Features to look for…
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Joined: Jan 2026
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2011 E350 Wagon
Features to look for…
Hey All,
I’m new to the forum and would appreciate any help. My husband and I currently have a 2011 E350 wagon and love it, but she’s getting little long in the tooth. Looking to upgrade to a 2018 or 2019 GLC 43 AMG and would love your recommendations on which features are a must and which ones are a hard pass. Pros/cons are a plus.
For reference, we live in the Colorado mountains and get a fair bit of weather.
Thanks for the input!
I’m new to the forum and would appreciate any help. My husband and I currently have a 2011 E350 wagon and love it, but she’s getting little long in the tooth. Looking to upgrade to a 2018 or 2019 GLC 43 AMG and would love your recommendations on which features are a must and which ones are a hard pass. Pros/cons are a plus.
For reference, we live in the Colorado mountains and get a fair bit of weather.
Thanks for the input!
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Joined: Nov 2024
Posts: 70
Likes: 11
My 2018 GLC43 came from Santa Fe and was driven around in southern Colorado for it's first 7 years of life.
The 4matic system is fantastic in snow and wintery weather. I would caution you though in getting a GLC43 though. This thing REQUIRES high octane fuel. In the mountains of Colorado, because of the altitude, low octane will behave like high octane...so an 87 octane fuel acts like 91 octane! This is great as long as you stay in the mountains...but if you then drive at sea level or close to it, then you will run into problems. That "high" octane fuel is no longer high octane...If you keep this in mind and keep your foot out of that performance engine, then you'll be OK as long as you don't do this a lot...but that's another problem...this car is SO MUCH FUN to drive in Sport and Sport+ mode, you will never want to drive it in Comfort or Eco mode! That M276 just doesn't stop pulling! You step into the gas pedal and it launches...and it doesn't stop accelerating! You keep having more and more gas pedal and it still accelerates! You don't want to stop! And this leads to another problem...No guard rails on those mountain roads....My dad no longer wants to drive the road to Ouray or across Pikes Peak because there are no guard rails...it scares him too much (well, he's in his 90s so hes allowed) These are the reasons my mom gave me their AMG...They were afraid to drive it so it just sat! It's a 2018 and doesn't even have 20k mile on it yet! Instead, they drove their Highlander or they drove their Hyundai which they got rid of...With the right tires though, the GLC43 would be a very fun car to drive on those twisty mountain roads! Wet, dry or snowy! Look into Michelin Cross Climate 2 (the Cross Climate 3 are coming to the USA soon) for a fantastic all season tire that reviewers everywhere laud the virtues of! The GLC 43 is a great car in Sport and Sport+...if you know how to drive and an easy car to drive in Comfort and Eco mode...You can't go wrong really...it's worth it!
The 4matic system is fantastic in snow and wintery weather. I would caution you though in getting a GLC43 though. This thing REQUIRES high octane fuel. In the mountains of Colorado, because of the altitude, low octane will behave like high octane...so an 87 octane fuel acts like 91 octane! This is great as long as you stay in the mountains...but if you then drive at sea level or close to it, then you will run into problems. That "high" octane fuel is no longer high octane...If you keep this in mind and keep your foot out of that performance engine, then you'll be OK as long as you don't do this a lot...but that's another problem...this car is SO MUCH FUN to drive in Sport and Sport+ mode, you will never want to drive it in Comfort or Eco mode! That M276 just doesn't stop pulling! You step into the gas pedal and it launches...and it doesn't stop accelerating! You keep having more and more gas pedal and it still accelerates! You don't want to stop! And this leads to another problem...No guard rails on those mountain roads....My dad no longer wants to drive the road to Ouray or across Pikes Peak because there are no guard rails...it scares him too much (well, he's in his 90s so hes allowed) These are the reasons my mom gave me their AMG...They were afraid to drive it so it just sat! It's a 2018 and doesn't even have 20k mile on it yet! Instead, they drove their Highlander or they drove their Hyundai which they got rid of...With the right tires though, the GLC43 would be a very fun car to drive on those twisty mountain roads! Wet, dry or snowy! Look into Michelin Cross Climate 2 (the Cross Climate 3 are coming to the USA soon) for a fantastic all season tire that reviewers everywhere laud the virtues of! The GLC 43 is a great car in Sport and Sport+...if you know how to drive and an easy car to drive in Comfort and Eco mode...You can't go wrong really...it's worth it!
