I've owned a number of Mercedes over the years (there have been lots of years), now have a 2003 SL500 (52,000 miles and virtually no trouble), and am about to order an E450 station wagon to replace my wife's Lexus LS460. I've consulted the "build your own" site and talked with some Mercedes sales people, but still have some questions and I thought someone here might have answers. So:

(1) Does the 2020 model have wireless Apple CarPlay?
(2) The "selective damping system" appears to be available only with the "Luxury Styling Package." If so, does anyone know why, and does the "Air Body Control" make the selective damping unnecessary or redundant? Does the Air Body Control make the car more nimble? Does it make the car ride better?
(3) I find that when I have the steering wheel in a comfortable position (down), the rim of it cuts right across the tach and speedometer (I've had the same experience with Porsche and BMW but not with my SL). So I want to order the "Head Up" option. What information does this option display and can that be varied and can the size of it be varied?
(4) According to the site, most "Designo Nappa Leather" options cost from $2990 to $4900. But the "Designo Macchiato Beige/Saddle Brown Exclusive Nappa Leather" is a no cost option. Why? And is this light colored option practical (we are retired without young children). Do you recommend any steps to protect the beige leather from stains from, e.g., Levis?
(5) I intend to order the Amg Line Exterior and Night Package. The site says this comes with a black headliner. I don't want a black headliner. When I call up the summary of my order on the site, it shows a beige headliner. Is that just a glitch? Can one delete the black headliner and get the beige one instead?
(6) I want to order the massaging seats. I have no illusion that these will be comparable to an actual massage. But I think they might be useful on long drives. If you have tried them, what did you think?
(7) Mercedes used to offer an "acoustic glass option" for the wagon, but it's not an option on the current site. Any comment?
I guess that's the list of questions. I will add that I have driven X5s and Cayennes and prefer the E wagon and was very surprised to find that it has greater cargo capacity that either of them.
Any comment on any of these questions would be much appreciated.

 

No, assuming it's the same as 2019, and most everything is. Wired only. Wireless charging, though.
Selective Damping system is only shocks that automatically adjust to the road conditions (See https://www.motor1.com/photos/439500...-benz-a-class/), although IMHO ALL shocks do that: rapid movements are more strongly damped than slower movements. Air Body Control is adjustable by the user, both in height, and in ride stiffness & quality. There are differences of opinion as to whether it's better or not. I'm pretty sure I've read that the lowered Sport or AMG-line suspension is also Selective Damping. Note also that the Selective Damping system on a wagon may only apply to the front suspension, as the rear is self-leveling air. But only the Air Body Control adjusts according to Eco/Comfort/Sport/Sport+ settings.
Per the web site, the full-color graphical display can show the next navigation instruction, driving speed, cruise-control settings and more. I think the "more" is the Traffic Sign Assist images. It can be adjusted in Position, Brightness & Content (selecting from the items mentioned).
I'm hoping it's practical, although people say it does pick up some stains from Levis and needs extra cleaning. It's not a no cost option, though, I do see where it indicates that on the web site. It's an error (has to be), wasn't that way before. MB-Tex is $0, Nappa Leather is $2990, designo Nappa Leather is $4900. We went with the Macchiato Beige/Yacht Blue Nappa leather. Also, while the desgno Nappa Leather at $4900 is available with both Luxury and AMG/Sport line, the $2900 Nappa Leather is NOT available with AMG/Sport, only Luxury. AMG/Sport can have MB-Tex, "regular" Leather at $1620 or designo Nappa Leather at $4900. I find the available selections a bit arbitrary and confusing, but they're there.
Black only with AMG line. One reason I didn't want or order it.
I thought I wanted them too. I only tried them on an S-Class the dealer had, for a short time, and neither my wife nor I felt we would use them. But that's a very personal thing; I've read that many love them. And then my wife and I don't like "professional" massages either.
It's called the Acoustic Comfort Package, and is now a special order only option, at a cost of $1,100, plus there /should/ be a special order cost of $250 on top of that, although when I ordered it it seemed it wasn't included (the extra $250) in my price sheet. It may be on the invoice, but I'll argue that, of course.

Hope this helps. Just got notification today that my 2020 E450 Wagon will be completed November 21, and should be ready for pickup mid-December. Enjoy yours!

 

A better description, applicable to the E-Class, is in the PDF MB released on the W213: https://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/Digital...ss_Release.pdf

This does mention that both Sport/AMG and Luxury packages include the Selective Damping, although it doesn't talk about them much. The best description of Selective Damping is on the MB site's description, under the Luxury Stylings "Comfort suspension with selective damping system"

But again, to me, that's what shock absorbers have always done. Try moving one slowly, and it's easier. Move it quickly, and it's much more difficult. But I'm sure MB has done a good job of it, so yeah, call it a "feature".

 

You didn't ask about wheels & tires, but that might be one of the most important decisions to be made in selecting your wagon. To provide the best ride quality, and least chance of tire problems (with potholes, etc.), I ordered mine with the standard 18" twin 5-spoke wheels, the ones I like the absolute least. But I wanted the Luxury package, and did NOT want to get 19" or larger wheels, so that was my only choice. The standard Sport 18" wheels look better (I would have preferred the 18" wheels included with the E450 Sedan, but not an option), and if you go with AMG line, you'll have other 18" and 19" options. Check these forums for information on 19" and larger wheel/tire problems before deciding. Yeah, they look great (AMG 20" wheels even greater), but are they want you want and need?

 

Regarding 18" vs 19"+ wheels re: comfort and wear/mtce issues ... I agree that 18" wheels will provide more comfort and better withstand irregular road surface issues. However, I see that you're based out of Florida, where the roads may be better and don't typically suffer from pot-hole-hell, like the Northeast, where I live. Provided this is true, you might not be negatively impacted by tire mtce issues, but will still have a somewhat harder ride, particularly with RFTs, if you go with the better looking 19s, IMO.

PS: I'm building a 2020 Estate now and plan to order with the 18" wheels, even though they are less attractive, IMO. Hoping this will somewhat mitigate pot-hole concern, plus I'm ordering the "luxury" package and want to maximize comfort.

 

First, Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my post. The restrictions on what can be ordered are indeed arbitrary, and the site is apparently quite inaccurate. For example, if you get the blue luxury-style you can not get the beige/saddle nappa leather (which would seem to be one attractive and obvious combination). But if you don't specify a style option, or you opt for the amg-style, you can. Moreover, the site now says that that exclusive nappa leather costs nothing if you order the amg-style, or the no style option, but costs $2990 (not $4900) if you specify the luxury style and the blue and beige nappa leather.. I really don''t understand either the logic behind these restrictions or the proof-reading of the website. One can only hope that the cars are assembled with more care. Also, I am unable to find any mention of the acoustic comfort package or any reference to a special order option. I wonder if such an option would allow one to delete the black headliner. You might think that a buyer should consult the dealer about such matters, but I have found, not only with Mercedes, that the salesmen generally know very little about options, often less than I do. Is there a contact or site provided by Mercedes where one can get really knowledgeable and reliable answers from the company?
As for wheels, I will order the 18" for the slightly higher sidewall.

 

I'm certain that the leather seating combinations /used/ to work properly on the updated-for-2020 build site, but there do seem to be errors now. As far as restrictions go, I think the DOG (Dealer Ordering Guide) specifies it better, and also lists the Acoustic Comfort Package. And when sitting down to price the car with your dealer, their computer will have the package as well, in fact my salesman mentioned it first. I'll attach the DOG here (which incidentally on page 15 "When selecting AMG Line Exterior (DG1), headliner is always black (51U)". BTW, it looks to me, if you don't order AMG-line or AMG-Black-Line, that is just get the standard "Sport", you can keep the beige headliner. You get different wheels, but I think they look pretty good, actually, comparable to the AMG-line. If I'd have gotten an C-Class, I'd definitely have gotten AMG due to the grill changes which I like a lot, but with the E-Class, it's very difficult to tell Sport from AMG except for the wheels. Anyhow, here's the DOG. ---- Whoops, wouldn't upload for some reason. Here's a thread that has it posted, just scroll down:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...450-wagon.html

 

Thank you. The DOG is very helpful. One reason I'm interested in the AMG black line is that in darker colors I think the bright trim around the windows may stand out too much and distract a bit from the lines of the body. In lighter colors it stands out less. But in blue, which I like, with the gloss black trim and no bright work the lines of the body are pretty pure.

 

The good: Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that its new MBUX infotainment system will feature support for wireless CarPlay in future vehicles.
The bad: The 2020 E450 seems to still get the COMAND system instead of the MBUX system according to the mbusa.com vehicle builder. However, I've read other websites say that all 2020 Mercedes models will have the MBUX system. The 2019 A-class already got the new system. It's confusing.

So ultimately, it depends if you're getting the COMAND system or the MBUX system.

 

2020 E350 and E450 Sedans still have the same multimedia controller on the console, so one would think it also has the same COMAND system, and I'm sure the E450 Wagon will be the same. And COMAND is what is shown online and in the DOG.

So - no wireless CarPlay.

 

Since you're ordering it consider European Delivery. That gets you a 7% discount. It includes a few night hotel (5 star) plus a possible assist on airfare. It won't cover an European vacation for two but it helps plus you get to tour the factory and drive your new MB in Europe.