martinidm

Preface:
I know most of you are waiting on your E63's, and if I had the any patience whatsoever I would have extended my 2014 E550 lease, ordered the E63 and waited. SO I am jealous!!
But I ordered my 2017 E43 back in Feb and FINALLY received it 2 weeks ago. It's loaded save for the 5k-ish stereo system.

-- bad news first.
Coming off my 2014 E550 V8 I can feel the drop a bit. The V6 bi-turbo would be stellar if I didn't know any better.

The whole MBrace wi-fi hotspot is a travesty. To connect to the internet you're better off relying on your smartphone carrier with 2 bars than this hotspot. My wife drives a 2017 BMW X5 and her hotspot is stellar. Just like being at home or at the office. MB is aware of the issue and told me they're working on a possible software update. I'm not holding my breath.

-- the amazing news.
This thing is as tight as a steel drum. Customized my setting to Comfort with SportPlus suspension and this must be what Spiderman feels like. I'm 5 Mercedes in and I've never had a car that handles this well.

Back to the V6 bi-turbo. It's quick enough and I like the sound. A little high pitched, but it shifts you to the next gear at the perfect moment.

Inside it is very luxurious. The driver & passenger seats are extremely comfortable -- not too saggy or too stiff. Don't go for the Tex, Nappa all the way! The massage stuff I never cared about, but my wife loves it now that she has the ability to engage it on the passenger's side.

Until you experience the new digital screen it's hard to describe other than: if you're into tech, the screen is the greatest thing they've put in a benz thus far. It's not distracting at all and, in conjunction with the track pads (incl the ones on the wheel), I'm finding it very easy to use.
1 drawback about the trackpad. It's minor. But you can set the speed to fast, which I love, but once you shut the car off it defaults back to medium, which is annoying.

And the steering wheel...if you don't splurge for the AMG performance steering wheel you're making a mistake. There's no substitute for the way it feels in your hands.

Believe it or not, the perfume function is more useful than I thought it would be.

Also be sure to include the Acoustic Comfort -- it makes a big difference.

Enjoy your E43 & 63 folks!

Bueller

Thanks for the review! Glad I added the acoustic comfort package to my E63 build with only a day or so to spare before the cutoff.

Hoping the Wi Fi issue is indeed software and not hardware.

Ed99

Thanks for the review. How do you compare the power vs your E550 V8?

martinidm

Sadly that initial burst of power isn't there on the E43. For instance: on the on ramp to the highway I was confident in my E550 to enter moving traffic at any given time because it had that powerful burst. With my E43 I've found myself hesitating a lot more...the first couple of days with the E43 I would approach entry into moving traffic the same way I did with my E550 and then I would quickly realize the E43 doesn't have the same burst and I'd slow down and wait for a larger opening to squeeze into.

Once you're on the highway, past 30-40mph, the E43 shows no real difference to the E550 -- they both get you going past 80 in a similar way. However, the E43 is actually smoother in this regard, in my opinion.