Frenetic

What’s your biggest wishlist for the refresh?

Here are mine in no particular order:

1. A ZF 8-speed transmission. Mercedes’ 9-speed transmission is pure garbage. There’s absolutely NO EXCUSE this thing should shift as poorly as it does now.
2. 4-zone climate control standard. The way they hide 4-zone climate control now is ridiculous. I can option out 4-zone climate control in an Accord a hell of lot easier than this thing. It should be standard in this car imo. It’s sacrilege that the “limo” of cars doesn’t have this regardless of options.
3. HUD standard or part of some common package. There are way too many dealer S classes without the damn HUD.
4. Drive pilot as a one-time payment option.
5. A little more cushioning in the standard seats.
6. Slightly better build quality.

Streamliner

I would add that EVERYTHING about the cars be thoroughly tested and all less than perfect items be addressed before launch. Of course, some issues will make it into production, but hopefully it will be significantly fewer than what the pre-refresh 223’s came with.

S_W222

This is a good list, but my must-have list includes:

1. Minimum of 10-degree rear steering regardless of wheel size option. Rear wheel steering is a must have and I'd not consider a car without it. I read some threads that 5 degrees can be coded to 10 degrees safely with some wheel sizes, but I'd like to see that standard with the AMG body and 20" wheels since it was proven to be fine geometrically via coding.
2. Absolutely yes for a new or redesigned transmission. No "major" issues with my facelift W222, but the transmission absolutely sucks compared to any BMW I had.
3. Drive-pilot is already available, but I agree with the one-time payment option. I got the newly released (just a few days ago) full self driving with 100% "hands free" drive including city-roads on my Tesla, and for highways, I learned to appreciate a good drive pilot, so this will be a must if I ever get the W223. At least, I know all BMW options have a good pilot (even though it's limited to highways for autonomous full hands-free driving). Those are one of the things you will never understand or appreciate until you try it.
4. Last i looked, the executive rear seat option with screens was not available with the AMG body. I think this has changed already now, but am not sure. I certainly would like the executive-trim interior options to be bundled with the AMG body.
5. I haven't drove the W223 long enough to judge the seats, but the seats in my W222 were great. The seat geometry was a bit weird during my short drives testing the W223.
6. Let's hope that the front headlights will be redesigned at least just slightly. Am not a fan of the front bumper design as a carry over from the W222 (looked better with the larger headlights in the W222) and I feel that hte headlights interior design and bumper will benefit a lot from the facelift. I already love the rear of that car so hopefully they won't touch that.
7. My biggest complaint... the MBUX system and screen layout.. absolutely ugly. I hope to see the E-class style dashboard with the facelift...I wouldn't mind the hyper screen design if they keep some wood around it somehow.

I don't care about HUD and 4-zone AC becoming standard, cause I won't buy the car unless it's loaded with these options anyway... Keeping the options is probably better for those looking for a cheaper or more affordable build or don't need the options.. So I don't see why they should make them standard. What concerns me is when some of the options are NOT available with a certain combination of other options, but that's not the case here.

Lou B

I don't think anyone could object to #6.
I couldn't care less about any of the others as they don't matter a stale donut to me. Perfectly happy with all aspects of my '18 S560, and cannot see myself, at my age, being even slightly tempted to a newer car.

crabman

The 4-zone just needs to be decoupled from exec, and while I'm at it, exec should be broken up into smaller pieces.

I'd also suggest that every car have an available 4 seat option, it should not be nested in a huge bundle of junk.

The ridiculously soft throttle tip-in needs to die.

Phone as a key. User generated guest keys. Emergency key card.

Door hinges should be infinite stop. Powered doors, front and back. Door handles should be ditched, or made to work correctly.

Fob failing to time-out correctly should be found and fixed, wake lock bugs need to be found, and fixed. Auto Lock should be a user selectable option.

Windshield wipers and headlights need improvement, but are woefully lacking.

Give back our umbrella holder.

Electroluminescent sunroof.

Adjust steering wheel, gauge, and sensor relationship to reduce or eliminate loss of eye contact.

The 21" flat tire's shouldn't be happening, bring 18" as an option, square setups as an option on AMG.

Base floor mats should be of higher quality, the current offerings would blend right in on any rental car. Nice wool mats as an option.

Streamliner

Lots of great suggestions and I’ll add another big one: Offer the W223 with full electric propulsion. Of course, that won’t happen, but maybe when the W224 comes along. Electric is where it’s at!

crabman

Sounds like the EQ is getting folded into the respective model lineups, more like BMW, in other words. At least that seems to be the buzz. In my mind that's far enough out, even if it is the longer range plan now, it's hardly written in stone.

S_W222

Wait, W223 doesn’t have phone as a key (UWB) option !!!???
Bummer… for some reason I always assumed W223 has it…
all the cars in my garage now have phone as a key (except the honda)!!!! UWB works flawlessly in our BMWs and the Tesla. I don’t carry any keys now.

crabman

Nope. The 223 is all caveman when it comes to the locks. No phone as a key. No ability to send keys over the Internet. No wallet key card. No walk and lock. No programmable fob functions.

You do however get cool door handles, that may or may not work, depending on whether you did, or did not, follow a rigorous set of undocumented procedures.

Frenetic

Yeah, I completely forgot to mention the finicky door handles. Traditional handles would be great and I agree that a phone key would be really nice as well. My old BMW from five years ago had a card key, which was really nice and they offer UWB key capabilities.

Oh, one more thing: all cameras record during driving, not just the front. BMW offers this as part of their onboard drive recorder system. All cameras record.

W205C43PFL

Hopefully the facelift W223 brings it over, I mean the W214 has it now, does it not?

I want to add to the wish list of more wood! : )

Lou B

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp..." Robert Browning, "Andrea del Sarto."

QuadBenz

Not sure what all the door handle talk is about. We have 2 MBs with pop-out handles. They have worked great for the last couple years. No issues.

teksurv

The pop out door handles on my EQ have worked well for me too. That said, other members on this forum have had issues with the handles presenting, etc. I will say the current BMW implementation seems better, less to go wrong.

Streamliner

I believe it has been hit or miss with the “Pop-Out” door handles. Some owners have had a good experience, while others have had a VERY bad experience. My feeling is that even when the handles worked as designed, they were STILL ridiculous. The pop-out handles answered a question that NOBODY asked, except Mr. Musk. MB had PERFECT door handles—which are still used on the majority of their vehicles—that worked seamlessly for decades. I can only assume that someone in Stuttgart said “Hey, I know: Let’s copy Tesla and make pop-out door handles!”

It is a simple fact that the W223–at least through the first two to three model years—caused many owners a tremendous number of problems—from simply irritating issues like the door handles, to potentially life threatening situations when the cars might completely shut down in the middle of a busy highway. In my opinion—which is based on my 18 month ownership of a 2022 S580–MB tried to change too much all at once with the W223 and did so as they stumbled through the CCP Virus fiasco, resulting in the launch of a new S Class that had not been tested, properly sorted & refined nearly enough, leaving owners to deal with the numerous issues. The W223 needed newly designed, overly complicated,“Rube Goldberg” door handles like it needed a second steering wheel.

crabman

Mine worked as expected, so long as I kept the car locked and kept the fob out of contact. If you didn't, it was hit-and-miss.

I actually thought they were kind of cool, but they weren't additive to an elevated experience. By that, I mean that they're gone, but I don't miss them at all. They didn't do anything to make my day better, my life easier.

I miss the 4D. I miss the excellent HUD. I miss the serenity of the quiet, insulated, cabin. These things were positive, they did something to make my life better. The door handles were not positive, did nothing to make my life better.

No question in my mind. They need to lose them, or the problems associated with them. The whiz bang is cool, problems not so much.

tonupbklyn

cam rear view mirror

SW20S

Phone as key is coming on 2025, so the refresh will have it for sure.

Personally, my transmission shifts great. One of the smoothest most imperceptible transmissions I’ve had. Don’t know if changes have been made there for 2024.

I would like to see some build quality improvements inside. The console in wood vs the piano black. E class style screen setup. Would like to see the seats get a little wider, they are quite narrow.

W205C43PFL

That is good news, it is like a dream come true to hear an MB transmission shift smooth.

BenjaminKohl

Accord doesn't offer rear climate zones. I don't know of any "mainstream" sedans that offer it actually, only on 3 row SUVs.

Frenetic

It was a figurative point. Rear-seat climate control is readily available in most Audi and BMW sedans, even the lower-end models, and not buried in some overblown option package. I think it’s the same for Lexus and Acura sedans.

crabman

To be frank; on MBs uber sedan, their icon, it shouldn't be an option at all, it should be standard equipment. But if nothing else, at least unbundle it. Choice is one of the greatest luxuries; and one largely denied to S Class owners.

SW20S

They did unbundle it for 2025 according to the order guide.

Lexus bundles rear seat HVAC too, have to get luxury packages etc.

I do agree it should be standard. That hole in the back of the console where the controls should be looks chintzy.

crabman

Good to know, I hadn't perused it. Also good that they appear to be listening to owner feedback; gotta give them cred there.

Streamliner

As I have said many times here: True luxury is having something the way YOU want it, not the way some bean counters decide you should have it. My beef since the W222 was first released was the Panorama Roof being standard equipment in the USA. Personally, I hate the black glass roofs. In Germany and some other markets, it was optional, but here in the land of plenty, you had to take it whether you wanted it or not.