[norfla71]

My folks, after 6 months of waiting, finally took delivery of their 2017 (ordered in June of 16 as a 16, but did not take delivery until this past December due to a bunch of BS with the local dealer and MB not seeming to be very efficient with either production or updates. The biggest headache was my mother wanted blue; there were none in the country at that time with the options specified). Their idea was to take my kids around the US; unfortunately, he passed a couple of months ago from cancer (Vietnam vet). On a whim I decided to take the kids for a 3 week excursion in his honor. So far we have visited 8 states and experienced many fantastic sites.

The van has been great. The mileage, even at 80, has averaged close to 25, using 87 v/s 93. The cargo room is immense (soft sided bags, big cooler, skillet, 2 smaller coolers, food, bedding, air mattresses, snacks, and dirty clothes all have a place. My youngest prefers the back, and the oldest sits up front with me. It's relatively quiet and handles great. However, all is not great.

The navigation is decent, but could use a serious update. Why not charge a few buck more for the latest system? My arm keeps getting tired from manual inputs because the VR does not recognize "Powell, Oh" as a real place. The seats suck, no way around it; we are going to find a source for a seat conversion. The backup camera needs a wider field of view. BSM, surround view camera and PDC would have been great in some cases, as well as collission mitigation in DC and around Columbus. Otherwise, the cruise one up or down feature is awesome, plus it was the only way to hold speed while going through western PA mountains; the paddles only made more engine noise, did nothing to slow us down.

This is quick, as we are headed to Dayton to the USAF museum for a couple, then up to Dearborn for the Henry Ford. I'll drop some pics later.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

Remember when voicing an address not to include the state. So set state to Ohio and then say "123 Some Street, Powell".

Can you elaborate on the seats sucking?

 

[howvood]

Sorry about your dad. We appreciate his service to our country.

 

[skippypop]

We recently purchased our Metris and we have been trying to to find a driving solution in the mountains. Initially we were advised by our dealer to use the cruise control in the mountains. It helped to maintain the speed but it also was using the brake on the descent to keep your cruise. Long story short it scored the rotor really bad. The pads were in good shape though. We have been trying to use the paddles more to slow down in the mountains. The Metris is a beast and it gets going downhill really quick.

 

[RobbMeeX]

I've sat in every Mercedes-Benz seat and I've got back problems. Driving my Metris home is one of the most comfortable rides I have all day.

The nav is laughably terrible.

 

[Lane on the fence]

I agree. The seat is great, and I am driving this thing to California from my home in SC next month. I do have one huge complaint...the clock sucks! Lol

 

[norfla71]

Computer died on me last week on the trip to Detroit; finally got home yesterday.

Seat comfort is subjective; however, both my mother and I hate the seats, and she is looking at conversion seats from a supplier somewhere in the midwest. The ride, for the most part, was good, except for broken pavement. The tires are another story; MB needs to ditch the Hankooks and stick with Conti's, as they whined terribly on anything other than smooth asphalt.

I can't believe the oversight of not having a clock when you set the cruise and use nav at the same time; updating to the current gen infotainment should fix that, along with the other grievances I have with it. Back onto the topic.

We covered roughly 3500 miles in 20 days, averaging 23 mpg (including mountains of WV and VA), and spent 67 hours behind the wheel. Again, the CC saved our brakes and kept us steady all the way down some of those steep grades.

I'm having issues with the thumb drive either not saving or mixing up pictures, so I'll have to get that sorted. Otherwise, I'll get at least a few pics up here.

 

[norfla71]

Remember when voicing an address not to include the state. So set state to Ohio and then say "123 Some Street, Powell".

Can you elaborate on the seats sucking?

I tried using voice per MB instructions (had to download, as the only book with the van is in every other language than English); still would not recognize the destination. What made it worse was the restaurant was 2 miles from the zoo, and still could not find it via entering the address. An update is needed, but I'm certain it's expensive.

Seats are not supportive enough; I have a long torso, along with a bad back, which makes it difficult to find a good position. We had to stop in Emporia, VA, to get a cushion as my nerves were being terribly pinched, and legs were going numb. This was after stopping every 2-3 hours prior. Playing devil's advocate I will say they are infinitely better than the seats in the Explorer limited we rented prior to the trip for a weekend excursion; no amount of power adjustments, heating or cooling can fix bad seat design. If MB would option the same seats as in the M or G that would be great.

 

[norfla71]

Pictures are from Senoia, GA, home of TWD.

First pic is of main street, which stood in for Woodbury. Second pic is the Wood house, AKA Rutledge Wood. Third pic is the Fried Green Tomatoes house. Fourth pic is from season 4, where Rick and Carl hid while Rick recuperated from his fight with the Governor. Final pic is the infamous pudding house, where Carl ate that huge can on the roof.

 

[norfla71]

Pentagon 9/11 memorial

 

[norfla71]

At the Patton Museum in Kentucky and Tim Hortons in Columbus