Rockland

So, on my first road trip and my son asks “where are the cup holders? Please explain how a $146000 car can not have cup holders in the rear seats? Unbelievable?!?

impex4

Try the center armrest

js_cls

They are in the rear center armrest. Check out 25-seconds into this video to see where and how.

Rockland

Ahhh, you have to hit it twice. My faith in the best or nothing is restored.

bishop64

I do not know how old your son is. But, if he could not find it or figure it out, then, maybe MB needs to improve the design even more intuitively.

SW20S

I have to walk people through finding the cupholders in my W222 all the time, and did with my LS460s also

Rockland

He is 16. Yeah, crappy design.

Here is another stupid design flaw:
Windshield wipers on the turn signal stalk.
50% of the time I used the turn signal to make a left hand turn the windshield wipers also turned on!

So many things are frustrating with this car.

SW20S

Not sure how cup holders that you press and then they slide out is a crappy design. I have also owned many cars with the windshield wipers on the turn signal stalk. The design is the same as the W222 and somehow I can use the turn signals without turning the wipers on.

I think you just need to spend some more time reading the manual and getting accustomed to the car and how everything works.

Rockland

why should you have to press a button twice to get the cup holders? Like who cares about a penholder?

and i could read the manual another 1000 times and it won’t fix the touchscreen (which continuously forces you to take your eyes off the road), or the fact that the wipers are on the turn signal.

The iDrive is light years ahead of this MBUX touchscreen system. Hope BMW doesn’t mess up the new 7 series next year by going to these touchscreens!

SW20S

once you know to press it twice, what’s the BFD? If you wanted a pen you’d like a holder for it. There is a learning curve to any new vehicle. Wipers are on the turn signal on all Mercedes vehicles, as well as many other cars made currently and in the past. Once you become used to them it’s a non issue.

Then why did you buy the car? And why don’t you just get rid of it? You can sell it for what you paid for it I bet.

Rockland

I bought the car because my 760 lease was up and the new 7 series isn’t out for another year. When the new 7 series comes out I might absolutely make the move back to the 7 if I like the new 7.

There are some things I like about the S580:

The car is VERY quiet, and the suspension is better than the 7 series when driving over bumps, potholes, et al.

The seats are much more comfortable than the 7 series. Legroom is better. Getting out of the car is easier.

The Distronic adaptive cruise control works great.

Voice recognition is very good, much better than the 7 was.

Burmeister 4D sound system much better than Bowers and Wilkins. MUCH better.

Massage seats also much better than 7 series.

Cons:

- Touchscreen. Truly nothing positive I can say about the interface
- Doors are heavy, difficult to open, and I often have to reach very far to grab the door handle to close the door when I am sitting in the seat.
-Touch capacitive buttons on steering wheel are inconsistent at best, and just plain suck at worst.
-AMG Line does not have 4 zone climate control. I wish it did. Really no excuse to not have 4 zone climate control as standard in a $146,000 vehicle.
-760 was much more fun and exciting to drive but obviously it’s not a fair comparison to the 580.

These are my thoughts so far after having the car for a month, and driving on a 6 hour road trip 2x.

Ymmv.

SW20S

Then concentrate on what you like and stop complaining about stuff that is in reality just differences between how manufacturers approach different controls. You’ve posted several scathing threads about things being missing that you just simply didn’t understand how they worked.

The operation of the cup holders is in the manual.

Im all for discussing faults and concerns, but this is just silly.

Rockland

Lol scathing. C’mon sir. I wouldn’t say anything I have posted is scathing. Putting something in a manual doesn’t mean the engineering should escape criticism either.

SW20S

Just because you don’t prefer the way something works doesn’t mean that it’s poorly engineered.

Take a little responsibility to educate yourself on how the car works before you deride it.

Rockland

Ok, w/e, I will delay catching up on my Tolstoy readings and I will read the manual this month.

Never had to read the manual for the 7’s I have owned - because everything was intuitive and easy.

SW20S

Because you have owned multiple of them and you know how BMWs interfaces work. I almost got a 750 and I spent a lot of time with them and I wouldn’t have been able to work anything without a steep learning curve.

Changing carmakers is a big adjustment. Trust me I know I had 7 Lexuses before this S560 and I never needed to read the manuals for them either, and the Lexus forums are full of people who can’t figure out those interfaces that are second nature to me.

You can’t expect to buy the most technologically advanced car ever made pretty much and be able to work everything without learning how everything works.

js_cls

Why didn’t you just buy out your BMW lease? Or find another 7er, there’s still 700+ new models for sale.

The penholder is there because the S-Class is a chauffeur vehicle and business can even be conducted in the rear.

Rockland

Whatever, so it has a penholder. Just pop out the penholder and the cupholder at the same time with one push of the button. Simple option. What do people use more - a pen holder or a cupholder? Why have to push a button twice for the more common use? This is just a matter of logic. Sorry if my logic doesn’t mesh with your logic.

Why do you care why I bought the S Class? I wanted to try it out. No harm in trying a new model, is there? The new 7 series isn’t out for a year, and the residual wasn’t great on my 760, and I got a 10% discount on ordering my 580 so I won’t get hurt too bad on selling the car if I want to, so I felt like trying “the best or nothing.” There are some very nice things about the car and some things that aren’t great. I will live with the car for a year or two and move on from it if I choose to.

SW20S

The bottom line is, it’s a minor trivial design choice that just is not a big deal once you know how to open the cup holder.

I mean…you don’t have bigger things than this in your life to worry about?! Just do yourself (and us) a favor and ditch the thing. “How do I open the cup holder” “oh just push twice on the front of the armrest and it pops out”. BFD lol

Why would you buy a vehicle with a massive touchscreen if you hate touchscreens? I hate touchscreens, so I got a W222.

There are several things I prefer about how my Lexus cars operated…do you see me constantly *****ing about all of them? All carmakers approach vehicle design differently, having something that’s different from what I was so used to is part of the fun. If you want controls that were laid out the same as BMW…get another BMW.

Rockland

Like I have said, there are things that I like a lot and there are things that I don’t like. Not going to “do you a favor and ditch a car” because you don’t want to hear about things that aren’t great. Why do you care if I present a non-biased viewpoint on the car that I bought?

bishop64

These 2 cons are also my opinion as well.
But, I only have the car for 3 months and my mileage is not much.
Hope, as time goes by, I will get used to the 'sensitivity' of those steering wheel buttons.

Old Rocker

I agree with most. Especially the doors and door handles, touch buttons, and some of the screens that are not necessary (and that you can not turn off permanently). For a luxury car it could ride a bit smoother, and when you accelerate there is often a lag and jarring feeling when the car engages. I too like the car but a lot of stuff could be better at this price and often is on less expensive cars. I think the car is of adequate quality, but I think if some stuff bugs us, we have a right to say so. Maybe Mercedes will read the forums and make changes. For a long time there has been o2 sensors, abs brakes, and other technology that works behind the scenes. There is also technology that we need to learn, but it shouldn't be this overwhelming or should be designed so that it could be used by an average driver or a techy.

bishop64

Of all technology, touchscreen is going to stay, for sure. Personally, I have no problem with touchscreen. I build my own PC for years and am comfortable with both hardwares and softwares. I reckon, if one can handle a smartphone, one can handle the central panel with ease. Having said that, and with years of experience of handling PCs, I hope MB will continue to work hard on their softwares as buggy softwares can be very scary. Can you imagine experiencing a BSOD while driving down an expressway? :-)

SW20S

I have absolutely no problem hearing about things that aren't great. I don't have a W223 and thats by choice, there are real legitimate things. BUT there's a difference between sharing the things you don't like and just complaining about things for the sake of complaining. 20 seconds in the backseat of the car and you can find the cupholders...yet you come on here ranting and raving "how could this POS $145,000 car not have rear cupholders?!?! stupid designers aren't as smart as me!" when you were just too lazy to explore a little and find them. Its just useless negativity. How about posting "Are there rear cupholders? I can't find them?" without the negativity? I mean, you KNOW it has rear cupholders.

I agree 100%...but thats not what he's complaining about. He's complaining because he didn't bother to RTFM about how the very simple rear cupholders work. He wants to find things to complain about...thats the point. "Oh boy, one more little thing I can post and ***** about to make myself feel superior!" No matter what the car, you can ALWAYS find things you would prefer operated a different way. I have a long list of those things about my car but they aren't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Rockland

I certainly wasnt trying to be superior. Spent 25 minutes after going through a drive through sitting in a parking lot with my family trying to figure out where the cupholders were. I apologize if my stupidity irks you. Yeah, I assumed there had to be cupholders somewhere. But it sure wasn’t obvious. And you know what, I don’t want to read the effing manual. I am not an engineer. You do you.