K-A

Yeah, with a Ferrari, those rattles are all a part of the experience! It's similar with a Mustang or Muscle-Car, it it gets too refined, it loses its soul.

Real talk though, I'm depressed that I'm without a Pano roof. I pulled up next to a damn C-Class with Pano today (white), and was starting at it like a creeper because I was admiring the Pano playing with the white. There's a certain "cream like" effect that the black glossy roof gives to the Arctic White when you have that contrast visible to your eye. I get it because I used to salivate to that effect with my 2010. I don't get that effect with my new car yet. Maybe when I black the windows out and play with the taillights I'll get that cool contrast look.

Another thing I hate about painted roofs is that it's a magnet for things like bird-poop, etc. whereas those things aren't as big a deal on glass (won't stain, or oxidize the paint). Also, roofs get little scratch marks on them so easily it seems. And finally, with a Pano, it's one less area to wax.

I'm considering a vinyl wrap, but I don't want to put all that money into this car, when my reasoning to get into this car was to save money on a monthly basis anyway, and who knows, maybe I'll swap out of this at some point again (now that I know how it is possible in a Lease, with solid equity and an aggressive Dealer). At the same time, what's the price of my affection worth?

park423

KA, I also very much wanted the pano/tinted black glass roof for the outside look, not so much for the pano effect inside, I'm told it makes the car hotter inside in the summer. So I considered glossy black wrap. I got some to wrap the chrome strip on the trunk and the gloss is not where I want it to be. I got my front Lorinser grill painted gloss black and I love it. The wrap does not give that mirror gloss finish that you would get from chrome or glass. I know if my whole roof was this way (wrapped), it would bother me a lot and it will be nowhere like the real pano roof. Nevertheless, it could be a do it yourself and completely reversible job so I would be interested in how it turns out if you decide to do it

220S

Don't forget that tires make a very noticeable difference in ride handling. One big variable is that K-A went from one tire brand to another in the two cars.

As far as this supposed "structural integrity" and purported better handling without a pano roof, it's interesting that the E63s (and the SLs) at the AMG Driving Academy all have panos. Using the pano optioned cars would definitely be questionable if there was indeed a "structural" problem or a resulting ride/handing issue. And these cars get pushed HARD.

K-A

Thanks for that info. I am actually wondering how close a good quality gloss black wrap would come to Pano. The thing about Pano is how clean it looks. The roof racks for example are wide, and flat, while on the normal roof, they protrude out a bit, are thinner, and are just a bit more crude and unrefined looking. Also, that 3-glass flat look is very clean, which obviously with a gloss wrap, won't show up, as you'll still see the lame moonroof sitting there awkwardly in the middle.

I was thinking of trying to DIY it, but am so not inclined with this kind of thing, and most places seem to charge $230-$300 to wrap the roof. Also, I'm wondering if the shark fin antenna can be wrapped as well, as it'd look pretty stupid (I'd think) being all white up there.

I'm gonna do some research on how Benzes look with wrapped roofs, to see if it would even be a worthwhile mod for the money, or if it would just annoy me as I'd be used to seeing the proper/clean/real deal Pano roof.

Once I Tint the windows, and do some other cleanups, I'm hoping the look will come together to where I won't miss the Pano so much (maybe the contrast of black and white on the roof/greenhouse portion I'll really like), and my car does have the subtle OEM roof spoiler, which actually looks pretty nice and clean up there.

K-A

Yeah, the Conti's are seemingly a lot smoother than the rock hard P-Zero's. A good thing since I was bummed about losing the Pirelli's initially.

I would never assume that the Pano AMG or any Pano car would perform "poorly" compared to the fixed roof version, but no doubt a Pano car won't perform "as well", if for no other reason than the 88 or so extra lbs up top. Not that the performance factor is a big issue to me.

However, 100 lbs also can factor into giving you an extra 1 MPG (or 1 second in the 1/4 mile, 1 MPH in the 1/4 mile, etc.) and I also notice a slight MPG improvement in this car, especially compared to my last car when I first got it (I posted a Thread about being upset about the MPG in my last car, if anyone cares to nitpick that statement ).

Another factor may be wheel weight, as I wonder which wheels weigh more, the standard Sport wheels, or the split 5-Spoke AMG Sport wheels.

RJC

Either way would be great

It's a nice feeling when you pass along something in pristine condition...felt the same way many a time over the years

K-A

Yeah, it is, I guess I'm not really feeling that nice feeling this time is because that car and I weren't ready to part ways yet. Kind of like all that work for nothing....

.... However, I learned how to care for a car obsessively yet efficiently, as I got into a routine and had the "tools" on hand to make it quick-ish and easy.

At the same time, I think I was too obsessed and frenzied over that car, so it's probably better for my mental health to mature past it, and use this current car as a more realistic approach to car-care: Treat it well, make sure it looks great and pops, but don't waste time being extra "fine toothed comb" about it.

RJC

Some people just enjoy cleaning and polishing while admiring their cars in the process.

Listen KA, you are driving a brand new 2011Mercedes Benz E350, enjoy it fully. With respect to the pano look, you can always have it sprayed in mirror black.

220S

Now you're bringing up the weight. And that is another thing all together. Weight is clearly a performance restriction, and we all know that. Gut your car's insides and go faster. That's understood. What I was questioning is only the "structural integrity" phrase that you used in this thread.

btw, just leave the car the way it is. It looks fine without a pano. And adding vinyl wrap is simply an odd-duck sort of mod, imho. You get zero functionality out of it so what's really the point? Plus the whole idea kind of reminds me of my Grampa's 1968 Cadillac with a vinyl roof.

Keep it the way it is, and keep telling yourself about the weight value with no pano. btw, Porsche used to have (and I think you can still ask for it) a sunroof delete. And for even less weight, the M3 coupe has a CF roof.

K-A

Lol @ the Caddy Vinyl roof.

Yeah, I'm a huge advocate against stickers on cars, and unless the gloss black looks seamless and fool-proof, it would probably diminish the value of the cars look and integrity to me.

It actually has its own good look with the white roof (compared to Pano), and I think it's fine, and I think it'll look hot with some tinted windows and some small other stuff. Actually what's bugging me most about it is the vulnerability of a roof to show little scratches and swirls under fluorescent lighting. I've already noticed some on my brand new car. I guess I just got spoiled by the glass up there.

Yup, I'll have to keep working the weight/structure/whatever/headroom bit.

Well said and indeed RJC. No point in letting my experience with this car get spoiled because I keep wishing that Pano was still up there. On the plus side, the car drives absolutely sublime, and is really a joy to drive around.

RNBRAD

I think it would nauseate me if i ever saw someone black vinyl their Benzes roof to get that "pano" look. I think the contrast would look good but it's also a poser way of achieving it. To me, that has no place on a Mercedes Benz. It's just like putting an AMG badge on a non AMG car. If people want to do this type of stuff to their car, go buy a Honda.

K-A

To each their own. The point of having a vinyl black roof wouldn't be to front like there's glass above you, it would be to have that same contrast of black on white (for example) as a Pano car. As long as it would be done cleanly and seamlessly, it doesn't really bother me. However, nothing beats the real thing. I have always said (even when I had a Pano car) that a "faux Pano" look would almost be the best of both worlds: What I perceive to be the added rigidity and efficiency of a non-Pano car, and the look (almost, but not really) of a Pano car.

To be honest, I don't know what bothers me more about my new car, in regards to the what I liked better about my 2010: The lack of Pano or the lack of the Alarm "beep" notification, instead I'm stuck with a dreaded "honk car", although I turned the notification off.... I still miss the "beeps".

Of course, the car isn't without it perks over the 2010 as well....

YYZ-E55

Shame you jumped the gun. If you had waited for a June production car (2011), it would have got the new full-color instrument cluster display. A September production car (2012) would have had the new engine and LED license plate lights. Alas...

SolidGranite

I have a real hard time believing the CLS doesn't lack the Pano due to it's roof line. The CLS roof has a much more pronounced arch than the C or E coupe so I'm not sure I'd compare to them. Lets see... The C, E, GLK, new ML, S, SL all have Pano. CL and CLS do not. It HAS to be because of the roof line. Otherwise that's just plain stupid.

K-A

Yeah, but I wasn't itching to get out of my car, even for a 2012. The whole reason was due to the lower payments, however, I doubt that they will give out incentives toward the 2012's like I got for my 2011. I wouldn't say that I regret my decision, but I would say that I'm indifferent toward it, for various reasons. At the same time, I figure if I wanted to get out of this Lease for something else, I just gotta get aggressive and find an aggressive Dealer. I'll wear this Lease thing out until I'm free of that substantial downpayment equity that I put toward my last car, and then probably purchase something.