Drak

Hi at @,

I'd like to get infos about multiconturseats, which are standard with premium package. How good is the lateral support you can achieve with this feature. I have the "european" 06 350 ml where multiconturseats are optional (Cost: 300 Euros each). In fast driven curves the lateral support is'nt that good. Due to wrong information given by dealer I did'nt order this option.

So any statements of Premium- Package owners are truly apreciated. How good are the seats really as far as lateral support is concerned. Would you order them again if they were optional, paying 360 US$ each. Does it make sense to force the dealer to re-equip my car with multicontur- seat (driver side)

Thanks in advance
Rgds Drak

sosh

The seats in my Premium package ML500 are excellent. Great lateral support and the adjustments make excellent support for me in all areas. Find them much more comfortable than the seats in all my previous ML's and all of the E class I have owned. Don't understand why you must "force" the dealer to put the seats in and do not know if its even possible to retrofit at a reasonable cost. If you didn't order them or purchase them its your fault not the dealer or MB. Now you will most likely ***** about the cost and the fact that the upholstry does not quite match. You must be a customer from hell based upon the wording of your post.

Drak

I'm not sure if I understood what you mean. But anyway. I think I'm a very fine customer, who ordered his ML end of December 04, when MB Hellas did'nt even have photos of the new model and paid cash a fortune (compared to US- Pricelist) October 21 when the car arrived in Athens.

Beginning of May 05 I had to specify the options without any prospectous or written information available in Greece. So we went through the option list with the dealer. I asked him about the features of Multicontur seats and he told me that they are only orthopaedic seats, supporting the spinal area and nothing else. Since my Spine is absolutely healthy I didn't order this option.

In mid of june I first read the online Manual of MB, and I was very surprised about the real possibilities of these seats. So I went imidiately back to the dealer and tried to add this option. Although 2 Months before Production date (08-13.05) MB did'nt accept this additional option. I tried realy everything, phone calls, e- mails etc but it would'nt help. Now I'd like to retrofit at least the driver seat. I don't realy care whose mistake it is, I just want to have it. (Although I think a salesman should be good informed before he sells options to a customer)

Rgds Drak

Birger

Hi Drak,

I understand you, but sometimes being an "early adopter" can be quite a lot of trouble. And our esteemed US friends may have some difficulty in dealing with how it is to order a W164 (or anything else for that matter) in "Old Europe".

I love to hear of stories of people walking into a dealer's showroom, telling the salesperson what they want, and driving home in that - not sitting down, reading through the salesperson's "ML Advantages" folder and deciding on that - for a delivery nearly a year away.

I remember - years back - walking into a Ford dealership in Las Vegas quite late on Dec 31. In order to close a deal before the year end, the sales persons would have worked miracles. Well, back to your Multicountour seat problem....:

Before you cash out inordinate amounts of euros to have your driver's seat converted, have a drive in a W164 equipped with these seats and see what you think. The W164 we drove on the off-road section at the "M-Klasse Experience" in Bitburg had the MCS option, and the control panel did bother me on some portions of the track, rubbing against my right leg.

Also, one of the main reasons why we chose the Sport/Appearance package was that my wife simply wasn't comfortable in either the standard or the MC seats - but she was fine in the Sport seats if the lumbar support was set to 100%. Now this may have a lot to do with her particular body dimensions , but it may perhaps be of importance to you, too.

As you are anyhow thinking of modifying your W164 away from stock, have you considered having your "normal" leather seats reupholstered to meet you particular needs? It might be a lot cheaper than going the retrofit route.

Also consider that the MCS option is somewhat counteractive to the memory function, as you can very well adjust the MC seat to a position that will not be acceptable to another driver, even if she or he has the "right" memory position stored - the MC functions are not inclueded in the memories.

Best regards,
Birger

Drak

Hi Birger (Kroeubi ??),

thanks a lot for yr Post. You helped me a lot. I will try the MCS the next days. I also wasn't sure about the control panel right next to the driver's leg. I would also have ordered Sportseats if they were available in real leather (as planned by DC from 2006 on). I'm not sure about upholstering though. I don't want narrow seats while I'm cruising. I'd like to change the lateral support only in Serpentine situations.

Regards Drak

sosh

My ML also was speced before all the details were available. Fortunatly I was able to add some things before the cut off date. Some of these were Airmatic, phone and the premium package. It turned out well as I got the ML as I wanted it. I have been an early orderer of numerous vehicles including MBs. It is unfortunate that the manufacturers do not always have their act together when they begin accepting orders. MB is one of the worst offenders but they are not alone. As far as forcing the dealer to make this addition is rediculous. I know the risk when giving an early order and so should you. As I previously stated I do not even know if its possible to add this seat and the cost will be very high as you in fact will be paying for 2 seats, the one you have and the new one. By the way, at least for me the control panel does not interfere and I really do not even know its there when I am driving.

Drak

Hi Sosh, cool down, you are totally wrong. Generally MCS can be retrofitted (without buying a new seat of course). Right now there is no kit available, has'nt been released by MB yet. The chief of my MB workshop said that in the next few months MB will offer it. He also said that he retrofitted a C- Class Seat with MCS a few months ago, costs: lower than 1000 €. They also assured me that due to wrong info by their salesman I will get a good discount on that price, so that the difference to original pricelist won't be too high.

Rgds Drak

sosh

Thats great if they will do that for you. Why not go for both front seats??