaking of smoking, I do not, my fathers Jaguar S has ash trays in the doors that I thought was quite amusing remembering the old days.

You should see the cub holder in my 2003 CLK (w209) There is one in the very inconvenient location. Not that I need or use it but had situations where I was driving with someone and we picked up coffee and had one cup holder to share

pmb600

This picture shows a European E-Class wagon with a 4-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. In Europe, the E-Class Sedan and Wagon get the column shifter on V6 and V8 models only (except the E63 AMG which has a unique center console shifter).