Thermatic, Command, Sound - A few Questions for the ozzy's

[Mercedes Benz #]

For anybody in Australia who already has a new e320, how would you rate the performance of the thermatic climate control in the very high temperatures. I found that on our 1999 s320 the thermatronic climate control seemed to struggle at the very high temperatures here in Queensland. Also, has anyone heard anything about the retrofitting of the DVD command systems to Australian vehicles. Will the vehicles still be prewired for the syste, unlike those in the US. Finally, how would you rate the standard sound system on the e320? Thanks

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[Callaway]

Don't own the car yet but was advised by my sales guy to invest in the Thermatronic system as it is better in the hot weather as it takes the outside climate into account.

I think we are OK with at least getting Sat Nav fitted retrospectively on already delivered cars as I am sure we use a slightly different system to the US,but want it in writing before picking up the car.

Sound system,I have no idea.

[Mercedes Benz #]

Thanks for the response.

Callaway, is the thermatronic climate control option 4-zone and how much does it cost?

[ICY]

Let's see. Well, Sydney for the past few days has been sweltering too. Yesterday, it reached 43 degrees in the West and 38 degrees on the coast. I left the car outside during lunch for 3 hours, and it was BAKING in the car. I have Tansanite Blue and an anthracite interior, which didn't help heat reflection. I don't have tinting either (and I'd unwittingly left the sunroof shade open).

I'd guessed the car was more than 60 degrees inside (well, that's what they say in the ads when they warn you not to leave children locked in a car...."Zero to 60 (degrees) in 5 minutes").

However, I was suprised. The car cooled down very quickly. Within a few minutes, the car was cool again (I had Thermatic set to 20 degrees- ie. I didn't even crank it down to the coldest setting- the blue dot) and the fan had retured to a reasonable speed (3 on the dial), so it wasn't noisy. All in all, I think it's a great system. It cools very efficiently. I'm sure Thermotronic raises the bar to the next level. However, as I rarely carry a full load of passengers, I deemed the rear climate control etc bit unecessary. I'm not sure, but I think Thermatic also has a solar sensor and humidty sensor to prevent condensation forming on the inside. 4-Zone Thermotronic is standard with the E500 (the 500 also gets the V8 (!!) sunroof and 17" wheels as extra equipment- though no Xenons). I think the Thermotronic was an extra $2500.........though I could be wrong. That's a very rough figure.

As far as I know and from what various dealers have told me, the car is all prewired for the COMMAND DVD APS and the NAVI, despite being currently supplied with the Audio 50. MB Australia says on their website (plus various dealers have mentioned) that the earlier E320s and E500s will be retrofitted with the DVD COMMAND, at no extra cost (in fact, my January delivered car was supposed to have been fitted with it already- but the date has been delayed till around July). I didn't have the foresite to request the retrofit in writing, but I'm sure MB Australia will keep their word

IMHO, I think the standard sound system fitted to my E320 is superb. There is plenty of bass, and the sound is crystal clear. Even at low frequencies, there is very little vibration or rattling from interior trim. In fact, I set the bass lower than the default setting of 0 because it's that powerful (the subwoofer is across the rear parcel shelf I think). However, I haven't heard the HK system yet. But to my undiscerning ears, the standard system is adequate. In fact, I think Mercedes fits very good quality systems on their Australian spec cars. Then again, I'm not a big fan of huge in-car sound systems

[Callaway]

Correct ICY, I just checked my order form and the price of Thermatronic is AUS $2,250.

[Barney]

I can't remember exactly as I got my E320 several months ago but, in the US, they only charge either $450 or $550 for the upgrade to the 4-zone thermatronic which I thought was a good buy. Odd how they seem to price the same option so differently in different countries. I believe the system is standard on all Canadian cars and they certainly don't usually have too much of a problem with heat.

[benggolf]

Option $581 Automatic 4-Zone Climate Control with Active Charcol Filter is part of the factory standard equipment for both the E320 and E500 in Canada.