Proeliator2001

Over the last few months of ownership I've found a few little nice touches to the design or operation of the car and I'm wondering if others have spotted little features that make the car that little bit better.

Some stand out ones for me are pressing and holding the air recirculation button to close all windows and sunroof and then pressing and holding again to turn off recirculation and having all the windows and sunroof return to their original position. Handy when driving into a tunnel or past sewage works!

Unlocking car in the dark sees the front twin daylight running strips slowly light up blue then get bright white. Lovely to look at, brings a bit of theatre to it all.

Only just noticed today that the sunroof, when open upwards, partly closes above about 55mph to reduce noise and drag. Nice feature and it opens back up fully when slowing down again (like a reverse coupé spoiler).

So, any other niceties I'm missing?

c4004matic

Thanks for starting this thread its one of the most useful ones for new owners. I didn't know about the recirculate button trick.
Question: do you still have to unbuckle before turning the ignition off so the parking brake activates automatically? For almost a year I argued in the C class area that the car didn't have auto park brake since no one had realized that you have to unbuckle before turning the ignition off for the "magic" to happen. If you turn it off and then unbuckle the parking brake will not engage automatically when you open the door (PITA).

Proeliator2001

Parking brake comes on and gearbox goes to park when I press the ignition switch off regardless of whether my seatbelt is engaged or not. Mines a UK spec car so you may have it different if local laws are odd.

What I don't like is the auto hold function switching off when drivers door is opened. If anything, it should switch the electric handbrake on. Been caught out a couple times when a friend/wife opened the driver's door and I was packed with hold on, only for the car to start rolling/driving away and me frantically stabbing at the brake pedal. Seems a tad dangerous to me!

joshg1001

We have never gotten the tunnel mode from the recirculation button in the States and its no exception with the E

parking brake comes on every time you put the car in park regardless of seatbelt

Some Ive noticed:
1) when you fold down the rear seat, the front seats move slightly forward to accommodate the rear headrest. Note I sit pretty far back so Im sure it depends how for back your front seat is for this to work

2) With cruise control set to a specific speed, even with no cars in front of you, and going around a steep bend (that arguably your speed is too fast for), the car will slow down mid bend because it realizes you are going too fast. This is the first car I've known to do this.

3) the homelink buttons do not require you to press and hold like ever other car I've owned. You just press once, and it will keep blinking the green light for a second or two longer.

makris0000

Ive noticed a few things.

On the headlights and tail lights, it says MERCEDES BENZ really small in them. On the headlights its on one of the DRL's and they light up too.

Whenever you unlock your car, hold the unlock button and it'll open all the windows and sunroof. When locking, hold the lock button to close everything back up.

Seat belts hug you (if you have the setting set)

When you have the sun roof open and go to lock the car, the horn will not sound when locking. (Discovered that today at the gas station).

Proeliator2001

Sucks about not having tunnel mode, guess it's a nanny state/litigation thing.

The rear seat function though, wow! I wish mine had the folding rears now. It's been a never ending source of frustration in many cars I've owned that the designers sized it all up so that the rear seats cannot fold flat before fronts are pushed forward. Fine for the bottom 5th percentile but not great for the 95th like myself (6 foot 4). Well done to merc on that one.

I understand the sliding roof is supposed to close itself in the rain but it's not happened yet, that's another nicety if it works. Is that feature enabled stateside or does it fall foul of the "there's bound to be that one idiot" syndrome!?

Funny that there's a fair few details like these yet the sat nav can't tell you instructions more than one turn ahead and the traffic colours are so awful. That team obviously owes the others a lot of cake fines!

Bobby4919

My E350 never had an easy way of dimming the instrument panel lights. the E300 has a rheostat (dial) next to the light switch on the panel. I never thought to look there and just assumed you had to do it through the menu system as in the E350.

I caught this one by wading through all the warnings and disclaimers in the very hard to read Operators Manual.

c4004matic

The Mercedes manuals are written by lawyers rather than engineers. They are absolutely ridiculous and almost useless.

Proeliator2001

They are the worst car manuals I've ever seen with the exception of most supplemental ICE manuals. Software is tricky to explain in static pictures I guess and that's 75% of manuals these days.

To be fair, engineers aren't usually adept at manual writing. Attempts I've seen are typically jargon heavy and assume a high degree of prior knowledge that most people wouldn't have. Takes a certain skill set to write a good manual but you'd think a major car company could afford good ones!

Note: I'm not criticising engineers, I'm one myself, but I recognise the usual strengths and weaknesses of my peers. Good tech authors are rare in my world.

Drano64

My 2010 and 2012's CLS550 had tunnel mode. US vehicles. My 2014 ML dose not. disappointing

Proeliator2001

Does your ML, or the E, still have one touch close on the windows and sunroof? As the tunnel mode is just effectively one touch for 5 things at once. Seems to make no sense to drop the feature if, in the same market, the driver can close rear windows with a single button click.

Drano64

All of my MB since 2008 E, CLS, ML have had "one touch" close and open features.

Can't remember the tunnel feature on the 2008 E though. But my 3 CLS's had it. ML does not

joshg1001

I believe the auto closing sunroof when the rain sensing wipers are activated only applies to the pano roof models, not the standard moonroof

Proeliator2001

Does the e come with anything other than the pano roof option? Didn't know a standard sunroof was an option and don't recall seeing them on mercs for some time now.

ua549

In the US if one does not order the pano roof at extra cost, the smaller sunroof comes as standard.

joshg1001

^^ Thank god the E didnt follow the path of the C. I dont use the moonroof at all and didnt want to fork over the money for the pano. On the C, if you dont get pano, you dont get anything, just the metal roof.

Proeliator2001

That's how the e is in the UK market. Pano or nothing. I didn't even realise they came with conventional sunroofs. I really like panoramic roofs, make the cabin feel much airier. I think that attraction for me comes from having owned a convertible for 11 years!

arnsbrae

I agree that the pano makes a big difference inside the car.

I also think it makes the car look a lot better with some colours, particularly red & white respectively.

BD-C63

These are for a C63 but they may apply... They may be common knowledge but here they are anyway.

You can open/close the windows & sunroof using the door handle. Hold the unlock on the back of the handle to open & hold the lock button on the front of the handle to close.

You can hold open the trunk floor by hooking the handle it to the trunk seal.

xrayted

After 5 months and 6,500 miles, the E300 is a joy to drive!
Here's my list of little things I love (in no particular order):

1. Silky smooth ride. Yes the ride was nice during the test drive, but you don't really appreciate it until you ride it every day. Even my wife (who drives an Acura) prefers the E300's effortlessly smooth drive.

2. Soft headrest. The headrest is so soft and comfortable. (The headrest on the Acura is like a rock).

3. HUD saved me from a speeding ticket. Wasn't sure if the HUD was worth it when I ordered the car, but decided to go for it. I love it. Was cruising down a 25mph road at 45mph when the flashing speed limit icon alerted me to my speed and I slowed down. Thankfully I did because the police were right around the bend with their radar guns!

4. Display brightness dial. Love the ease in which I can change the brightness of the display at night.

5 .Quality of sound system. The audio quality on incoming bluetooth iPhone calls is excellent. The audio quality for radio and satellite radio is also excellent.

6. Trunk close and car lock button. Love being able to close the trunk and lock the car simultaneously.

There are a few more that I can't think of right now. So happy with nearly everything!

makris0000

I have not noticed the sunroof closing or slightly closing when going over 55 MPH. Does this only work on the sunroof and not the optional moonroof? (I have the moonroof).

Yes it does come with a standard sunroof in the states. I think the pano roof is worth the cost because it makes the car look sportier and in my opinion, better because the whole roof looks black (since its glass) and it makes the car look unique. It looks really good on a white (like mine), silver, red, gray, or other light colored E class.

Proeliator2001

No idea if the auto drop works on the smaller sunroof, I've got the panoramic roof and it almost looks closed above 55mph. I notice I need to slow down below 35 for it to fully open upwards again.

makris0000

Thats weird. Maybe the US spec E 300s don't have that feature. I have the pano roof too and I haven't seen mine do that at all.

joshg1001

Thought of a few more:

1) the passenger side mirror tilt in reverse (nothing new, but MB has left this out on some models before)

2) in tight parking situations, when the parking sensors activate, the puddle lights under the side mirrors turn on to give you more light in tight maneuvers

3) not sure if this is only for cars that have P3 package (drive pilot) but the speed limit assist which shows the speed limit on your instrument cluster, nav and HUD will also how "25mph, School" when it sees that sign. It also knows how to differentiate between yellow signs which are not limits but suggested speeds vs white speed limit signs)

JoelCrow

I love the hold brake feature. I use it at stop lights all the time to rest my foot or take my shoes off. You just quickly hard-press the brake and it holds the brake on for you automatically. It's really smooth to release when you press the gas also.