MountainFisher

New to the forum but thoroughly enjoying all of the information to be found here. In fact, it is quite a time suck, but well worth it.

I recently took delivery of a 2019 E450 wagon which was purchased through a dealer on the East coast and delivered to me in Colorado. I found it difficult for a local dealer to trade with other dealers on wagons in order to get the color/options I was after. Having never purchased a vehicle from anything but a local AD it was an interesting experience. Meeting the car transport in a local parking lot and essentially being handed the keys with a "hope you enjoy your new car, she's a beaut" was a new one for me. With all the technology packed into these things and a less than user friendly manual, I was on my own. I did pop into a local dealership to pick up a set of all weather floor mats and asked if someone could give me a quick once over of the car. I was somewhat surprised that once the various sales folks who were directed to assist me learned I had not purchased the car from them, they had no interest.

Three weeks in, and 2,200 miles on the clock I am thoroughly enjoying the car. Coming from a BMW X5 and an Audi S5 previously this thing is a very nice machine. I am finding some little quirks and items that will need to be addressed with a service visit, but I somewhat expected this. But overall, I love the wagon. I was tired of the SUV scene- especially here in Colorado. We have two other SUVs in the family, so I wanted something a bit different. I drive a fair amount- putting ~25K+ miles a year on my vehicles so I was looking for comfort and safety. Performance as well, but didn't trust myself with the E63- the Sport+ is good enough. I am enjoying the Driver Assistance Package, although I am not completely trusting of it yet. I had my first run in the mountains last week and found the engine performance exceptional- especially when you throw in the paddle shifters coming down the mountain passes. The only real bummer so far is the cracked and pitted windshield that was sustained at less than 1K miles- thanks Colorado roads.

This brings me to my last point- I miss a heated steering wheel. I have the heated and ventilated seats as well as the Active MultiContour Seats which I love. However, the one that I found and finally purchased came with pretty much everything except heated steering wheel. This is the first vehicle in over 10+ years that I have owned that does not have this feature. I didn't think I would miss it as much as I do. So, I am hoping that this will serve as a PSA to anyone out there who is using this forum to make buying decisions as I was. If you have had heated wheels in the past- don't pass up on this option.

Thank you to all contributors that helped me with my purchasing self on-boarding processes.

jl199986

My first heated steering wheel. And I do love it more than I thought! Sorry you're missing it.

I can't say I feel the heat in the door armrest and center console. When I feel it they don't seem much warmer than my arm might have made them.

The aluminum around the Command dial and pad is solid, and oozes quality, but it's also a darn heatsink when it's cold. That's an area that could be warmed.

Bahnstormer

Completely agree. Even here in sunny South Florida on the few days a year it's cold enough to use the heating function on my steering wheel I really appreciate it. Warms the hands and warms the soul.

sackboydad

2012 merc amg

Interesting. I kinda miss having a heated steering wheel in both my 2019 E450's. The problem is I did not want to order either vehicle and bought dealer stock vehicles and it's nearly impossible to find a heated steering wheel at least in the wagons and the cabrio as in stock vehicles. Glad to hear someone talk about the performance and handling skills of these cars. I am very well satisfied with the performance and handling and I have pushed both the cars at this point and I'm coming from a 2018 E63 AMG Wagon. The main difference is at higher RPM's I'm waiting for even more power being use to the e63 which does not happen anywhere near as much although 70/80 mph rolls around pretty quickly in a smooth and much more quiet fashion. Makes sense though, the AMG was 603 hp and this car 362 hp which I feel is adequate although I may do a tune on my Cabrio as thats my fun car for that extra 100 hp. Both these cars I have are fun to drive on the curvy roads, the Cabrio handles a little better than the wagon as it has the AMG line, so a little stiffer suspension and wider tires. The wagon I have is the luxury line which is fine with me as the ride is so nice and I do 25K plus per year on it. Anyhow, welcome to the forums Mountainfisher.

stephos

Hello @MountainFisher

I wanted the heating steering wheel option on my E450 but it simply wasn't an option here in the UK. Fortunately I haven't had this on any of my other cars so you can't really miss what you never had. On those cold winter mornings though....

Glad you're enjoying your car otherwise.

A little off topic, but how do you think the performance compares to the S5 you had? - which generation was that anyway? The reason I ask is that I was tempted by Audi but ultimately felt there was no contest

MountainFisher

Hi Stephos
I had an '08 S5 which I believe was the first generation. Kinda hard to compare the two since they are different animals. The S5 was fun to drive and a sexy critter since it was so new. But the new was the problem as I had several issues with it. When it was running well, it was a very good car. I feel it was a bit more zippy than the E450, but not by much. Steering was definitely tighter as well. However, kids get bigger and others come along as well as car seats which was ultimately what made me move to the X5. Even with snow tires, I have to say I don't think the S5 was a great snow performer which surprised me a bit.
I'm 10 years older now and wanted the increased utility the wagon provides. Previous to the S5 I had an Allroad when they were still on the A6 platform. Now that was a fun car as it was a manual. Better performance in the snow than the S5- maybe due to the higher clearance. It is a damn shame they moved the Allroad to the A4 platform- damn US market.
My wife had an '08 E350 wagon which we loved and I was always impressed with it's performance in the snow. I had always wanted another E wagon. Someday when I have a bit more restraint, the AMG wagon would be next.

Tirgoman

In case anyone is ordering a AMG 2019, since you sure can't retrofit a heated steering wheel, on the 2019 AMG vehicles if you order the cold weather package with the heated steering wheel the wheel is a round version and not the flat-bottom one, so just know what you're going to get if you order it. I guess they decided to not manufacture a flat-bottom AMG wheel.

stephos

Hi @MountainFisher

Thanks for the insight. I'm always interested to hear people's perspectives on cars.

I think the 1st gen S5 had a V8 engine so I imagine it was a very different experience altogether, and an enjoyable one at that!

petee1997

MyAMG car has the heated steering wheel with the square bottom. This was not available on the 18 E43.

Slugsy

RPM217

Untrue, I have a 2019 E53, convertible, with the flat bottom wheel, and it's heated!!! Love heated wheels, the armrests, not important, the "airscarf", my wife likes, heated seats, will fry your buns.

S63AMG888

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MountainFisher