Home    Search    Gallery    How-To    Books    Links    Workshops    About    Contact

Mercedes E430 Interior
© 2006 KenRockwell.com

Mercedes E430 Interior

2002 E430 Interior

back to E430 index

back to E430 home page

INTERIOR

Comfort

Mercedes seats are designed for long-term comfort, not for 10 minute test drives. Mercedes owners are repeat customers. Our Mercedes are designed for our comfort. They are not designed to impress the innocent on a drive around the block.

I just got back from a 1,000 mile ride to Vegas for Starfest 2006. My runs to and from Vegas were 300 miles each, or about 4-3/4 hours. I did each run in a single sitting non-stop. I arrived fresh and relaxed. In Non-Mercedes I need to stop every few hours to walk around to get the circulation re-started in my legs, and arrive fatigued.

This alone ought to be enough reason to fly Mercedes-Benz instead of an airline or other brand of car. I only have the standard seats - not the massaging ones.

People used to mass-market vehicles think Mercedes seats are hard. Of course they're hard - that's what makes them so comfortable after a long ride.

Most car seats are just foam sprayed over a sheet metal frame.

Mercedes seats are many carefully designed layers of different materials over a spring suspension system.

Want to know what makes a lot of the cushion in a Mercedes? It's sphagnum peat moss!

Materials

Leather and real burl walnut is standard, of course, on the E430. Vinyl (MB Tex) may be standard on the less expensive E320, but not available on the E430.

The headliner is fuzz.

The seat back pockets are real leather. The BMW 5-series are vinyl, as do the 2003 newer E-Klasse.

Seats

Memory seats are standard with three settings each. These settings include the positions of the outside mirrors.

Even the position of the right outer mirror when backing up is settable. Set the mirror while in reverse. Tap the driver's green memory button, then tap the mirror control down. If it didn't move, the E430 has remembered the setting.

Seat heaters are optional.

This is the Java interior. It's one of Mercedes all-time best colors. It's bright, warm and cheery, just like my home.

The top of the dash isn't black. It's tan, which lightens up the E430 to feel like home.

Dome Lights and Glass Moonroof Controls

E430 Dome Light Control

E430 Front Ceiling Lights and Controls

From the lower left we see the Tele-Aid emergency call, the microphone for the car phone. Above the mic we see the moonroof control. Between these two, to the right, is the interior temperature sensor. Above it all are the dome light controls.

Rear Accommodations

Mercedes E430 rear seats

There's loads of rear seat room. Have four six-footers get in and there is still a few inches of room behind the front seats.

There is a rear center console which folds down from between the rear seats. It holds the first aid kit and more cupholders. You can carry a fifth person in the middle rear if you need to.

There are two adjustable air vents in the rear of the front center console. Two more vents are on the floor under the front seats.

Mercedes E430 Rear Seats

Loads of room!

There are airbags in the rear doors, as well as a head curtain airbag and explosive seatbelt tensioners (ETRs). More on my Safety page.

Home    Search    Gallery    How-To    Books    Links    Workshops    About    Contact