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Heated and cooled cup holders for front passengers. Most SUVs have them, I don’t understand why sedans don’t get them.
I also wish Mbenz would adopt the laser headlights. BMW had them before and stopped them in 2023 as part of their cheap cost-reduction. They work like magic on our X5 and X7.
Laser headlights have come and gone. I liked them but matrix LED's now equal/exceed Laser and the BMW Laser are only active on high-beam over a certain speed.
As turned off as I am with the W223, I decided to make a “Wish List” for the next S Class. This is MY wish list, so no need to tell me how impossible or far fetched my desires are and why they won’t happen. Actually I feel that most everything I’ve noted is relatively, easily doable:
1. Make 4-Matic optional and on RWD models, make Magic Body Control available.
2. Make non-pop out door handles optional as they are in Germany.
3. Make the standard brakes, which are available in Germany, optional here.
4. Make 18” wheels with non-run flat tires available.
5. Make a full size spare wheel/tire available, stored under the trunk floor.
6. Make the Panorama roof optional, as it is in Germany, with a choice of a moonroof or solid steel roof in its place.
7. Have a full electric model available in both AWD & RWD, as BMW does with I7. The EQS is NOT an S Class, sorry.
8. Offer all options available as stand alone choices, not requiring folks to add unwanted packages to get exactly what they want.
9. Come up with a more elegant & unique exterior design.
10. Improve the quality of interior materials.
11. Outsource automatic transmissions to a company that knows how to make smooth operating ones.
In short, if someone is willing to wait for a special order, build them the S Class THEY want, not the one the bean counters in Stuttgart think they should have. I would have no problem with a non-refundable “special order” fee, if I could get my car the way I want it. I know, most of this will never happen, but I can dream.
You can have it all! Well most of it. Just move to Germany! Given the climate change, its the new California anyway
You can have it all! Well most of it. Just move to Germany! Given the climate change, its the new California anyway
That's right, I didn't want to say anything, but couldn't they look at German configurator and understand that it's a MBUSA issue?
Beside the weather, there are also almost as many illegals there nowadays although of different type.
I use to live in Germany at Ramstein AFB. The weather there is nothing like LA. It can get much more hotter and humid in the summer and downright frigid with snow in the winter. Feels more like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania to me. LA is unique climatologically speaking in that the nearby Pacific Ocean acts like a gigantic heat sink, keeping the coastal cities there mild all year around.
It will be interesting to see how the changing economics play out in Germany as Globalization turns into the next thing; or at least you can certainly ponder several scenarios that would have been unthinkable just 10 years ago.
I use to live in Germany at Ramstein AFB. The weather there is nothing like LA. It can get much more hotter and humid in the summer and downright frigid with snow in the winter. Feels more like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania to me. LA is unique climatologically speaking in that the nearby Pacific Ocean acts like a gigantic heat sink, keeping the coastal cities there mild all year around.
I mentioned California, not LA.
Of course CA has the variety; from the ocean to the desert, wine country, spectacular forests, mountains and snow. Add fires, earthquakes, droughts, but still...
German weather has also changed significantly in the last ten years. Winters in Wisconsin and Germany are worlds apart.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by Frenetic
I use to live in Germany at Ramstein AFB. The weather there is nothing like LA. It can get much more hotter and humid in the summer and downright frigid with snow in the winter. Feels more like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania to me. LA is unique climatologically speaking in that the nearby Pacific Ocean acts like a gigantic heat sink, keeping the coastal cities there mild all year around.
I was born & raised in Los Angeles. You cannot even imagine what a magnificent UTOPIA it was in the 1950’s & 1960’s. It is now a monumental mess and the ONLY thing that California in general and Southern California in particular have that is great now, is the weather. The scenery can be spectacular, but it can be spectacular in Minnesota as well. In my case, we stay for the weather and the fact that our six grandchildren live close by. We pay OVER THE TOP dearly for the privilege. We now live in South Coastal Orange County which is where many L.A. residents are fleeing to. Absolute “cracker box” houses in Newport Beach sell for $3 million and up.
Last edited by Streamliner; Jan 3, 2024 at 09:41 PM.
Laser headlights have come and gone. I liked them but matrix LED's now equal/exceed Laser and the BMW Laser are only active on high-beam over a certain speed.
Are they really better though? I still would have better headlights on my W223 wish-list anyway. The 2024 X5 loaner I got, at least based on short drives in the city, seemed to have very decent headlights illumination. However, I really doubt they would be as good as the laser headlights on the highway (I haven’t had the chance to drive it on the highway at night-time). Both BMW SUVs that I have came with the laser headlights, and when the laser kicks in, they are just unbelievable (I really doubt the matrix LEDs or any other tech nowadays can be as good as those laser headlights on highway). Note that I coded both of them for anti-dazzle high-beam and laser throughput distance to match the spec’s in Europe. Half a mile of visibility! I took this “poor” photo while driving my X7 a few months ago on the highway. Most people on the BMW forum believe that the laser headlights are superior to the newer LEDs (at least on the highway). City driving? Maybe they are as good, but highway? I doubt it but I haven’t done the experiment to verify.
I forget, the digital lights should become available as standard across the range.
I'd also mention a small thing that old people will notice: I have little use for heated seats, I seldom use them. But I do like to turn on the heated wheel fairly often for my poor old hands, and if there is a way to do it without turning on the seats, I haven't figured it out. That should become a switch, nothing you dig into the infotainment to find.
The BMW I had came equipped with laser headlights but I think it was high beam only in the U.S. That said, the X5’s high beam laser was brighter and illuminated farther than the high beam on my GLE and S class.
Are they really better though? I still would have better headlights on my W223 wish-list anyway. The 2024 X5 loaner I got, at least based on short drives in the city, seemed to have very decent headlights illumination. However, I really doubt they would be as good as the laser headlights on the highway (I haven’t had the chance to drive it on the highway at night-time). Both BMW SUVs that I have came with the laser headlights, and when the laser kicks in, they are just unbelievable (I really doubt the matrix LEDs or any other tech nowadays can be as good as those laser headlights on highway). Note that I coded both of them for anti-dazzle high-beam and laser throughput distance to match the spec’s in Europe. Half a mile of visibility! I took this “poor” photo while driving my X7 a few months ago on the highway. Most people on the BMW forum believe that the laser headlights are superior to the newer LEDs (at least on the highway). City driving? Maybe they are as good, but highway? I doubt it but I haven’t done the experiment to verify.
The Digital Lights will easily match/exceed the Laser light. The laser light in our M8 Comp. were great but not exceptional. Here is a somewhat relevant test that measured lumens and perceived light output and the Scoda Matrix LED beat the BMW Laser light (X5M, M8). The W222 intelligent lighting system in the W222 (incl. Euro standard) is nice but dated and inferior to the W223 lighting. Definitely the Digital light is the one to get here when finally available.
I forget, the digital lights should become available as standard across the range.
I'd also mention a small thing that old people will notice: I have little use for heated seats, I seldom use them. But I do like to turn on the heated wheel fairly often for my poor old hands, and if there is a way to do it without turning on the seats, I haven't figured it out. That should become a switch, nothing you dig into the infotainment to find.
Crab on my car there is a button behind the steering wheel which activates the heated wheel alone. I am away this week and without my car so can not take a picture of it. I will when I return if you can not locate it
I found it right away, I had been looking in the infotainment. Says something about the car that I never entertained a physical button; or at least that's my rationalization!
I found it right away, I had been looking in the infotainment. Says something about the car that I never entertained a physical button; or at least that's my rationalization!
You're not way out in left field, with your assumption... I just had an EQE SUV loaner, and there was NO switch for the steering wheel heat. Rather, the steering wheel heat seemed to be connected to the seat heat switch only (i.e. no way to have one without the other).
I think this is an inexcusable step backwards, in the name of cost engineering. Boo! Hiss! Grrr!
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
