I think that's a very valid reason. I see that many people simply use the garage as a storage space for junk items (no cars parked inside) and use the home link button / garage door as a "keyless" entry into the house through the garage. In this situation MB has made it a very good feature that doesn't compromise home security.

Reading this thread has reminded me why it is risky to buy the first model year of any car. I had a 2003 e-class, which was the first W211. It was buggy as heck and in the shop multiple times. Ultimately, it was a good platform, and I would eventually buy another one (a 2009 E350) which was solid as a rock.

However, first year models are always plagued with bugs. I am confident they will work these out and the 2018 W213 will probably be a much better car. But for now, I am glad to stick with the C218 CLS550 which may lack some of the newest features, but won't have these annoyances.

Oh and my CLS will have a V8 and not some sputtery 2.0 liter I4. That's a big plus as well.

The parking pilot I have tried twice since getting my new car last week. I have no problem getting over the automation of it, but its way too slow to use and in my testing, it didn't pick up the spots as quickly, or all of them, at once. I had to drive around the lot passing spots I thought would work and it didn't.

Yeah, I don't trust this at all.

I bought the CLS 550 instead of the E class and it came with the Parktronic feature. I have not parallel parked in 20 years as I seldom go to town and even less to the big city. There is no way I would order this but the car was sitting there on the showroom floor with everything else I wanted so I bought it.

Although I will not use the Parking Pilot much if at all, I did want to see what it was all about and learned a few things in the process. First, it is important to be really close to the cars you want to park between and I mean just a yard or so. You must be going fairly slow (under 15 mph) and most important of all is you must go past the cars a full car length before it will activate. Once activated you must not put your foot on the brake at all, ditto the steering wheel. On park assist (back in rather than parallel) you have to do the same things but the sensors are more sensitive to distance between cars, or so it seems. That is, the space must be between two cars and if there is a large area between the two cars you want to back between it will not read it. The space has to be relatively tight.

It works if you follow these tips but it is still spooky to me and it stresses me out. Besides, I can walk a long ways and if I have to park in that tight a spot I will go to the far end of the parking lot and walk!

I have similar experience with Parking Pilot.The system (radar+sensors+software) needs more work.Don't like to pass the parking spot 2 car away, stop and let the computer to park.I do it faster and better without the help of Parking Pilot.I let the dealer know that this feature is useless for me.Today I will let them know about the problem with no sound from speakers and I will go back to BMW when the lease is up.

It seems to be better at picking up parallel parking spots, but I was in a lot yesterday and it had perpendicular spots on both sides. I was driving in the middle and it wasn't able to pick up spots on either side. I wasn't sure if I should have been driving on one specific side.

It is my understanding that by default the sensor picks up only the parking spots on the passenger side NOT the driver's side. You can turn on the driver's side Parktronic features by putting on the driver's side blinker signal. That is the only way the driver side sensors will be enabled. I have not played with it enough as I said before because I probably will never or very seldom use Parktronic but that is what I have found on testing. I think it also says this in the CLS owner's manual (I would think it would also be in the E class manual).

If you were driving in the middle of the lane you were too far away from either side of parking places. As I noted above, you must be very close to the cars themselves for the sensor to find them.

AFAIK the perpendicular parking capability is not enabled on US models due to issues with Verizon.

A dealer demoed the perpendicular parking feature on a 2017 E 300 for us a couple months ago. We're in NC.
Joe

Were you out of the car using a cell phone to park the car?

^^ we are not talking about the parking pilot via the phone app. We are simply talking about auto parking by pushing the button on the center console. The graphic on the nav screen says it is searching for parking on both sides. We do not get app parking in the US at all.

Man, you are so right! A four cylinder with all it clattering has no place in an E-class at this point in their developement.

And owning a higher grade model that is indistinguishable from the next step down is a major faux pas on the part of the manufacturer..

The more I read this thread, the happier I am with my E-350 W212.

While I think the interior of the W213 is a big step ahead, the exterior styling of the W213 leave me cold. I love the lines of the W212.

JMHO

Mmmm..I went from a 2015 C-400 (sport) to the new E class (luxury trim)...not sure what clattering you're talking about, but the ride quality is definitely noticeable. And yeah...I would agree that the models may be indistinguishable...to folks who don't know what their looking at. And everyone is in agreement...the new interior can't be touched!!

I am looking to lease one, how much did you get yours for, if you dont mind me asking? Thank you

I got $4700.00 off MSRP however I didn't lease...I believe you can do better on a lease...good luck!

I debated what color I wanted to order. I ended up with selenite grey.
It makes it somewhat invisible. I like that.
The fact of the matter, I sit INSIDE the car. The interior is fantastic. I have q3 (p3 without heads up). Dual screens.
Love it.

I went to look at this car, as a replacement to my 2014 E350, and it was a huge let down. I cannot BELIEVE Benz thought a 4 cyl would fly for this model. It now even looks like a C-Class. They've ruined the E-class. There are now fewer interior choices than there were when I bought my car three years ago. And as you're hearing above, the tech in this car is confusing. It also feels smaller in the backseat. On the upside, this car comes equipped with Apple Car play. But I'm now looking at a Tesla.

While many forum members are not happy with Mercedes including me, I don't know how you could possibly diss the interior. As for a Tesla, talk about a crappy interior! A hard ride, terrible suspension as well, rides like a really fast gocart, if that's for you go for it. Regards. Ned.

I would also point out that there are lots of four cylinder cars I've driven that I think are quite good, like Ford Fusions I've rented, great values. Accords as well. The e300 is a gorgeous car, maybe not inspired, and still the quality of fit and finish and engineering of a Mercedes. Only issue most people have is no basic six option and overpriced e43 pricing gouging. I have to stand up for Mercedes a bit and I bought an Audi. Regards. Ned.

Now really, does my 4-banger sound all that bad?

one thing I dont get on top of everything else said in this forum, is the bar infront of the sunvisor and the shortened windshield. If I get rear ended I could possibly go into that metal bar, and it makes the car/ head room feel much smaller. And also why is the wind shield so much shorter, makes the car lot less roomy. Has any one noticed those two things?

I didn't notice the small windshield until I used the wipers. Then it occured to me that the wipers were really short, which again made my brain notice that the windshield is pretty small too. Not really an issue, but a bit weird when you pay attention to it.

Btw, last night I also learned you cant lift the front windshield wipers, I think the hood has to be raised. When you try to lift them, they hit the hood. idiots!

I've had 2010 E350 (276 HP, I think) and 2014 E350 (302 HP). In normal driving the 2017 E300 2.0 turbo performs as well or better, period. How could you not know about new engine? It's all anyone is talking about, it's in every review,. and it's on the window sticker.

How could a "techie" not celebrate 60 CDs or more on a thumb drive vs only 6 in the clunky dash changer.

COMMAND is quirky, and far from perfect, but not all that different than it was in W212. The steering wheel thumb pads are helpful but take some getting used to. More than 150 miles.

Who buys a car without driving it? I agree. This doesn't sound like the whole story. I do hope he gets it resolved, but still...