e55phil

Two weeks ago I traded in my S class for my new All Terrain after waiting for for nine months. I'm happy to say a friend of mine purchased my 2015 S class (with 105,000) after I traded in.

If you're totally bored and need an alternative to counting sheep this review could be just the thing.

$88,600 was the MSRP
$2300 for the wheel and tire insurance
$2399 in PPM and
$2500 for XPEL film on the front hood fenders mirrors and bumper. It was not recommended for the headlights because of some special film that Mercedes puts on the headlights now similar to what Porsche does.

In my opinion, and for me, the all-terrain compares favorably with the S class.

Ride and Handling: The all terrain comes equipped with a air suspension and the ride in my 2021 all terrain, in Comfort mode is as good or better than my 2015 S.

I admit that my S was six years old, It could be that the 2021 S will ride better, still the AT insulates the driver and is very smooth in Comfort mode.

In Sport Plus mode it is quicker then my S 550 and handles better. I have not pushed the car to the limits yet but it handles as well as my 2001 E55.

You can individually adjust the steering, the suspension and the engine.

You can set it up as a custom configuration so I set up the car to have sport steering and sport suspension but still operate the engine on economy because I drive a lot through back roads in the country and that works for me. I take the corners without needing acceleration.

I can switch to Sport mode instantly.

When you get in the car and turned on it lifts the car up. I sure hope in the future I don't have a problem with that technology or that one of the airbags or whatever makes the car lift up fails.

Acceleration: the new AT in Sport Mode is definitely faster than my S550 no doubt about it.

Fuel economy: I On the highway I get between 30 miles per gallon and 31 miles per gallon. On the back roads I get 28 miles per gallon. I haven't driven much in the cities I don't know yet what that will be.

Obviously this is better than the S class.

Size and Comfort: the wagon is 9 inches shorter than the S class and all of that room is missing from the back seat. If I have company in the car I'm going to have to move my seat forward since I'm 6'4" but that will only be temporary between the house and the restaurant or something like that.

I think that the seats are slightly narrower than the S class and the center console is also narrower. The wagon is smaller than the S class both length and width and I'm okay with that because it's easier to park and easier to maneuver.

I am completely comfortable in the car just as I was in the S class. I think the seats are more comfortable but that's probably because the car is newer. If the seats are not as wide they are just as comfortable.

This AT is equipped with air inflated seat bolsters (I think called Dynamic Seats). I haven't used the massaging feature yet but I think that technology has improved over my S class and is simpler to use if not hard to get to.

There is plenty of legroom and headroom in the AT just as there was in the S class in the front.

Fit and Finish: so far I have not found any flaw. The car is perfect.

Interior storage space: I am disappointed with the center console and glove box both are small. However the doors have cup storage which it nice.

I will never use the 3rd row seat. I an using that for storage. I plan to buy a Euro replacement kit so I use it for storage.

Lots of room in the back and you can put the seats down but you all know that.

Phone: This AT has wireless charging but that is useless if you use Car Play or Android because you have to plug in anyway.

NOTE: I have a cover on my phone and the room where you place the phone is tight. The Car Play port should be in the center console. Heaven forbid you have a cup of coffee in the center and need to pull out you phone... worse if it has a cover.

My phone and cover fits better if I remove the rubber non skid provided panel. I will try to find a short phone to USBC connector with a right angle so I do not have a long cable to contend with which gets in the way of the coffee.

I have a never had a car that has Apple car play installed and I have to say that while I very much like Apple car play I think I like the Mercedes navigation better. If I want to listen to music on my iPhone I can use the Bluetooth media connection and I think I'm going to get a cup holder to hold my phone for Waze.

Maybe I don't how to use Apple car play in connection with the Mercedes interface I'll have to play with that seat which I like better but I definitely like the Mercedes navigation better than looking at navigation on car play.

Tech: I'm not sure where to start on this one. Remember that I had a 2015 car so some of the things that are available on this car are much better.

Let's start with the steering wheel. A lot of people have complained about the steering wheel controls. There just a little bit tricky to get the hang of but the more I play with them the better I get. I think that the wheel or switch worked better but I find these to be effective most of the time. I'm getting the hang of using them and I'm comfortable with them.

I suspect that because it's new and different people are going to complain until they get the hang of it. It doesn't always work the first time but it seems that it always works. If I had the choice I'd prefer the old way but I have no choice and I'm going to make the best of it.

Remember that you can do some of the same things on the steering wheel on the center touchpad and on the large screen. Depending upon what I'm doing I've used all three.

I think the touchpad is the best or easiest to use only because you don't have to reach to touch the screen.

I'm still getting the hang of this but I suspect that just about anything I want to do I'm going to develop my own institutional memory on how to do it and in a month or two it will become second nature.

Radio: the radio the AT is not as good as it was in my S. I'm surprised because supposedly it's the same radio but it's definitely not as good. If you like to listen to music especially if the windows are open I recommend spending the money on the fancier radio.

Another thing I don't like about the radio is you can only have 20 presets. What kind of nincompoop came up with that idea in today's day and age. I had something like 50 presets in my S. Also I could scroll from preset to preset on my S very easily. There is a way to do it but it is has several steps and thus is harder in this MBUX interface. There may be a MBUX shortcut but I haven't found it yet.

I definitely like that better in the old car for sound and interface. (20 Presets What a joke!)

Mercedes Me verses M-Brace... I am disappointed with Mercedes Me.

I've owned Mercedes since 1977 and I remember a time when you called roadside you had the feeling there was some fellow chewing on a cigar who was a real mechanic and could walk you through whatever problem you had.

Then they went to a phone tree and the person who answered didn't know the car at all and had to send someone or get someone to call you back.

Now they've split it up into help with the phone app and help with the car and roadside assistance which is only good for a limited period of time.

I find dealing with Mercedes Me to be complicated and inefficient.

If you have a question about the car you have to call on a weekday between 9 AM and 9 PM. And then those people don't seem to know anything.

You can no longer call and ask directions to be sent to your car. I miss that a lot.

There is no more concierge service.

If you're having trouble with the phone app those people are more together and they seem to be around all the time.

Send to Benz works just as good if you can get your act together before you leave but if you need directions on the fly you really have to rely on the MBUX which doesn't always work very well and wont work when you are out of cell range.

It's nice that Mercedes me remembers my seat position and the steering wheel position and my radio presets and that I can have a similar profile for my wife and her seat position and so forth.

MBUX:

MBUX Voice commands:

I may have to learn how to talk to the car but the car has asked me "Can you replete that" MANY times.

I find the car doesn't understand what you're asking it. Sometimes they don't understand a person's name when you're trying to call them and other times they do understand the same name. I'm not sure if it's the way I'm speaking or background noise or what.

The voice command system to me so far is frustrating.

It's also frustrating because there is no list of commands anywhere. You can say to Mercedes "hey Mercedes, what can I do?" And then it will give you some options from 10,000 feet in the air but if you ask it for additional help it gives you the same message all over again.

I looked at the online manual and I looked in the manual and so far I haven't found a page with the list of available commands. At least if I had the list of available commands I might be able to get the hang of things.

If someone sends me a text I can't figure out a consistent way to get the car to read the text message to me.

If I say hey Mercedes, please text Barbara Jones the answer is who do you want to text?

Hey Mercedes for navigation is also hit or miss.

I'm hoping that just like Dragon dictate in time it will learn my voice but it seems to me that there must be a list of commands somewhere hidden away in some vault that no one wants to share that would make the process easier.

Things I miss:

I miss the windshield washer fluid coming out of the windshield wiper. I miss being able to control the seat. I miss not being able to have an unlimited number of radio presets. I miss not being able to easily move from preset to preset. I miss not being able to call and have someone send directions to my car.

Things I hope for:

I hope like Tesla, Microsoft, Apple, and a Siemens MRI that if Mercedes improves the MBUX interface that they update the car software than force you to update the car.

If you've read this far you deserve a little humor:

A Roman soldier walks into a tavern and says to the proprietor give me five beers and holds up two fingers; I hope you get it

Here are photos. It looks black but it is grey

martinlarose

thanks for your post most informative. i anticipate that my next one will be the AT ...My lease is up in about a year so I want to start figuring out what i will be ordering and when. Lat time i had built the car and placed the order several months before my lease was up and the car arrived 3 months after my lease ran out...fortunately I was out of the country for about a month after i had turned the car in and the dealer gave me a loaner until mine arrived. I really do like the color

Bfgslkman

Still don't like the look of the centre console without a clock. Don't get me wrong i rarely look at mine, but the blank space just looks wrong..

js_cls

Congrats on the new wagon and thanks for the detailed post.

To quickly bring up presets the button at the top and center of the MBUX touchpad (with the skip/rewind icon) brings up your presets no matter what menu you're on.

e55phil

Thanks I will try this. As I play with this I will get better I am sure.

DO you know of a list of voice commands for MBUX?

js_cls

I don't know of an official list I'm afraid, I'm only familiar with the basics, such as changing radio, ambient lighting, opening specific settings menus, etc. as I only use it when using my wife's GLC since my CLS doesn't have MBUX. From what I have learned with the system (as well as similar systems such as BMW's) try to be as specific as possible in what you are asking, sometimes it won't recognize a setting unless you call it by its exact name, casual commands usually can confuse any of the systems.

Elvisfan0108

Thanks for the review. However, I use about 7 presets. Even with Sirius Xm. I think calling someone a nincompoop because they didn’t allow more than 20 presets is wrong. I listen to about 4 music stations. 2 news stations and baseball.
Though I have ordered a C series, the info on the steering wheel was helpful.

e55phil

Thanks I will pay with it. I hope to learn how to ask MBUX to read out a text and send one.

e55phil

I'm sorry I don't mean to offend you or anyone. I was using the word nincompoop in a tongue-in-cheek way because it seems like a child's insult.
My point is that it seems to me that in today's day and age we should be able to have more than 20 presets. My 2015 car had over 100 presets. So I see this as a step backwards.
One of my first cell phones could only have 100 contacts but I think my iPhone is unlimited because I have well over a thousand contacts.
It's just my opinion that we should be able to have more than 20 preset radio stations in today's day and age.
I'm glad that you found some value in the post and pardon me for my sense of humor.

haibieb

Good luck with your new Wagon.

Elvisfan0108

I’m surprised that except for acceleration, you said nothing about the new hybrid power train. How does it feel?

e55phil

I am not a expert on the engine. I do not know how to comment on the mild hybred except to say that I think it is the electric motor that gives the car the added acceleration. I do not hear anything different or feel anything different. I "suspect" that the difference in MPG is as a result of the electric motor. I would be happy to answer any question. I will say that except in Sport or Sport + the acceleration is not impressive. Hope this helps.

ua549

The transition from eco start/stop should be noticeably smoother.

e55phil

Come to think of it you are correct. My Bad.

Streamliner

Congratulations on your new AT. Just curious: Was the “All Terrain” ability of this wagon appealing to you, or would you have ordered a standard E450 wagon if MB still offered it here? Did you get the Acoustic Comfort Pkg.?

e55phil

Streamliner you flatter me when you ask a question. I was ready for a new car and I wanted a wagon. If I had the option I would NOT have picked the cladding. I needed a wagon for the country. I did not want to wait for the 223 and I did not want to buy the last of the 222s. In 2022 or 23 I will buy a 223 and keep the wagon. If you notice I picked a color that makes the cladding less noticable. The look is growing on me. If I could remove the cladding I would.

e55phil

Also I did get the Acoustic package The care is quiet but the S class is slightly quieter I think.

Streamliner

I was just curious, as I would be amazed if more than a small percentage of AT drivers ever take their wagons anywhere that required more off road ability than a standard model. I was all set to order a new Luxury trim wagon, but thought I’d wait for the mid-cycle face lift. Of course, I waited too long. Wishing you many thousands of safe, enjoyable miles in your new wagon.

Bfgslkman

I'd be amazed if it were stuck on with anything other than 3m tape - could be worth a punt at removal...... Then you just have an Estate with chunky bumpers?

Streamliner

I believe the fender design is actually different, to accommodate the flares. Believe me, I’ve given thought to buying an AT and trying to convert it to a Luxury model. Way too much to do, way too much money.

I was fortunate enough to find a 2019 that had everything I was looking for, such as air suspension, acoustic comfort, Designo interior and without the Panorama Roof. Unfortunately, my wife immediately fell in love with it and I rarely get to drive it.
Not to hijack Phil’s thread, but here’s a photo.

Cao Black

For curiosity sake, how many like the cladding and how many do not?
I must say that you did a good job of disguising it on your car.. Enjoy your new ride.

I'll go first...I don't like the cladding even on an Outback, so, on a Mercedes...fuggetaboutit!

js_cls

OP, I just remembered two more tips for presets. Other than the button I disclosed in my previous post, swiping up with two fingers on the touchpad will bring up presets in any menu. Also to skip between presets quickly, swipe left or right at the top of the touchpad (above the small ridge on the three icons), this also works as a seek/track gesture without having to bring up the radio/media menu.

martinlarose

hi how do you find the acoustic comfort package. i am contemplating getting that on my next wagon...Phil,Stream or anyone else please comment...

JTK44

48-Volt Mild-Hybrid System Explained

see: https://www.autoweek.com/news/a36331...tem-explained/

e55phil

As I said my AT is very quiet. My non technical "feeling" is that the S was quieter but only slightly. I can not compare to a non optioned car. I felt for the money it was worth it. This car is more "sporty" than the S so in Sport + you hear the exhaust.

I only regret not getting the upgraded radio. I will try to upgrade on my own.