hey guys I am new to this, when i put the car in sport 1 or 2 from comfort and raise the car the dash still shows a C instead of a S for it being in sportsmode? I was just wondering why it isnt going into S mode and staying in C on the dash

 

next to the stick there should be a button "C/S". pressing that button switches it from comfort to sport. thats how it works on my 2004 model. you should also be able to changing it by moving the stick to the left and right.

 

There's a couple of types of sport-mode: one affects the transmission, the other affects the suspension.

C/S Button - just left of the gear-shift -affects the transmission. "C" stands for comfort (which is a very poor title in my opinion). It should cause earlier up-shift and skip first gear. That's handy for handling slippery roads (wet, snow, etc.) as you get less power to to the wheels when pulling away. The "S" is sport mode, which should delay up-shift and uses first gear; ideal for bank-jobs etc.

I tested this theory by holding the brake, selecting Drive and repeatedly clicking the shift lever to the left; in "C" mode I expected that 2nd gear would be the lowest available,but -strangely - it let me select 1st (press and hold the stick to the right to get back to "D"). Perhaps you CAN force 1st gear but it skips it if you leave the transmission in 'D'. Or perhaps the feature only affects the 7-gear saloon (I have the 5-gear wagon).

If you feel the need to add a little wheel spin, then knock off the "ESP" also - it won't get you there any quicker, but it lets the hostages know that they can get up and call the police now... there's no need to be rude just because you've robbed someone.

The suspension settings are Comfort/ Sport1/ Sport2. These positions affect the stiffness of the ride and the height. Round town or on pot-holed country roads, the softer Comfort mode works best. If you're tearing down the freeway then play around with Sport 1 and 2 and select the one you like best. Do it on a straight piece of road, as it affects the car's handling and could land you in a lot of trouble.

I know I said "a couple of types", but this is a Mercedes and whistles and bells are de rigueur. The on-board computer apparently senses your particular driving mode (a.k.a. your aggression index) and adjusts the transmission to suit. And there's one more suspension setting too; next to the Comfort/S1/S2 button is the "turn me into a tractor" button, which lifts the whole car up. Handy for clearing nasty humps getting into the garage when the mother-in-law is sitting in the back, or for clearing deep snow. If you forget about it,the computer detects a certain speed and automatically cancels it to ensure better stability on the freeway (lest you finish up in a ditch with a pile of Ford Exploders).

Usually then, I select "S" transmissionand "Sport 1" suspension. That works for me at least. If you hit bumpy city roads go for Comfort suspension and if you hit snow/ice select "C" for the transmission. Leave the ESP button alone - unless you're a pro rally driver and you're relying on being able to kick out the back end on corners a la Starsky & Hutch. This being a Mercedes it doesn't really ever go away - but it works less. My wife likes the "C" transmissionmode because of a curious additional feature: it prevents roll-back on hill starts; whereas "S" mode does not. Curious!

You'd think that such a complicated arrangement would be spelled out in the drivers manual. It really isn't, it's glossed over. The advice from the dealer was similarly vague. If anyone has the real low-down and can explain it properly, please let us all know. Thx.


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