Mr. Mercedes

The german philosphy that we must suffice with mediocre climate control systems because they feel thats all we need? I'm not sure I understand what you're saying Ali?

What I mean't is wouldn't the testers note that the climate control can be somwhat ineffective at times (i.e extreme heat) and convey this on to the engineers to rectify the problem. Is it too much to ask for such expensive vehicles to come fitted with effective systems? Isn't having the interior temperature close to perfect part of the luxury that they are trying to achieve?

That said, I've noticed lexus systems seem to overcompensate for the heat and completely freeze the occupants even if set at what should be a comfortable 22-23 degrees celsius.

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dubai_222

hay guys but i want to say about german car ac's here in our country in the middle east especialy in dubai it's really hot it raches 52 c in the summer but whith the cars we have especialy the new s class and all bmw the have a fridge for there ac's there are really cool in all time especially when the humity is high, maybe we we have special gulf specification, i was told buy some one that bmw cars comes with denso compresors the used in the toyota cars.

donau

Good to hear about you enjoying all that driving NevadaJack! So, you were close to Knoxville; that's not too far from Winston-Salem, NC where I live nowadays. Driving thru this country is also something that I also enjoyed the one time I did it. We moved from Sacramento to NC in 1992 and took 8 days getting here. Some incredibly beautiful spots along the way. Our movers got our stuff here in 56 hours by the way.

NevadaJack

Everything on this car is flawless so far...

I have never had a problem with my 211 or my 220 with A/C. It cools to the point of making it snow if that is what one wants. The S550 has a great climate control system and although the Max Cool is loud, it quiets down quickly. You can adjust the air flow so it does not blow on you and control the force manually or automatically. I am talking about hot, hot weather also...100-115 degrees summer heat and no shade. The humidity is low at 10-20% but even in humid climates, the system cools well such as in Southeastern states.

Why is it that when some concern is shown about a MB feature such as cooling, there are those who jump on it as a total failure on behalf of MB to produce a good product. Your comments generated some negative points about MB ability to produce a good A/C system...from 30 years experience I can say I have never had a problem or concern in this area. Just my perspective on jumping on MB at the least little comment a person can make about his car.

NevadaJack

Yes the scenery is fantastic all the way across. I have made the trip so many times since the late 50's that I guess I take it for granted. I left on Sunday and arrived in SC on Wed. morning...likewise I left on Tuesday and arrived home at 10 AM on Friday. Somewhat of a speed trip... I cut down from Knoxville to Asheville using I40 and I26 into Charleston.

Mirage77

I believe it's because Japanese cars are made with more emphasis of hot sweltering summers in Asia in mind. German cars however have to deal more with the cold weather rather than the summer heat as the temperatures in Europe suggests. Well of course, I'd appreciate they do something for the people buying German cars here in Asia, because just in recent years in my region, temperatures have been hovering around 35 degrees C, the whole year!

Mr. Mercedes

Perhaps the mechanical specs are just different in various markets. The S-class climate control sounds impressive however. The option to have the air around the footwell at a different temperature to the upper vents, and being able to change the settings from diffused to forced sounds good. A question, does the S's system allow the driver and passsenger to choose the vents they wish the air to come out of idependently like the facelifted E?

Deutsch

Truly encouraging report Neveda Jack. Thanks for sharing. That is great to here MB is providing it's customers top shelf service in emergency situations. I woudln't expect anything less, but you'd be suprised w/ the horror stories out there from brands of this prestige. I'm also amazed about the fuel economy you have been able to achieve in such a powerful car in mixed driving conditions. Excellent!!!

Germaniac

Just to add to the discussion about German A/C - dad's E60 530i is nothing short of impressive at cooling down a sweltering interior (middle of summer, black leather seats sitting in hot sun sort of thing) and has never been anything other than entirely adequate. iDrive provides ability to 'customize' to the enth degree different temperature settings for head, feet etc - nothing I've ever had the urge to look into but dad uses it occasionally.

NevadaJack, the S550 sounds truly wonderful and I'm very glad you're satisfied with your excellent purchase I think for its intended purpose you are right in saying the new S-Class cannot be beaten - it's simply on top, and will be for many years. Nothing I'd ever consider purchasing, I might add, but amazing none the less

georgl

I've never had a problem with the AC-power, even in the last very hot summers!?
But I've noticed differences when I drove American cars, the AC seems to be more "agressive" - cooling the car down at any price even when the air becomes extremly dry (MB has sensors that prevent too dry air) and freezing air blows into your face :-)

The climate compressors are mostly from Denso (one of the very few japanese parts in MB, BMW or Porsche etc.). The AC itself is from Behr. First they used american York(?)-compressors, very big and heavy and very unreliable too. The Denso-compressors are not highest-quality but maybe the best the market left for the automobile-industry.
Linde, who invented the AC-technology (used in cars, fridges...) is now specialized on high-perfomance ACs used in science or industry - maybe that company could improve car-ACs further? But only the professional market is willing to pay for quality so why should the work for the car-industry?

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