C350 Sport Blue Efficiency saloon (W204 facelift)
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dest
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I don't see any point, if it was cheaper I would consider it but I don't feel it is worth doing for what I would gain
OP
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dest
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I have done similar upgrades on my last car's with BMW idrive, and what was gained made it worth doing.
However, with this, what exactly would I gain?
A larger screen would be nice, but not essential.
My current sat nav runs off a memory card, so is not slow in comparison to DVD based ones, plus I rarely use it any way.
I have a 160gb ipod connected, so no need for music storage.
I cannot think of anything else
However, with this, what exactly would I gain?
A larger screen would be nice, but not essential.
My current sat nav runs off a memory card, so is not slow in comparison to DVD based ones, plus I rarely use it any way.
I have a 160gb ipod connected, so no need for music storage.
I cannot think of anything else
D
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What a difference. that sounds perfect, just the right tone without being over the top.
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dest
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Audio 20 with Map Pilot, USB socket and universal interface
That's not my video, but it sounds just the same
D
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OOPS.
. worth the mod for the sound.
.
. worth the mod for the sound..
D
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Each to their own. Given the choice I would definitely go for COMAND (which I have) over a louder exhaust. I get a perverse sense of enjoyment about sitting quietly (invariably silent with the start/stop in operation) at the traffic lights next to a boy racer blipping his drainpipe straight through exhaust, then leaving him for dead when the lights change. Without fail they eventually pass me at well over the speed limit, and I just smile.
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dest
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Mine isnt a loud exhaust, its actually very subtle and not really noticable to most people.
You certainly wouldn't hear it sat next to me at the lights!
As for racing the youngsters, my racing days are long gone and were all done in 450/500bhp Audi's!
I consider the C350 to be nippy and quick enough for an over take when needed, but it's far from the quickest car I've owned.
So what would I gain from adding COMAND at £1500 to retrofit a recon unit?
You certainly wouldn't hear it sat next to me at the lights!
As for racing the youngsters, my racing days are long gone and were all done in 450/500bhp Audi's!
I consider the C350 to be nippy and quick enough for an over take when needed, but it's far from the quickest car I've owned.
So what would I gain from adding COMAND at £1500 to retrofit a recon unit?
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You will gain better navigation (though if you are using your smartphone instead of Map Pilot then this feature won't matter much for you), though you will loose the speed cameras alert, and you will havd to be willing to pay £199 for the annual maps update.
You will gain much better sound, and this will be even more noticeable if you also upgrade the speakers.
You will gain an internal 100gb HDD, of which 10gb will be dedicated to internal Music Register, and you will gain an SD slot - though if you are happy with playing your music off your smartphone or off a USB memory stick, these won't matter much.
You will gain Internet connectivity and will be able to use the Mercedes Benz Apps, though realistically the only useful one is Tune-In Internet Radio (which syncs with your smartphone app via your online account).
You will be able to send a destination from your PC to the car's navigation software, though only from Here We Go (not from Google Maps), and only the destination but not a complete route.
You will be able to retrofit other related options such as an original MB reverse camera (though there are aftermarket non-original kits that will work with Audio 2₩), and DAB radio (if you don't already have one).
And last but not least.... the larger hi-res screen will light-up the cabin, compared to the Audio's 20 small and somewhat blurry display. In fact, this for me was one of the best features of the reftrofit... the second was the sound.
And, should you decide to go ahead with this retrofit, look for a COMAND unit from a 2014 car - you want COMAND NTG4.7 (aka NTG4.5 Gen3). For one thing, the 4.7 will connect to the Internet via either Android or Apple iPhone smartphones; earlier COMAND NTG4.5 versions only worked with Android but not with iPhone.
Looking back... I don't regret it
I rest my case, M'lord.
You will gain much better sound, and this will be even more noticeable if you also upgrade the speakers.
You will gain an internal 100gb HDD, of which 10gb will be dedicated to internal Music Register, and you will gain an SD slot - though if you are happy with playing your music off your smartphone or off a USB memory stick, these won't matter much.
You will gain Internet connectivity and will be able to use the Mercedes Benz Apps, though realistically the only useful one is Tune-In Internet Radio (which syncs with your smartphone app via your online account).
You will be able to send a destination from your PC to the car's navigation software, though only from Here We Go (not from Google Maps), and only the destination but not a complete route.
You will be able to retrofit other related options such as an original MB reverse camera (though there are aftermarket non-original kits that will work with Audio 2₩), and DAB radio (if you don't already have one).
And last but not least.... the larger hi-res screen will light-up the cabin, compared to the Audio's 20 small and somewhat blurry display. In fact, this for me was one of the best features of the reftrofit... the second was the sound.
And, should you decide to go ahead with this retrofit, look for a COMAND unit from a 2014 car - you want COMAND NTG4.7 (aka NTG4.5 Gen3). For one thing, the 4.7 will connect to the Internet via either Android or Apple iPhone smartphones; earlier COMAND NTG4.5 versions only worked with Android but not with iPhone.
Looking back... I don't regret it
I rest my case, M'lord.
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Oh, and... the only people I would consider for this retrofit are Richard and Alfie from www.comand.co.uk
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Not directly related, but... I had the engine ECU and transmission TCU software updated by the Mercedes Benz dealer, and other ECUs by Richard.
The only difference I noticed is that updating the ESM software cured the jerky upshifts when driving off with a cold engine and transmission (interestingly this wasn't cured by the TCU update).
The only difference I noticed is that updating the ESM software cured the jerky upshifts when driving off with a cold engine and transmission (interestingly this wasn't cured by the TCU update).
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dest
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Replies in bold, to make it easier!
To sum up, if it was £500 I'd do it, but as its a grand more than that I don't see the point. I wouldn't gain enough that I would actually use to make it worthwhile.
To sum up, if it was £500 I'd do it, but as its a grand more than that I don't see the point. I wouldn't gain enough that I would actually use to make it worthwhile.
You will gain better navigation (though if you are using your smartphone instead of Map Pilot then this feature won't matter much for you), though you will loose the speed cameras alert, and you will havd to be willing to pay £199 for the annual maps update.
I've used the Map Pilot a few times and its plenty good enough for the amount of times I need it (not very often)
You will gain much better sound, and this will be even more noticeable if you also upgrade the speakers.
The speakers are a big improvement on what was in my last car, so I'm happy with them as they are
You will gain an internal 100gb HDD, of which 10gb will be dedicated to internal Music Register, and you will gain an SD slot - though if you are happy with playing your music off your smartphone or off a USB memory stick, these won't matter much.
I had 26gb of space in my last car which I never used, plus I've got over 5000 songs on a 160gb ipod all sorted into playlists and folders, which is connected with the universal adaptor.
10gb would be of no use to me.
You will gain Internet connectivity and will be able to use the Mercedes Benz Apps, though realistically the only useful one is Tune-In Internet Radio (which syncs with your smartphone app via your online account).
I had internet and apps on BMWConnected, I never used it apart from Tune In, but I rarily used it because I couldn't be bothered to plug the phone in every time I got in and out
You will be able to send a destination from your PC to the car's navigation software, though only from Here We Go (not from Google Maps), and only the destination but not a complete route.
Had that too, never used it
You will be able to retrofit other related options such as an original MB reverse camera (though there are aftermarket non-original kits that will work with Audio 2₩), and DAB radio (if you don't already have one).
All of my reversing is done with the mirrors, I never use or need a camera, I find them to be useless any way tbh!
I've already got DAB
And last but not least.... the larger hi-res screen will light-up the cabin, compared to the Audio's 20 small and somewhat blurry display. In fact, this for me was one of the best features of the reftrofit... the second was the sound.
I don't find the Audio 20 screen to be blurry at all, however it would be nice to have a bigger one.
It's not really that much bigger though, so simply cannot justify a slightly bigger screen for £1500, it's just not worth it.
And, should you decide to go ahead with this retrofit, look for a COMAND unit from a 2014 car - you want COMAND NTG4.7 (aka NTG4.5 Gen3). For one thing, the 4.7 will connect to the Internet via either Android or Apple iPhone smartphones; earlier COMAND NTG4.5 versions only worked with Android but not with iPhone.
Looking back... I don't regret it
I rest my case, M'lord.
Last edited:
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My Samsung Galaxy S9+ is paired to COMAND over Bluetooth, so it connects automatically to COMAND whenever I get into the car, even if the phone stays in my pocket.
So no need to touch the phone.
You do, however, need to wait around 2-3 minutes for COMAMD to connect to the Internet via your phone when choosing the Interner Apps after driving off. But after that, the Internet connection stays permanently on (unless it's idle for 15 minutes).
