yuzone

Hello,

Returned my 2015 GLA and got this 2017 E300 (Sport Trim, 4matic, P01 and AMG 19"wheel ) two weeks ago.

I came from a GLA, so you could tell how big the improvement on the riding quality was. My mother-in-law who's been a long time Lexus fan (owned 3 Lexus ES for ~20 years ) now fall in love with our new E class after the road trip to Cape May.

But handling wise the W213 is actually not as fun2drive as the GLA -- you're not 'connected' to the road but 'floating' on it

The best part about the W213 IMO is the standard LED headlights We live in a rual area and the standard LED headlights lights up the road as bright as the Rikers Island during a prison break

With my old GLA, I got all the package you can get but unfortunately missed the $850 Bi-Xenon lighting package. So the GLA end up with tiny yellow halogen headlights and I spent around ~$500 on all kinds of after Market LED / HID kits trying to fix it - I posted the below thread back in 2014 ..
https://mbworld.org/forums/gla-class...placement.html

The biggest complaint on the W213 so far is the navigation system - the W213 has a nice big LED screen but it shows absolutely nothing apart from the map... With the navigation on GLA it actually shows all the incoming exists and rest areas on highways with distance from current location, therefore you could know when to prepare to take the exit - while the navigation on W213 won't tell you anything until you're 0.5 miles to the exit.

And one more thing - the new "star-dust" taillight on the W213, IMO, is not as elegant as those on W205 C-class and current generation S class

makris0000

Welcome you made the right choice coming to the W213. The GLA and CLA have god awful standard headlights on them in my opinion. My sister had a CLA and we made sure to get the lighting package for it. The standard LED headlights on the E work very well.

With the nav system, I think it can tell you those things. Like it won't announce them. But on mine, it shows the next intersection, exit or road coming up. It might be a feature you have to turn on or something.

You have any pics of your new E? I have the 19 AMGs on mine as well as P1.

dbtk

Agree, the E standard LED headlights are great, however, the "star dust" tail lights are a bit contrived. I like the name though...it reminds me of "Rogue One". =)

yuzone

Yeah - the standard halogen lights on CLA/GLA doesnt even have a LED DRL (as on W205 and GLC w/o lightning package), but use the high-beam as the DRL.

And the light-output is terrible as well, I wasn't able to drive at night without turning on the high beam.

And sure here is the pic of our new W213 And a pic took with parking next to a white GLC

yuzone

Mercedes is deploying the "star-dust" taillights onto every new model , from 2018 GLA to the 2018 S class and Maybach

dbtk

Yeah, bummmer...I read that...and saw that on the newly updated S-class. I prefer the older W222 tail lamps.

arnsbrae

Wrt to knowing next highway exit sooner...

If you turn the scroll wheel on the console you can easily adjust the scale to see a bit further ahead and prepare for the exit.

makris0000

Congrats it looks great! Your E looks to have the standard 18-inch sport wheels. I had a GLC as a loaner when I brought my E to have the dealership check out a few things. The headlights in the GLC are awful.

I do think the Stardust tail lights are interesting and I am not sure if I like them yet. I never see them in action because I'm always driving my car at night and I haven't taken the time to check them out. But I do think they look good with the new E coupe.

yjchua

Depends. Your loaner probably only had static LEDs (bad) or halogens (disgraceful).

I've both the GLC43 and E400 (LED ILS with adaptive high beam assist plus on GLC43, multibeam LED on the E400) and the GLC's ILS system is almost as good.

makris0000

Yeah, I was referring to the standard headlights in the GLC those are both bad and disgraceful. The optional headlights are really good. I remember reading somewhere that the new E300 with the optional headlights in P2 & P3 is the highest scoring headlights for IIHS.

dbtk

A friend had a GLK with standard headlamps. They were truly awful. I installed HID zenon ballasts and bulbs for her--a signficant improvement. I added LED bulbs in my standard H4 headlamps on my 1972 600. Works well in the city along with 6.5" driving lamps.