
Vehicles with the AMG sports package
X Press program selector button :.
The selected drive program appears in the
multifunction display.
i Further information aboutp
ermanent
drive program M(Y page 198).
As well as this permanent drive program M,
you can also activate temporary drive pro-
gram M(Y page 197). E
Economy Comfortable,e
conomical
driving E+
Economy
Plus Comfortable,p
articularly
economical driving S
Sport Sporty driving style
M
Manual Manualg
earshifting i
Further information on the automatic
drive program (Y page 196).
i The automatic transmission switches to
automatic drive program Eeach time the
engine is started.
AMG vehicles X
Turn drive program selector :.
The selected drive program appears in the
multifunction display.
The drive program indicator on drive pro-
gram selector :lights up in red.
i Further information aboutp
ermanent
drive program M(Y page 198). As well as this permanent drive program
M,
you can also activate temporary drive pro-
gram M(Y page 197). C
Controlled
Efficiency Comfortable,e
conomical
driving S
Sport Sporty driving style
S+
SportPlus Extremely sporty driving
style
M
Manual Manualg
earshifting RS
RACE
START Optimal vehicle accelera-
tion from
astandstill i
Further information on the automatic
drive program (Y page 196).
i The automatic transmission switches to
automatic drive program Ceach time the
engine is started.
i RS
cannot be selected during normal driv-
ing. Further information on RACE START
(Y page 230). Steering wheelg
earshift paddles In the manual drive program, you can change
gears manually using steering wheel gearshift
paddles :and ;.
Further information aboutp ermanent drive
program M(Y page 198).
Further information aboutt emporary drive
program M(Y page 197). Automatic transmission
195Drivingand parking Z

or
X Use the program selector button to change
the drive program (Y page 194).
Manual drive program Mis deactivated.
The automatic transmission switches into
the automatic drive program that was last
selected. Manuald
rive program (AMG vehicles
and vehicles with the AMG sports
package)
General notes In this drive program, you can permanently
change gear yourself by using the steering
wheel gearshift paddles. The transmission
must be in position D.
i As well as this permanent drive program
M,y ou can also activate temporary drive
program M(Y page 197).
Activating the manual drive program X
Press the program selector button
(Y page 194) repeatedly until Mappears in
the multifunction display.
X AMG vehicles: turn the drive program
selector (Y page 195) until Mappears in the
multifunction display.
The indicator Mon the drive program selec-
tor lights up in red.
Manual drive program Mcan be selected
using the program selector button or the drive
program selector. In manual drive program M,
you can change gear yourself using the steer-
ing wheel gearshift paddles if the transmis-
sion is in position D.
Upshifting X
Pull the right-hand steerin gwheel gearshift
paddle.
The automatic transmission shifts up to the next gear. AMG vehicles !
In manual gearshift program
M,the auto-
matic transmission does not shift up auto-
matically even when the engine limiting
speed for the current gear is reached.
When the engine limiting speed is reached, the fuel supply is cut to prevent the engine
from overrevving. You must make sure that the engine speed does not reach the red
area of the rev counter. Otherwise, there is
ar isk of engine damage. :
Gear indicator
; Upshift indicator
Before the engine speed reaches the red area, an upshift indicator will be shown in the mul-
tifunction display.
X When the UP UPmessage appears in the mul-
tifunction display ,pull on the right-hand
steerin gwheel gearshift paddle.
Gearshift recommendation The gearshift recommendations assist you in
adopting an economical driving style. The rec- ommended gear is shown in the multifunction
display.
X If relevant gearshift recommendation :
appears in the multifunction display on the instrument cluster, pull on the right-hand 198
Automatic transmissionDriving and parking

X
Releas ethe brak epedal.
X Releas ethe parkin gbrake.
X Switc hoff th eignition and leav ethe keyin
th ei gnition lock.
The engin ecan be switched off while th evehi-
cle is in motion by pressing and holdin gthe
Start/Sto pbutto nfor about three seconds.
This function operate sind ependentl yofthe
ECO start/sto pautomatic engin eswitch-off
function. Parking brake
G
WARNING
If you mus tbrak ethe vehicl ewitht he parking
brake, th ebrakin gdistanc eisconsid erably
longer and th ewheels could lock. This increa-
ses th eriskofs kiddin gand an accident.
Only use th eparkin gbrak etob rakethe vehi-
cle when th eservic ebrak eisf aulty. Do not
apply th eparkin gbrak etoo firmly. If the
wheels lock, release th eparkin gbrak euntil
th ew heels begi nturning again. G
WARNING
If you leav echildren unattended in th evehi-
cle ,the ym ay be able to set th evehicl ein
motion if, for example, they:
R release th eparkin gbrake
R shift th eautomati ctransmission out of park
position Por shift manual transmission into
neutral
R start th eengine
In addition ,the ym ay operate vehicl eequip-
men tand become trapped .There is ariskof
an acciden tand injury.
Whe nleavin gthe vehicle, always tak ethe key
wit hyou and loc kthe vehicle. Never leave
children unattended in th evehicle. The brak
elights do no tligh tupw hen you
brak ethe vehicl ewitht he parkin gbrake.
X To apply: depress parkin gbrake ;firmly.
The J indicato rlamp in th einstrument
cluste rlights up if th eengineisr unning.
X To release: depress thebrak epedal and
keep it depressed.
X Pull release handle :.
The J indicato rlamp in th einstrument
cluste rgoeso ut. Parking up th
evehicle
If you leav ethe vehicl eparked up for longer
than fou rweeks, th ebattery may be damaged
by exhaustive discharging.
If you leav ethe vehicl eparked up for longer
than six weeks, it may suffer from lack of use.
X Contac taqualified specialist workshop
and see kadvice.
i You can obtain information about trickle
chargers from aqualified specialist work-
shop. Driving tips
Genera
lnotes G
WARNING
If you switch off th eignition while driving,
safety-relevant function sare only available
wit hlimitations, or no tatall. This could affect,
for example, th epowe rsteerin gand th ebrake Driving tips
207Driving and pa rking
Z

X
Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you :.
X Remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The firs ttime cruise control is activated, it
store sthe current speed or regulates the
speed of the vehicle to the previously
store dspeed.
Setting aspeed X
Press the cruise control lever up :for a
higher speed or down ;for alower speed.
X Kee pthe cruise control lever presse duntil
the desire dspeed is reached.
X Releas ethe cruise control lever.
The new speed is stored.
X To adjust the se tspeed in 1km/h incre-
ments: brieflypress the cruise control
lever up :or down ;to the pressure
point.
The last store dspeed increases or decrea-
ses in 1km/h increments.
X To adjust the se tspeed in 10 km/h
increments: brieflypress the cruise con- trol lever up
:or down ;beyond the
pressure point.
The last store dspeed increases or decrea-
ses in 10 km/h increments.
i Cruise control is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerato rpedal .For exam-
ple, if yo uaccelerate briefl ytoovertake,
cruise control adjusts the vehicle's speed
to the last speed store dafteryou have fin-
ished overtaking.
Deactivatin gcruise control There are several ways to deactivate cruise
control:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or
X Brake.
or X Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow =.
Variabl eSPEEDTRONIC is selected .LIM
indicator lamp ;in the cruise control lever
lights up.
Cruise control is automaticall ydeactivated if:
R yo ud epress the parking brake
R yo ua re driving at less than 30 km/h
R ESP ®
intervenes or yo udeactivate ESP ®
R on vehicle swithm anual transmission, you
shift into neutral while driving or depress
the clutch pedal for longer than six seconds 214
Drivin
gsystemsDrivin gand parking

Selecting variable SPEEDTRONIC
If there is
achange of drivers, advise the new
driver of the limit speed stored.
X Check whether LIM indicator lamp :is on.
If it is on, variable SPEEDTRONIC is already
selected.
If it is not, press the cruise control lever in
the direction of arrow ;.
LIM indicator lamp :in the cruise control
lever lights up. Variable SPEEDTRONIC is
selected.
Storing the current speed X
Briefly press the cruise control lever up :
or down ;.
The current speed is stored and shown in
the multifunction display.
The segments in the multifunction display
light up from the start of the scale up to the
stored speed.
You can use the cruise control lever to limit
the speed to any speed above 30 km/hw hile
the engine is running. Storing the current speed or calling up the
last stored speed G
WARNING
If you call up the stored speed and it is lower
than the current speed, the vehicle deceler-
ates. If you do not know the stored speed, the vehicle could decelerate unexpectedly. There
is ar isk of an accident.
Pay attention to the road and traffic condi-
tions before calling up the stored speed. If you do not know the stored speed, store the
desired speed again. X
Briefly pull the cruise control lever towards
you :.
Setting aspeed X
To adjust the set speed in 10 km/h
increments: briefly press the cruise con-
trol lever up :beyond the pressure point
for ahigher speed, or down ;for alower
speed.
or X Keep the cruise control lever pressed
beyond the pressure point until the desired 216
Driving systemsDriving and parking

There are several ways to deactivate
DISTRONIC PLUS:
X Briefly press the cruise control lever for-
wards :.
or
X Brake, unless the vehicle is stationary.
or X Briefly press the cruise control lever in the
direction of arrow =.
Variable SPEEDTRONIC is selected. LIM
indicator lamp ;in the cruise control lever
lights up.
When you deactivate DISTRONIC PLUS, you
will see the DISTRONIC
DISTRONIC PLUS PLUSoff
offmessage in
the multifunction display for approximately
five seconds.
i The last speed stored remains stored until
you switch off the engine.
i DISTRONIC PLUS is not deactivated if you
depress the accelerator pedal.
DISTRONIC PLUS is automatically deactiva-
ted if: R you apply the parking brake
R ESP ®
intervenes or you deactivate ESP ®
R the transmission is in the P,Ror Nposition
R you pull the cruise control lever towards
you in order to pull away and the front-
passenger door or one of the rear doors is
open
R the vehicle is skidding
R you activat eActive Parking Assist
If DISTRONIC PLUS is deactivated, you will
hear awarning tone. You will see the
DISTRONIC PLUS off DISTRONIC PLUS off message in the multi-
function display for approximately five sec-
onds. Tips for driving with DISTRONIC PLUS General notes
Pay particular attention in the following traffic
situations:
R cornering, entering and exitin gabend
R vehicles which are not driving in the middle
of their lane
R other vehicles changin glane
R narrow vehicles
R obstructions and stationary vehicles
R crossin gvehicles
In such situations, brake if necessary.
DISTRONIC PLUS is then deactivated.
Cornering, entering and exiting abend The ability of DISTRONIC PLUS to detect vehi-
cles when cornering is limited. Your vehicle
may brake unexpectedly or late.
Vehicles which are not driving in the mid- dle of their lane DISTRONIC PLUS may not detect vehicles
which are not driving in the middle of their Driving systems
225Driving and parking Z

On vehicles with
amanual transmission, you
will also hear ahorn at regulari ntervals if the
HOLD function is activated and you:
R switch the engine off, open the driver's
door and take off your seat belt
The sounding of the horn alerts you to the fact
that the vehicle has been parked while the
HOLD function is still activated. If you attempt to lock the vehicle, the tone becomes louder.
The vehicle is not locked until the HOLD func- tion is deactivated.
i If the engine has been switched off, it
cannot be started againu ntil the HOLD
function has been deactivated. RACE START
Important safety notes i
Observe the safety notes for the SPORT
handling mode (Y page 85).
Only activate RACE START on dedicated race
circuits.
RACE START enables optimum acceleration
from astanding start. The precondition for
this is asuitableh igh-grip road surface.
i RACE START is only available in AMG vehi-
cles.
Activation conditions You can activate RACE START if:
R the doors are closed
R the engine is running and it has reached an
operating temperature of approximately
80 †. This is the case when the engine oil
temperature in the multifunction display
stops flashing.
R SPORT handling mode is activated
(Y page 85).
R the steering wheel is in the straight-ahead
position R
the vehicle is stationary and the brake
pedal is depressed (left foot)
R the transmission is in position D
Activating RACE START X
Depress the brake pedal with your left foot
and keep it depressed.
X Turn the drive program selector clockwise
(Y page 195) until the RSlamp lights up.
The RACE START Confirm: Paddle UP RACE START Confirm: Paddle UP
Cancel: Paddle DOWN
Cancel: Paddle DOWN message appears
in the multifunction display.
i If the activation conditions are no longer
fulfilled, RACE START is cancelled. The
RACE RACE START
START cancelled
cancelled message appears
in the multifunction display.
X To cancel: pull the left steering wheel shift
paddle( Ypage 195).
or
X To confirm: pull the right steering wheel
shift paddle( Ypage 195).
The RACE START available Depress RACE START available Depress
accelerator
accelerator message appears in the mul-
tifunction display.
i If you do not depress the accelerator
pedal fully within two seconds, RACE
START is cancelled. The RACE RACESTART
START not
not
possible
possible See
SeeOwner's
Owner's Manual
Manual message
appears in the multifunction display.
X Fully depress the accelerator pedal.
The engine speed rises to approximately
3,500 rpm.
The RACE START Release brake to RACE START Release brake to
start
start message appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
i If you do not release the brake pedal
within five seconds, RACE START is cancel-
led. The RACE
RACESTART
START cancelled
cancelled message
appears in the multifunction display.
X Take your foot off the brake, but keep the
accelerator pedal depressed.
The vehicle pullsa wayatmaximum accel-
eration. 230
Driving systemsDriving and parking

Setting the vehicle level
Select the "Normal" settingf
or normal road
surfaces and "Raised" for driving with snow
chains or on particularly poor road surfaces.
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the key from the ignition lock.
Setting the raised level X
Start the engine.
If indicator lamp :is not lit:
X Press the ;button.
Indicator lamp :lights up. The vehicle
height is adjusted to the raised level.
The Vehicle rising Vehicle rising message appears in
the display.
The "Raised level" settingisc ancelled if you:
R drive at aspeed over approximately
120 km/h
R drive for approximately three minutes at a
speed over 80 km/h
The "Raised level" remains saved when you
are not driving within these speed ranges.
Setting the normal level
X Start the engine.
If indicator lamp :is lit:
X Press button ;.
Indicator lamp :goes out. The vehicle is
adjusted to normal level. Suspension setting General notes
The electronically controlled damping system
works continuously.T his improves driving
safety and ride comfort.
The damping is tuned individually to each
wheel and depends on:
R your driving style, e.g. sporty
R the road surface condition ,e.g. bumps
R your individual selection, i.e. sport or com-
fort
Your selection remains stored even if you
remove the key from the ignition lock.
Sport mode The firmer suspension settingins
ports mode
ensures even better contact with the road.
Select this mode when employing asporty
driving style, e.g. on winding countryr oads.
X Press button :.
Indicator lamp ;lights up. You have selec-
ted "Sport mode".
The AIRMATIC SPORT AIRMATIC SPORT message appears in
the multifunction display.
Comfort mode
In comfort mode, the driving characteristics
of your vehicle are more comfortable. There-
fore, select this mode if you prefer amore
comfortable driving style. Select Comfort
mode also when driving fast on straight roads,
e.g. on straight stretches of motorway. 232
Driving systemsDriving and parking