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Just ordered ML350 BTC for family/tow - Some questions..

Do a search for Airmatic. Many opinions. I have Airmatic on my 2012 BT which I use to tow a small cargo trailer. I got the Airmatic primarily for its automatic self-leveling capability--front to rear and side to side. Prevents rear end droop when towing something with a heavy tongue weight.

Extensive discussion here just last week.

https://mbworld.org/forums/new-m-cla...-airmatic.html

I decided against the airmatic option on my incoming Bluetec. Reports of airmatic problems biased my decision.

I occasionally tow a 7000 lb GVW trailer, and I'm reasonably comfortable I made the right choice.

Currently drive a '10 GL450, which has far less torque and substantially more HP than my future vehicle.

As far as towing, I'm far more concerned with getting just the right brake controller installed. MB towing specs are rather hard to interpret. 7400 is the max, but the rating on the hitch without a weight distribution setup is very vague. I'm hoping to have the MB dealer install an aftermarket controller prior to taking delivery. I'm confident the diesel will have more than sufficient power to accelerate anything I hitch to it, my concern is controlling the load when I need to slow down.

The Prodigy P2 and P3 are highly recommended by my MB trailer guys...

Pearl beige is discontinued, so unless you can find an amendable unit, you're going to have to change colors.

Thanks. Can the Prodigy controllers be installed by the dealer at delivery? Not sure how much wiring is involved.
Also, I saw the salesman go into the system, and Pearl beige was certainly available? Perhaps it was discontinued for 2014? For that matter, I heard the v6 diesel was being replaced by an 4-banger, which is just sad...why would they do such a thing? The local dealers here can't get enough bluetecs, and I'm not sure why anyone would buy anything else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Proteus7 (Post 5581360)

We're trading in the ole' minivan for an ML350 Bluetec, and I wanted to get some feedback on our build (custom order) and options. We chose this over the Jeep Grand Cherokee (more refined, available diesel). We put the downpayment in yesterday ($3k), but still have some time to change options, since our build slot is May. I got invoice+1% - company fleet discount. Is this a good deal for the Seattle area?

Pearl beige metallic w/Almond MBTex, brown satin ash wood trim (any pics/opinions on this? I wasn't able to actually see it at the dealer, but wife didn't like the shiny eucalyptus)
GregW posted some great photos of the satin ash. I have it and love it. Beige? Matter of personal taste. I'm impressed with the tex.
Package 1 - does this include ambient lighting? its not mentioned on build sheet, but earlier 2013 order guides show itIllum Sills/Ambient Light is separate option, and relatively inexpensive. A must have.
Lighting pkg - Love the bi-xenons, a shame to pay extra...Worth every penny and then some
Parktronic - Does this just provide additional front sensors and autopark? or needed for both front and rearprovides parking sensors in front and rear plus auto park (read some reviews of autopark beofre using it. senors have been a great help.
Wood/Leather steering wheel - splurge, wife wanted.i like the wood whee and moderately priced, relatively.
Trailer hitchmust have on a BT
HK sound systemimpressive
Running boardsi love them and so do my passengers despite the divided reviews on this forum
MBtex dashawesome option

Big question regarding Airmatic. I understand its available as a $1600 option, but not sure if needed for towing. We'll be towing a mid size trailer (24ft, ~5500lbs or so). The car handles fine without it, I know airmatic has a questionable reliability rating...so would only care about this for towing.
Some other questions - 3 zone cooling..If I don't have this, I assume the rear seats still have their own heat/cooling vents? what does the 3rd zone actually buy me?
Iphone integration - I assume this will work fine with iphone 4s/iphone 5?
Prepaid maintenance - the Bluetec prepaid seems far more expensive, I'm assuming due to ripoff for addblue (which I plan to fill myself). Is it worth it?If you plan to fill the adblue yourself, I don't see the point of prepaid.

Also, are there any other special options besides the wrapped dash that I should squeeze in there? I'd heard there was some kind of cargo mgmt which was factory installed?Not many care for the cargo mgmt, i passed because i didnt want debris getting caught in the rail system. An option that I'm happy with is the passenger memory/lumbar option. Also the black headliner Y90, however I'm not sure how good it'll look in the almond interior. Funny thing is that I was sold on the black headliner in a pimped out ML with one of the special order tan interiors--I'm not sure if that's what you ordered. Many here also ordered the 20s. Lane Tracking or DAS may be smart option for additional safety.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to my first MB!

Answers above. Do a search here for disussions about every option listed. Enjoy

Discussion of trailer brake controllers couple of weeks ago here

https://mbworld.org/forums/new-m-cla...ng-diesel.html