So I just returned from a road trip with my wife and 2 kids (ages 5 and 7)that spanned a week and about 3,000 KM (although 1,200 KM were completed on the last day) and thought I would share my thoughts on my car.

Pros

• Incredible highway car -- passing is effortless and never a tense moment even when passing long trucks in tight spaces
• Ample room for 4 people and luggage
• Distronic cruise is awesome
• Automatic highbeams work fantastically in rural areas (admittedly not so well in urban areas where there are street lights)
• Rain sensing wipers work excellent (much better than BMW's versions IMO)
• Excellent fuel consumption for a large powerful car (I averaged 10.8 l / 100 km, which is about 22 miles / US gal)
• Handles very well at higher speeds

Cons

• Cabin noise is much higher than I expected for such an expensive car -- I attribute most of it to tires noise at highway speeds (my car came with P-Zeros)
• Seats are not very comfortable for periods above 4 hours, although the massage function of the driver's seat helps
• Ventilation function of seats is completely anemic -- not sure why Benz couldn't make these so air actually flows through the seats
• Car makes speed limits seem far too low

My $0.02 for what it is worth.

 

22 miles / US gal can't get that in a gallardo

 

577 bhp and 590 lbs-ft of torque and 22 MPG. Amazing.

 

Yeah, I've averaged 21-22 mpg on long trips too. Seriously amazing.

 

7th gear and the aggressive moves towards that gear in comfort mode is key to 22-23 mpg... Gotta love that mpg

 

Glad you had a good trip and enjoyed the car. Great MPG.

Totally agree with the road noise issue, but it is the price we pay for high performance tires.

Totally agree on seat ventilation. Pitiful.

X

 

I read on this forum someone added the taxi style beads to the seat base and the airflow was much better ... Lol... Can't even imagine

 

congrats!
if you take a stock e350 and make the trip on all season tires with plush suspension it would be library quiet i'd think, minus all the adrenaline

 

After I put on Michelin SS, the road noise is down to nothing.

 

I'll have to try Michelins when I burn up my Pirellis. I've had Michelins on other cars and thought that they were a nice balance between performance, comfort and noise.

One other pet peeve that I have -- the navi system does not let you enter addresses on the fly. I understand that this is a safety issue, however, it should be linked to the airbag sensor on the passenger seat (i.e. there is no reason that my wife should not be able to enter a navi address while I am driving).

Despite the little gripes, this is an awesome touring sedan!

 

" the navi system does not let you"

I think that feature and front DVD player can be undone by a stereo shop, not positive

 

<<<@!1!@>>>

One of the best and cheapest first mods for the car is a video in motion cable that will allow you to enter GPS destinations on the fly. Also one of my biggest gripes but it's an easy fix.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-TV-FREE-VIDEO-IN-MOTION-for-E-C-GLK-CLS-W212-W204-X204-2009-2012-NTG4-/261281467593?pt=Car_Audio_Video&hash=item3cd596ccc9

 

There's a reasonably easy-to-use voice recognition entry method for virtually all COMAND functions. Including navigation.

Allows the driver, or passenger to enter destinations while the vehicle is in motion.

Button on the steering wheel. Icon is that of a man speaking.

 

I also notice that with my P-Zeros. Mine are brand new, so I have a few years to deal with them.

 

Have completely different experience with seat comfort: Drove for straight 8 hours last weekend and seat is perfect. Much better than E550... Which is better than E60 M5 seat.... In my experience

I would try adjusting the seat, may not be in optimal position

[/LIST]Cons
[*]Seats are not very comfortable for periods above 4 hours, although the massage function of the driver's seat helps.[/QUOTE]

 

I feel like the seats are more firm than the 2014 e550 seats

I haven't driven more than 1 hour in the car

 

When I bought the E63 last Fall, I had a 650 mile drive from Atlanta in order to get it home. Two days ago, I drove a new Panamera with 14 way seats the 575 miles back from Louisville.

No comparison. The E63 seats are head and shoulders better than the Porsche seats. More comfort. More adjustability. The Porsche has slightly nicer leather and better ventilation, but I had to stop 2X in this week's drive, versus only once in the E63. Neither car is a bad place to do some long distance driving, but I was more comfortable in the Merc.

 

this may sound weird but look at the shoes you are wearing and see if the heel has a lot of material b/c that could cause you to turn your ankle a weird way which in turn will make your hips hurts...strive for good neutral posture and don't lean too far left or right