superswiss

Was wondering if anybody has driven in the UK on their ED trip. I'm considering a visit to the UK during my upcoming ED trip and as most of you probably know, the UK drives on the other side of the road. This has implications on LHD cars. The headlights will blind oncoming cars, so EU spec cars have what's called a tourist mode. It adjusts the headlight beam to RHD in case of LHD model, and LHD in case of RHD models when driven outside their home turf. I was wondering if anybody can confirm whether the tourist mode is available on ED cars. I don't think it's available on US spec cars as we don't have neighboring RHD countries, but just like Mercedes enables European navigation for the duration of the trip, the tourist mode may be available as well. I'm reaching out to the forum first, but I'm also planning to contact Mercedes European Delivery about this.

ard674t

I was in the UK a couple of months ago with our ED E450 coupe and had no problems. We ordered the intelligent LED headlight option, so I'm not sure what would happen if you didn't have that.

rroberts

I have never had noteworthy problems with RHD. Traffic rules and signage take a little learning but things are manageable overall if you do not expect to make a tight schedule in Friday afternoon traffic for your first experience.

For Europe in general, a heads-up display option to work with the navigation system is well worth the cost. It will keep your eyes on the road in village layouts that are essentially non-existent in North America.

Finally, respect your limits. There are some places that mere mortals should not attempt to drive. Lots of visitors try to drive around the Ring of Kerry (Ireland) in C-series cars and have to pay for replacement side mirrors, or worse.

superswiss

Thanks, but the driving part is not the issue. I am originally from Europe, have lived there for over 20 years and was born in a small village, so I'm well versed with the driving part. I first learned to drive in Europe and got my drivers license there, so this is not my first rodeo. My question was specifically regarding the light beam pattern difference between LHD and RHD cars and the tourist mode that allows the switching of the beam pattern and whether the tourist mode is available on ED cars. On my previous ED trips, I haven't taken the car to the UK, so it never came up. Worst case I can make sure I only drive during daylight, but it would be nice if I could drive at night without blinding oncoming traffic.

Donald McPherso

I seem remember when the UK cars went abroad there were certian parts of the glass you could cover with tape to have the desired effect.