[Mkultra40]

I see it on the app but don't know how it works. We apparently get 1 year of free charging at Ionity stations but nowhere else (if I understood him correctly). I did ask about that specifically. Apparently the day it all begins is yesterday despite us not having the car yet. I believe you link a charge card to the account and it should work. I also notice the app heavily favors the Mercedez wall charger unit which I didn't buy. I will ask about the things that are listed as not included on the app but I paid for so I suppose this is the fine tuning he has to do at the dealership. They seem to have a great deal of control on this kind of stuff. Perhaps I can talk him into adding the 10-degree radius turning as that is just a software purchase and probably something he can add. Our salesman is also the manager so perhaps it gets easier still for him. He did tell me it takes roughly 4 days for the Mercedes Me app to download all the features. Not sure why that would be but he seemed to expect it as normal. He also knew about the Apple issues and said there is nothing they can do about it. It is something the programmers screwed up at Mercedes. BUt, I find this kind of thing constantly so programmers are not particularly good anymore.

The options are very different packages in each country. Here we have Premium, Advantage, and Advantage Plus. I ended up with the latter but it doesn't include a lot of features standard in packages in the US. I added the AMG exterior but was unaware there is also an AMG interior option. I added the remote parking, the tiny stars grill but rejected the night vision package which I think just adds tinting and some minor trim. I added the Nappa leather which also forced an upgrade to the MBUX large screen which I wanted anyway. The rear passenger stuff is all extra and not in a package. Really, here almost everything is listed separately. Sadly, there is no English language for the configurator so I had to rely on Google Translate in Chrome to do that and it is hit and miss for the Hungarian language. The dealer salesman speaks conversational English (moderately) but can't read it and has a lot of difficulty explaining features so I likely missed a few I wanted. My conversational Hungarian isn't up to the task for a lot of things and Hungarian is probably the hardest language in the world to learn. I learned Chinese easier than Hungarian as an example. That is how different it is from English or anything European. It isn't a complaint about Hungary on my part just part of living here which can make things difficult. We chose to live here and this is part of the process. It extends to a lot of things like social values etc. which are also very different from western Europe or the US.

Hungarian and Finish I always found unfathomable. I don't envy you. Helsinki was one of my offices and I remember my first trip there a million years ago, listening to the TV in the hotel in the morning for 30 minutes and the only word I genuinely comprehended was can you believe "Microsoft"! We have a Ukrainian family stopping with us due to the troubles there and the 12 year old can (get this) count to 20 in Ukrainian of course, English, Hebrew and Japanese. Career wise I calculated recently that I'd done over 2000 return flights (quite a few to Japan) and this kid is a country mile ahead of me at 12.

Yes I believe the free offer is Ionity. not sure you have that there or not. Not many in the UK yet. Well not many further up country.

Worth to check the Plug & Charge. That should be standard I believe but again country options may make that different.

The Apple thing is a huge oversight. Not one that impacts us but it would not take a marketing genius to fathom a certain synergy between EQS and Apple types. Poor stuff which surely they must be treating as a priority to resolve.

The UK option sets are easier if narrower than rest of Europe. Still it causes me to go back and check a good deal deeper given the indicators from your side. And it more than sounds like you did your homework. Imagine being the guy who just pushed play.

 

[borschelrh]

It wasn't an option when we ordered and it will not be available in some countries. There is definitely no LIDAR on our car. I see that throughout the owner's manual warning about countries having different requirements. Beats me how you are supposed to know what is available in your country if the dealer doesn't even know himself. He already says I know way more about the car than anyone else in Hungary. That should be frightening. I am in fact the only sale in the country. They don't expect anymore unless some companies buy them. Here large value purchases are always made through corporations with corporate ownership to avoid sales taxes. I see this in my marina where all the rich guy's yachts are actually owned by companies. So, it is the same for cars. However, these same rich guys are all in their upper 20's and lower 30's age group and the EQS is not their style. In my marina, there are at least 5 Porche Taycan's, a few Tesla Model X and S, and several Audi E-Tron RX GT. No BMW or Volvo's yet. The Taycans seem to be the go-to car for this age and socio-economic group. The whole marina thing is bizarre to me. Lake Balaton is a large lake (the largest in Eastern Europe) but very shallow with an average depth of 3.5 meters. So, small boats like my centerboard racing yacht with a draft of 1.2 meters are fine. But, these Novo Riche guys are putting 65-foot luxury yachts in a lake that drops a meter or so in summer if the rainfall is low so impossible to sail at all for anything with a draft over 2.5 meters. Truly they have more money than brains. I am over in the cheap seats section of the marina for smaller yachts and we get the crappy parking as well. Generally, I bicycle there and back and only use my car if I need to take something big to the boat (like a gas can). I sail every day weather permitting (except Saturdays when the lake is packed with rich guys who don't know how to sail or understand right-of-way rules). They added 11kw charging to a lot of parking spots in the marina but at an annual cost of roughly $250 just to use the feature. The Porche/Tesla guys leave their cars there more or less permanently. I will be home charging so won't need it. Most people live in Budapest and come only on weekends (and holidays) so weekdays it is nice and empty. Most are also politically connected as well so live by different rules than mere mortals. Hungary has massive corruption.

 

[Mkultra40]

It wasn't an option when we ordered and it will not be available in some countries. There is definitely no LIDAR on our car. I see that throughout the owner's manual warning about countries having different requirements. Beats me how you are supposed to know what is available in your country if the dealer doesn't even know himself. He already says I know way more about the car than anyone else in Hungary. That should be frightening. I am in fact the only sale in the country. They don't expect anymore unless some companies buy them. Here large value purchases are always made through corporations with corporate ownership to avoid sales taxes. I see this in my marina where all the rich guy's yachts are actually owned by companies. So, it is the same for cars. However, these same rich guys are all in their upper 20's and lower 30's age group and the EQS is not their style. In my marina, there are at least 5 Porche Taycan's, a few Tesla Model X and S, and several Audi E-Tron RX GT. No BMW or Volvo's yet. The Taycans seem to be the go-to car for this age and socio-economic group. The whole marina thing is bizarre to me. Lake Balaton is a large lake (the largest in Eastern Europe) but very shallow with an average depth of 3.5 meters. So, small boats like my centerboard racing yacht with a draft of 1.2 meters are fine. But, these Novo Riche guys are putting 65-foot luxury yachts in a lake that drops a meter or so in summer if the rainfall is low so impossible to sail at all for anything with a draft over 2.5 meters. Truly they have more money than brains. I am over in the cheap seats section of the marina for smaller yachts and we get the crappy parking as well. Generally, I bicycle there and back and only use my car if I need to take something big to the boat (like a gas can). I sail every day weather permitting (except Saturdays when the lake is packed with rich guys who don't know how to sail or understand right-of-way rules). They added 11kw charging to a lot of parking spots in the marina but at an annual cost of roughly $250 just to use the feature. The Porche/Tesla guys leave their cars there more or less permanently. I will be home charging so won't need it. Most people live in Budapest and come only on weekends (and holidays) so weekdays it is nice and empty. Most are also politically connected as well so live by different rules than mere mortals. Hungary has massive corruption.

Very interesting demographics .... think I know what you mean Great observations. Beards, tans, gold jewellery Armani and Porsche.

Yes my dealer is the same .... so were Audi in the previous attempted purchase.

I went to great pains not to look the smart ass and show how much I read and watched and researched. Although I did. But the void of knowledge was overwhelming. Really so. On a product level, salable configurations, basic electrical knowledge and to be frank, the manufacturing machine itself. I sort of expected these guys to know a guy who knew a guy. The line of defence seemed to be more a shrug and a 'they don't tell us anything' type approach. Truly woeful. It came to a point were I really had to politely do the 'are you sure about that' ..... and they were not. So many examples. In fairness I also managed to conclude that they were absolutely not getting support from country level or corporate.

A few times I tried make the pitch about what my company would do when they drop a new product or a major market release .... i.e. send a person from each major region to head manufacturing plant for a month to be educated, brainwashed and go home with a hot-line to god, for when problems or customers like you and I crop up to play whack-a-mole (in a good way) when clever, angry or relevant questions come up.

Surely that's how any half organised major product launch is supported. Apparently not at Audi or Mercedes. And I say that not with sarcasm but some degree of fact. I spoke with Audi HQ UK several times at length and they eventually coughed it up that that was not the case that did not have a product specialist. something I still struggle to believe.

 

[Mkultra40]

Very interesting minor strip down and analysis of design by Munro. Nice explanation without getting too tech heavy ...

Also a similar one about interior design from the same organisation .....

There's also one covering the functions of the hyperscreen

 

[borschelrh]

It is worth asking but I would be very surprised if they knew anything about it. The gesture controls are going to need the driver's camera which is an option with the large hyperscreen. I doubt it is enabled currently and likely won't be available everywhere. I notice the UK is very resistant to driver assistance things while Germany is keen on it (until they aren't). Hungary seems to be in the middle and favors the German stuff. I think Level 3 driving will never be approved here and maybe that is okay. Hungarian drivers are absolutely awful and drive very aggressively. They almost never use turn signals and always, and I don't understand this at all, when passing cut back in within inches in front of you for no reason at all. My current Passat has excellent radar distance keeping and it absolutely freaks out when the drivers do this as it senses an imminent collision and jams on the brakes and sends a wild vibration warning in the steering wheel. From what I am reading the EQS is very similar and probably uses the same systems which ironically are made here locally in Veszprem at the Continental factory. They make cruise controls and ABS systems there as well as other stuff. We also get Romanian and Slovakian drivers passing through who are even worse than Hungarians (speed demons) and I can't even describe the Italians as they are in another league of bad drivers. Driving along the Amalfi Coast was an experience to be believed and lanes seemed to mean nothing to Italians, especially on blind curves. It is as bad as driving in Maryland which has a lot of ethnic young men hyped on testosterone and cocaine. Italy and Maryland seem to be identical in that regard. You see some insane stunts on the freeways in Maryland.

Anyway, my point is the drive pilot sounds good but in real life is probably useless. My Passat already does exactly the same thing in slow traffic with the exception I have to keep my hands on the wheel (periodically) or it complains. It senses micromovements in the steering and if none happen (I think it challenges you with tiny effort you need to counter physically) it sounds a tone and if you don't respond it shocks the wheel and if you still don't respond it pulls over and stops the car. That is in a car 7years old so it should be improved in the EQS (I hope). I will add that the car's lane following feature also freaks out if the lines are blurred or like in construction areas multiple different old and new lines. It can take you where you definitely don't want to go and you have to fight the wheel to stop it from doing something very dangerous. In Europe, the roads seem to be in constant repair so this is always a big problem and the computers can't handle it at all. I also have problems, particularly on curves where the car loses tracking of the road edge due to dirt covering the lines and turns off without warning which can be alarming if you are relying on it which is something you tend to do with these fully automatic safety features. When they work they are wonderful and very helpful but when not it is scary. I think this is where the Teslas fail. They opted to not use radar so rely on cameras for everything (very stupid but apparently a thing of Musk to NEVER use radar or ultrasound). The EQS uses it all which is probably a lot better and can avoid some of the horrible collisions the Teslas experience.

The camera in the EQS always watches the driver to see what you are doing and looking at. For example, if your passenger is watching a movie and you glance over to look at it then it will shut off the screen on the passenger's side. I did read it captures all of this and records it and will give everything to the police in an accident. It records pedal pressure, braking, acceleration, body position, eye movement, and probably sounds as well. They give lots of legal warnings about it and you have to sign you understand it. That was probably at the insistence of the American authorities who are now the most invasive and authoritarian government on the planet (UK being second). You have no say in this and likely it is in everything being made now. The US also is requiring a remote kill switch as well so cops can turn your car off. Welcome to the dystopian future.

 

[borschelrh]

I'll watch the Munro video today. Here is the one I liked the ost. She actually does great reviews which are also fun to watch.

 

[Mkultra40]

It is worth asking but I would be very surprised if they knew anything about it. The gesture controls are going to need the driver's camera which is an option with the large hyperscreen. I doubt it is enabled currently and likely won't be available everywhere. I notice the UK is very resistant to driver assistance things while Germany is keen on it (until they aren't). Hungary seems to be in the middle and favors the German stuff. I think Level 3 driving will never be approved here and maybe that is okay. Hungarian drivers are absolutely awful and drive very aggressively. They almost never use turn signals and always, and I don't understand this at all, when passing cut back in within inches in front of you for no reason at all. My current Passat has excellent radar distance keeping and it absolutely freaks out when the drivers do this as it senses an imminent collision and jams on the brakes and sends a wild vibration warning in the steering wheel. From what I am reading the EQS is very similar and probably uses the same systems which ironically are made here locally in Veszprem at the Continental factory. They make cruise controls and ABS systems there as well as other stuff. We also get Romanian and Slovakian drivers passing through who are even worse than Hungarians (speed demons) and I can't even describe the Italians as they are in another league of bad drivers. Driving along the Amalfi Coast was an experience to be believed and lanes seemed to mean nothing to Italians, especially on blind curves. It is as bad as driving in Maryland which has a lot of ethnic young men hyped on testosterone and cocaine. Italy and Maryland seem to be identical in that regard. You see some insane stunts on the freeways in Maryland.

Anyway, my point is the drive pilot sounds good but in real life is probably useless. My Passat already does exactly the same thing in slow traffic with the exception I have to keep my hands on the wheel (periodically) or it complains. It senses micromovements in the steering and if none happen (I think it challenges you with tiny effort you need to counter physically) it sounds a tone and if you don't respond it shocks the wheel and if you still don't respond it pulls over and stops the car. That is in a car 7years old so it should be improved in the EQS (I hope). I will add that the car's lane following feature also freaks out if the lines are blurred or like in construction areas multiple different old and new lines. It can take you where you definitely don't want to go and you have to fight the wheel to stop it from doing something very dangerous. In Europe, the roads seem to be in constant repair so this is always a big problem and the computers can't handle it at all. I also have problems, particularly on curves where the car loses tracking of the road edge due to dirt covering the lines and turns off without warning which can be alarming if you are relying on it which is something you tend to do with these fully automatic safety features. When they work they are wonderful and very helpful but when not it is scary. I think this is where the Teslas fail. They opted to not use radar so rely on cameras for everything (very stupid but apparently a thing of Musk to NEVER use radar or ultrasound). The EQS uses it all which is probably a lot better and can avoid some of the horrible collisions the Teslas experience.

The camera in the EQS always watches the driver to see what you are doing and looking at. For example, if your passenger is watching a movie and you glance over to look at it then it will shut off the screen on the passenger's side. I did read it captures all of this and records it and will give everything to the police in an accident. It records pedal pressure, braking, acceleration, body position, eye movement, and probably sounds as well. They give lots of legal warnings about it and you have to sign you understand it. That was probably at the insistence of the American authorities who are now the most invasive and authoritarian government on the planet (UK being second). You have no say in this and likely it is in everything being made now. The US also is requiring a remote kill switch as well so cops can turn your car off. Welcome to the dystopian future.

Excellent observations as always. Yes driving in the east is interesting to say the least. And although I've not personally driven so often out there, I've been driven many times. It gets worse again the further out of town you I found. Aggressive in the cities but just bizarre the further out and more rural it gets. In Italy I believe it's a mandatory part of the test to form your own rule set My IT manager there is the most mild mannered, gentle, cultured soul living in the most beautiful part of Milan and living a life I could only dream of. But put him in his Alfa and something changes. It's entertaining.

Strangely the UK seems be appearing get it's act together .... at least on paper. After years of a very conservative approach, the noises are much more forward at the moment. Let's see. But take your point that it could be an expensive option that could have minimal application.

Strange, we are not huge TV watchers but have recently took to a few of the better series off Prime and Apple. Watched on (only last night) called Startup and they showed precisely what you describe. A laptop being used by actor supposed to be an NSA agent who did precisely as you mention and killed the car dead and then disabled the guy's phone. A whole new dimension. Think I will hand on to my 1994 diesel base model Peugeot 106 with mind up windows .... just in case I need to outrun the feds On a serious note, that's scary new world stuff.

 

[borschelrh]

Yep. On the other hand, you can disable the car yourself if it is stolen. But I agree it is some sinister stuff. There was a theory that Michael Hedges was killed by the CIA in California when he was writing a scathing article about General McChrystal. The CIA only a few weeks later revealed they can take control of anyone's car in the US that has computer chips in them. Hmm.

Those two videos were excellent, especially the guy for the interior. You get what you pay for in the EQS but you pay the same for less in the Tesla Model S, which was my (not my wife's) only other consideration. So, seeing our car I am happy. We are picking it up late tomorrow as soon as the plates arrive. Here you must have insurance in place before the registration can proceed to the plate issuing phase. It also must be paid for separately in cash at 157,000 HUF. We do get green plates which supposedly get us free city parking. but only in some cities. Our town went crazy and has implemented paid parking everywhere including the hospital. On the other hand, our property tax is very low at around $200 per year so this money pays for things like flowers everywhere and nice streets. There is also a head tax of 15 euros a night for visitors which also helps. Balatonfured is a destination resort for Hungarians and the rare European. I have never seen any other Americans here. Lots of Brits though, many of whom moved here. Anyway, plan to ask for the 10-degree turning in lieu of receiving the charger which is only software and probably easy to implement for them under the table. I see it is 157,000 HUF ($430) on the Mercedes store app so cheap enough for them.

 

[Mkultra40]

Yep. On the other hand, you can disable the car yourself if it is stolen. But I agree it is some sinister stuff. There was a theory that Michael Hedges was killed by the CIA in California when he was writing a scathing article about General McChrystal. The CIA only a few weeks later revealed they can take control of anyone's car in the US that has computer chips in them. Hmm.

Those two videos were excellent, especially the guy for the interior. You get what you pay for in the EQS but you pay the same for less in the Tesla Model S, which was my (not my wife's) only other consideration. So, seeing our car I am happy. We are picking it up late tomorrow as soon as the plates arrive. Here you must have insurance in place before the registration can proceed to the plate issuing phase. It also must be paid for separately in cash at 157,000 HUF. We do get green plates which supposedly get us free city parking. but only in some cities. Our town went crazy and has implemented paid parking everywhere including the hospital. On the other hand, our property tax is very low at around $200 per year so this money pays for things like flowers everywhere and nice streets. There is also a head tax of 15 euros a night for visitors which also helps. Balatonfured is a destination resort for Hungarians and the rare European. I have never seen any other Americans here. Lots of Brits though, many of whom moved here. Anyway, plan to ask for the 10-degree turning in lieu of receiving the charger which is only software and probably easy to implement for them under the table. I see it is 157,000 HUF ($430) on the Mercedes store app so cheap enough for them.

The part of the brain that likes conspiracy smiles internally. The part that rationalises the implications shudders more than little.

Yes I thought they were interesting. And as you say the one with the guy explaining stitching lines and approaches was really fascinating. There are a couple more but the one is a bit meh .... a guy who clearly has a Tesla leaning expressing his thoughts on the minimalist Tesla and the slightly bling EQS. I get his point a little. There is a slight over adornment on the EQS but what the hell. Is like the difference to stop at the Armani hotel and One & Only Royal Mirage. The one may show what a grown up you are but the other is way more enjoyable. Tastes and styles I guess.

Like your assessment on the EQS/Tesla ..... "You get what you pay for in the EQS but you pay the same for less in the Tesla Model S" ... spot on.

I'd say that was a good trade on the 10 deg. After all it's software not hardware bolt on's. In theory cheaper than the obligatory 'free set of mats and a tank of petrol' thing of the past.

And although I feel less like an Intercontinental Royal Ambassador checking in and more a member of a Chinese tour group with a name tag and matching hat with a room facing the AC and no view at the other end of the check in desk, purchase experience wise, I'd say there is more than a little cache in being the first (and only) EQS buyer and owner in Magyar.

Post some photos please Borscherlh, in the sun and real world. I feel I'm going to be changing my order!!! And adding another half year to the ETA!

 

[Mkultra40]

I should have said, ask your good lady wife to take some pro shots in the sun and picturesque locality Borschelrh. It may become my new windows background

 

[borschelrh]

Picked it up yesterday and spent a lot of time getting it set up. It is cold, windy, and rainy today so I'll wait for the weather to clear. It barely fits in our garage though but we have 2 cm to spare. It is a wonderful car and fairly quiet. The sound system works well and I was able to put all our music on a thumb drive which it recognizes. They provide and USB-c to USB-A adapter but I had a USB-C thumb drive anyway. The AC is the loudest thing and a bit annoying but I'll get that figured out too. The bummer is only one phone can have an active Mercedes Me account. My phone is an older Samsung S-9 Pro+ and the Remote parking won't install. In fact, it is limited to very few phone models. My wife's iPhone 13 Pro works fine and I was able to set it up. I will get a relatively cheap ($250) Samsung Galaxy A52S which does work (supposedly) on Monday. The charger I have works fine and using single phase 220 I am getting 3.5 Kw/h which is enough albeit slow. However, it can only be on a circuit that isn't running anything else. Everything in the garage also has the garden and I have a well with large submerged pump so can't charge while the pump is running. I may run an extension from the house (it is our in-laws house and currently unoccupied except for 2 weeks a year). We use that houses 3-car garage as ours is used as storage. I have an electrician coming towards the end of the month to put in a dedicated 3-phase line. No big deal as we pay the utilities for the entire property anyway. The house already has 3-phase which is standard here in Hungary so he just needs to set up a separate set of breakers. I'll go play with remote parking after it finishes charging in a couple of hours. They didn't charge the car up all the way (50%) nor did I get any discounts or freebies.

I'll get some photos up once the weather clears.

 

[borschelrh]

 

[Mkultra40]

Serious wow. You have to be pleased with that. I am now seriously reconsidering technical silver.

Cannot remember if we discussed the lengthy debates on line as to whether this is a good or bad paint to maintain. I was nudged away form the decision to go with this by our dealer. There is a lot of debate in fairness.

But @Dar posted a good easy to understand youtube video that highlights the do's and don't of the matted paints. I've took the liberty of high-jacking it from his original post for you to see.

A good 2 bucket cleaning regime and a was free wash seem to be key. Worth a watch if you have not already gone through that.

 

[Mkultra40]

I'll watch the Munro video today. Here is the one I liked the ost. She actually does great reviews which are also fun to watch.

Only just watched this. She is brilliant at that. As you funny and interesting. Never seen that one. very cool.

 

[borschelrh]

Remote parking turns out to be too cautious and won't permit me to drive into a narrow opening like the one in our garage. Otherwise all is as expected. The doors don't open or close automatically either but maybe this is how it is supposed to be. I am researching it now. It turns out it is yet another option I failed to recognize in Hungarian. No big loss. I can open and close doors myself.

The MBUX menus are very badly organized and it is very hard to find stuff when you want to. The MBUX voice isn't very helpful either and only permits simple commands. Asking something like "open the settings for seat comfort" it just responds I can't do that right now. Pretty much for everything. Even dumb stuff like what is the outside temperature it can't answer. So, software-wise it is pretty awful. I can't for the life of me find the facial recognition setup menu although I saw it once and bypassed it being in a hurry for something else and now can't find it again and nothing in the manual about it as to how to get to it. I suppose more time spent going through the menus will reveal more. The same for the seat width adjustment which I also can't find again but set up my seat fine. Now my wife wants to do it to hers and I can't find the menu again. Very frustrating. Maybe it is under the massage menu which makes no sense at all.

The matte paint is probably not a big deal. I like the look and have been using a powered hand wash station at a local filling station that uses purified water. It is 200 HUF for 2 minutes and does a nice job. Our water here is extremely corrosive and the hardest in the world. The lake is actually filled by natural mineral water springs and is so cloudy with calcium carbonate you can't see 2 inches in front of your face underwater. It does give the water a beautiful chalky turquoise color that changes colors depending on the sunlight. But, all unpurified water here leaves heavy calcium deposits. I use a reverse osmosis system in our house for cooking water. But, the water eats through all gaskets and anything rubber in months. I am using ceramic gaskets as much as possible but mostly toilets fail a couple of times a year each. It is a real pain. Anyway, I'll just spray it off and see what I get. I do it every few weeks or so anyway and wee keep the car in the garage all the time. That said even after 1 day there is obvious dust. We get a lot of dust here. I have a battery-powered leaf blower I blow off all the patios, walkways, decks, and driveway, daily. I'll hit the car with it as well now. Periodically we get a weird yellow greasy dust from North Africa that covers everything. It is a real pain to clean and my boat gets it bad. I spend a fair amount of time washing the boat too. BUt, it can gunk up the anemometer and wind wane on my boat so I have to get a crane lift up to the top of my 9.5-meter mast to clean it. No big deal using a bosun's chair. The crane is massive and 35 meters tall from the old Soviet days when our marina was a shipyard for large sailboats.

The worst is the Hyperscreen which they put high gloss reflective glass on. They provide a lint-free rugged cloth for wiping it down. I may add a membrane cover to it and see if that improves it some. No big deal but it needs to be wiped down every day. The carpets are a separate problem and show all dirt. I will be adding different mats and a trunk liner as well.

 

[Mkultra40]

Remote parking turns out to be too cautious and won't permit me to drive into a narrow opening like the one in our garage. Otherwise all is as expected. The doors don't open or close automatically either but maybe this is how it is supposed to be. I am researching it now. It turns out it is yet another option I failed to recognize in Hungarian. No big loss. I can open and close doors myself.

The MBUX menus are very badly organized and it is very hard to find stuff when you want to. The MBUX voice isn't very helpful either and only permits simple commands. Asking something like "open the settings for seat comfort" it just responds I can't do that right now. Pretty much for everything. Even dumb stuff like what is the outside temperature it can't answer. So, software-wise it is pretty awful. I can't for the life of me find the facial recognition setup menu although I saw it once and bypassed it being in a hurry for something else and now can't find it again and nothing in the manual about it as to how to get to it. I suppose more time spent going through the menus will reveal more. The same for the seat width adjustment which I also can't find again but set up my seat fine. Now my wife wants to do it to hers and I can't find the menu again. Very frustrating. Maybe it is under the massage menu which makes no sense at all.

The matte paint is probably not a big deal. I like the look and have been using a powered hand wash station at a local filling station that uses purified water. It is 200 HUF for 2 minutes and does a nice job. Our water here is extremely corrosive and the hardest in the world. The lake is actually filled by natural mineral water springs and is so cloudy with calcium carbonate you can't see 2 inches in front of your face underwater. It does give the water a beautiful chalky turquoise color that changes colors depending on the sunlight. But, all unpurified water here leaves heavy calcium deposits. I use a reverse osmosis system in our house for cooking water. But, the water eats through all gaskets and anything rubber in months. I am using ceramic gaskets as much as possible but mostly toilets fail a couple of times a year each. It is a real pain. Anyway, I'll just spray it off and see what I get. I do it every few weeks or so anyway and wee keep the car in the garage all the time. That said even after 1 day there is obvious dust. We get a lot of dust here. I have a battery-powered leaf blower I blow off all the patios, walkways, decks, and driveway, daily. I'll hit the car with it as well now. Periodically we get a weird yellow greasy dust from North Africa that covers everything. It is a real pain to clean and my boat gets it bad. I spend a fair amount of time washing the boat too. BUt, it can gunk up the anemometer and wind wane on my boat so I have to get a crane lift up to the top of my 9.5-meter mast to clean it. No big deal using a bosun's chair. The crane is massive and 35 meters tall from the old Soviet days when our marina was a shipyard for large sailboats.

The worst is the Hyperscreen which they put high gloss reflective glass on. They provide a lint-free rugged cloth for wiping it down. I may add a membrane cover to it and see if that improves it some. No big deal but it needs to be wiped down every day. The carpets are a separate problem and show all dirt. I will be adding different mats and a trunk liner as well.

I think the door opening option is on mine but cleverly 'not yet switched on' for reasons unknown. I've asked the question as to when but so far, nothing by way of an answer. Not so good on the auto park. Have to say the garage looks more than navigable.

Have you found your way round the software better now? I guess some of that is to be expected.

Never knew about the water there. Sounds like you got it from all angles there.

And indeed I'd only recently found out about the benefits of using purified water. Actually explained to me by the window cleaner who uses the same. I'm going to get one of those purified water cleaning units, they look like money well spent. Be interested see how you get on with the cleaning side. But I tend think you are right .... the purified water and was free soap should see 95% of the supposed issue sorted.

Saw a video only this morning that showed and echoes precisely what you say about the Hyperscreen. Maybe it's possible apply some form of anti static treatment or spray? Carpets don't surprise me. Id have loved that interior but in our usage patterns there would be zero chance be able to keep them presentable.

 

[Mkultra40]

Also saw this rather contrary video review. Everyone entitled to opinion but this one flies against most others.

It says interior poor and essentially that it is slow. I didn't get that impression when I tried it. But again you pretty well customer numero uno in Europe. What do you say?

 

[borschelrh]

The menus make a bit more sense now. The seat, lights, etc. are in a different menu heading under Comfort not Settings. One would think Comfort would be a sub-heading under Settings. I still can't find facial recognition so I think it is only seen when doing a driver configuration. I couldn't add my wife as a second driver after trying everything. Only a single phone can be authorized under a Mercedes Me account and only a single car can be added to the driver. Very stupid. On the other hand, she was terrified driving today so it looks like I will be the only one driving now.

Beats me. I am actually able to drive into the garage now without folding the mirrors so plenty of room. But, when using the Remote Parking function the car stops dead just before the door entrance and refuses to budge stating it is unsafe. That is using her phone as mine cannot run the app. Yet another weird software problem. Android (or Apple) should be identical as long as it is above a particular version. I am on Android 11 so it should be fine but the Samsung 9+ cannot run the software. It is time to upgrade anyway, but none of the phones I want are on the list of compatible phones which is a very short list. Theocncenience doors should have been standard but aren't apparent. At least I haven't found them but it could be a software glitch. I went into the system messages and there are about 50 non-functional bugs that limit some features so this might be on of those. I also couldn't get the sound to work with her driving as an unregistered driver. When I drove home it was fine. Beats me why. As a passenger I played around with those menus and couldn't figure it out.

We went to a carpet store and bought several meters of 1 m wide rubber-backed light brown patterned rugs (basically door entry mats for the home) and trimmed new floor mats by hand for the driver, passenger, and cargo area. It looks fine (not elegant but functional). The floors are already filthy with the beige carpet. I'll clean them tomorrow. I am averaging 19 Kw/100 km which I think is okay. But a quick drive to Vesprem and back used roughly 10% (maybe 40km in total). This will take some getting used to. Next week we have to go to Budapest which is roughly a 300 km round trip. That will show the car capabilities better than intermediate and city roads.

 

[borschelrh]

Sorry, I'll watch it tomorrow. But, driving it today it has plenty of oomph. Way faster than my diesel Passat.

 

[Mkultra40]

The menus make a bit more sense now. The seat, lights, etc. are in a different menu heading under Comfort not Settings. One would think Comfort would be a sub-heading under Settings. I still can't find facial recognition so I think it is only seen when doing a driver configuration. I couldn't add my wife as a second driver after trying everything. Only a single phone can be authorized under a Mercedes Me account and only a single car can be added to the driver. Very stupid. On the other hand, she was terrified driving today so it looks like I will be the only one driving now.

Beats me. I am actually able to drive into the garage now without folding the mirrors so plenty of room. But, when using the Remote Parking function the car stops dead just before the door entrance and refuses to budge stating it is unsafe. That is using her phone as mine cannot run the app. Yet another weird software problem. Android (or Apple) should be identical as long as it is above a particular version. I am on Android 11 so it should be fine but the Samsung 9+ cannot run the software. It is time to upgrade anyway, but none of the phones I want are on the list of compatible phones which is a very short list. Theocncenience doors should have been standard but aren't apparent. At least I haven't found them but it could be a software glitch. I went into the system messages and there are about 50 non-functional bugs that limit some features so this might be on of those. I also couldn't get the sound to work with her driving as an unregistered driver. When I drove home it was fine. Beats me why. As a passenger I played around with those menus and couldn't figure it out.

We went to a carpet store and bought several meters of 1 m wide rubber-backed light brown patterned rugs (basically door entry mats for the home) and trimmed new floor mats by hand for the driver, passenger, and cargo area. It looks fine (not elegant but functional). The floors are already filthy with the beige carpet. I'll clean them tomorrow. I am averaging 19 Kw/100 km which I think is okay. But a quick drive to Vesprem and back used roughly 10% (maybe 40km in total). This will take some getting used to. Next week we have to go to Budapest which is roughly a 300 km round trip. That will show the car capabilities better than intermediate and city roads.

Think I will play the PITA customer when mine arrives (would hazard my dealer already has me filed under that heading already) and get them to step though as much as I can set up wise. Mind I don't hold out much hope they will possess and greater skills than you or I.

Could I just ask please Borscherlh, (when you have time of course) could you check if the Sony Xperia Model 1 Mk II is on that phone list please? Have to say, spending £126k on a car only to have to spend another £2k on bloody new phones would irk me some.

Strange timing .... just noticed on the TV in background is a program about Danube cruises and they are just showing/discussing 'The Iron Gates' and the largest sculpture in Europe.... have to confess in my travels there I'd not heard of that.