herbkell

I have previously owned three E vehicles a 2002 E320, a 2008 E350 a 2014 E350 and after a year in a 2016 BMW 550i I have recently purchased a 2018 E400

The BMW experience was disappointing for me. The car was a basically a high tech muscle car and at the age of 69 I found I have (somewhat) outgrown the need for speed. I love the looks and refinement of the E400 and find that it does have sufficient power for my needs (although I confess to have checked out the Brabus and Renntech chip upgrades :-)

I have had the car a week or so and am generally very happy to be back in the Benz fold. There are however a few frustrations and irritations such as:

1) I have the basic suspension and the salesman assured me that the Comfort mode setting softened the suspension - further research seems to show that that is BS and the basic suspension has no adjustment ability. I find the ride a bit harsh and I will swop the 19" wheels and run flats for 18" wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ regular tires. Ditching the Beemers 20 run flats for 19 Michelins made al lot of difference to the ride quality. I will carry plug and slime kit in the car.

2) Although my car is decently loaded (Canadian Specs - Premium Package, Technology Package and Intelligent Drive Package plus the Air Balance (wtf......) and heated rear seats - I find it frustrating that lots of features in the manual are not on my car. i suspect it's a combination of country options and trim levels but its a bit frustrating reading all the details on some feature and finding out its not on you car. The manuals are hard enough to read as they are with the warning notices accounting for what seems like about 80 percent of the text

3) It sucks to be a Canadian.... with several of the tech features not available north of the border. The most signifiant one for me is the inability to get live traffic info in the 17 and 18 E cars in Canada. MB Canada appears to have ditched Sirius traffic before Mercedes Me or whatever it's called is available here so we are in no mans land for live traffic. I have slim hope that I can get the feed from the US as I am snowbird with a US address etc but I may be stymied on this. It seems that the Canadian cars are lacking Mbrace and the other internet technology as well Apparently the 19's will be OK

4) There were some features on the 17 car that I drove for a few days that do not appear to be on the 18. The ones I can seem replicate on the 18 were the ability to turn of the Auto ON/OFF engine start in the Individual Dynamic drive setting and the next intersection info at the top of the Nav screen

Despite the above grumbles I am happy to be back driving a MB

Any help or advice on the Canadian tech issues would be appreciated

c4004matic

We will happily swap your model for Trump

ua549

A better idea is to give Wisconsin and Minnesota to Canada in exchange for returning Trump to the US.

c4004matic

We are strongly considering it!!! But we would rather have all Trumpists move to Oklahoma and Kansas where they can establish Trumpchristianstan, the bestest nation in history you can be a christian and pervert at the same time!

herbkell

.....back to cars.....😎

visualguy

The obvious question after reading this: wouldn't it have been better to stay with the 2016 BMW 550i?

herbkell

No I am happier with the E400 than I was with the BMW but like most things in life it’s not perfect

The Mercedes is better looking, smoother riding, better gas mileage, more room in the rear seat and trunk. It has a better sound system, cockpit layout and has all the semi autonomous driving features. The BMW tech was ok but clunky to use.

I was misled by the salesman on the adjustable suspension and live traffic availability but I don’t think it would have changed my mind.

visualguy

The trunk is actually larger on the 2016 550i (14 cu ft) than the 2018 E400 (13.1 cu ft).

Moving from a 550i to an E400 is hard mostly because of the huge difference in engine power/torque. It's pretty addictive once you get used to it... Unfortunately, Mercedes doesn't offer an equivalent within the E-Class. You have to go up to the E63S, but that's extremely expensive, and then you have to live with a truly stiff suspension... Anyway, it's good you ended up happier and not disappointed.

petee1997

Mercedes Me should be available in your car later this year, Nov. I'm told. As far as traffic, try Apple car play maps. Before replacing your tires, check the inflation rate on your tires. My wife changed hers to 32lbs front, 35lbs rear. This made quite a difference in the ride on the pot riddled roads of Ottawa.

CaptainE

I am going to order a 2019 E450 if and when it ever comes orderable and wonder about the ride.

Are you saying that even with the air balance package the ride was bad with 20" and 19" tyres?
You have had the car a week and have already gone from 20's to 19's?

visualguy

I think he meant the air fragrance option, not the air suspension.

The ride should be very comfortable with the air suspension.

dudley07726

dayjob3

I may be selling my stock18" amg wheels in about 2 weeks but they do come with runflats.

herbkell

Yes for some reason it’s called the Air Balance package but it’s basically the fragrance and ionizer features

CaptainE

c4004matic

With the air suspension 19's are perfectly comfortable.

Cao Black

I'm curious. On Canadian cars, does the navigation lady say about or aboot?

dudley07726

ua549

Eh?