marzillo

I'm planning on ordering a new E-Class and would like to get some opinions from people who have real-world experience for the following.

Wheels/Tires - I like the look of the 21" AMG multi-spoke rims but concerned about the ride being rougher with the lower profile tires. I'm likely going to go with the 20" multi-spoke but those 21" look real nice too!

Heated rear seats - anyone get them and regret it or not get them and regret it? I don't often have back seat passengers these days but I'm kind of thinking it would be a nice touch to have that available for them when I do. It's not too much more considering the price of the vehicle but not sure I need them. Any opinions here?

Soft-close doors seem like a really cool touch but the more I think about them the more I don't think I need them. Anyone have them and feel they are something they could not live without or do you think it's more a gimmick?

Energizing Air Control - Do you notice any difference with this on? It's not really much money so I'm likely getting it just because but I don't really know if I need it.

Dashcam - for $200 it seems like a no brainier. Does anyone have the factory installed dashcam and if so, how do you like it?

muipw

I am in the process of ordering a W214 E-450 myself. Some of the features/options you mentioned above I have in my S-class, here are my 2-cents:
1. Wheels/Tires - while 21" AMG wheels do look excellent, but with little rubber to protect your tires/wheels, they may not last long if you encounter a lot of bad road conditions (particularly pot holes) in your routine driving. Coming from the NE, I would never consider 21" wheels myself. In addition, even though handling should be improved somewhat with low-profile tires, you do compromise in ride quality and comfort
2. Heated rear seats - like you said, I rarely have rear passengers so seldom use the feature
3. Soft-close doors - not necessary items since most of the time I ended up using enough force to close the doors anyway
4. Energizing Air Control/Fragrances - even though we have it in our S-class, never even use it once, so cannot provide experience
5. Dashcam - you can purchase and turn on this item/feature (same $200) within the Mercedes Me app afterwards since all the necessary hardware is already in place as standard features, so you can take your time thinking about it and/or explore other outside options

BenjaminKohl

Energizing air control is different from the frangrance (air balance, part of the multicontour seat package) or enegizing comfort (part of the same package). Energizing air control is a small HEPA filter. It will just make the air quality in your car a little higher quality and more filtered. Maybe worth it if you're in NY/LA a lot.

alizansari

Just to avoid starting a new thread for ordering options, I will hijack this one with my own questions . Would appreciate if someone can provide me with more insights on the following:

- I see 2 ordering options for Ambient Lights: (i) Ambient Lighting Plus and (ii) Ambient Lighting with projection of brand logo. Any idea what are the differences? I.e., what is the "plus" option (the latter is somehow self-explanatory)
- What would this option entail: "Instrument panel and beltlines in ARTICO man-made leather in nappa look"
- What would be "Advance Plus Package"
- What would be "Leather Package" (considering that I am going to Artico and not leather).
- Would "Climatised Seats" include both heating and ventilation?

Sorry for the long list, unfortunately I do not have the codes to look it up (have asked for it, but still waiting).

Thanks in advance.

mykel79

That means perforated seats and a blower that moves air through the holes. That's separate from heated seats, which have heating coils(?) in them that warm up the entire surface.

BenjaminKohl

what market are you in? Some things like ambient lighting options and the “advanced plus package” will be specific to your market so I can’t comment on them. Only things I can:

-Generally you can’t get a “leather package” on a car without leather. In the US, it just bundles in the climate seats and artico dash and door trim. It doesn’t change anything, it just makes it so if you get leather you HAVE to get those two things.

-The artico dash changes the supper dashboard, lower pieces by the center Console and below the start button, and the upper parts of the doors to be from soft injection molded plastic to be instead covered in a layer of soft synthetic Nappa style leather material with stitching. Well worth it in my opinion, feels very high end and looks nice too with the stitches.

-Climate seats include Heating too. I’ve never seen any car that has cooling/ventillating/fan controlled seats that didn’t have heating too. In fact on MBs you can put both the heating and ventilation on together and then instead of the seat surface simply heating up, you get warm air blown on you. Very nice after a rain storm for example.
In the US, heated seats are standard by the way, don’t know about your market.

ua549

I have soft close doors and that function is used frequently because I have both old/feeble passengers and children that can't/don't close the door with enough force.
It saves me the effort of getting out and walking around the car to close the passenger door. The feature is worth while.

alizansari

Thank you very much for your response.

I am in Dubai, UAE (so the GCC / Middle East market). I will check with the dealership if they can expand on what is meant by Ambient Lighting Plus.

- I did not select the leather package (in fact, I specifically opted to ARTICO), so it is possible that it just misconfigured or it is used in combination with some other code. I will also check this.

- Thanks for the comment on the Artico dash - I fully agree that this is worth the option. My current one does not have it and I regret it.

- Thanks for clarifying on the climatized seats. In my current model (E200 MY 2021), I only have heated seats (although I no longer recall what was the option code at the time). But appreciate the clarification.