2016.01.19 Grudging Admission

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Just a couple days ago I complained about how my new company lease Mercedes faceplants in Stupid Grin Driving Glee Factor consideration. I was a little hasty.

The extremely comfortable drivers seat also happens to be highly adjustable. This allows me to sink down into my favourite low-slung car position. Which might look a little silly, but does rather a lot to help me pretend I'm in something more purposeful. And it has to be admitted that a year spent perched on the cruder B-Class seat makes for a more drastic juxtaposition to the exemplary butt-hugging in the new C-Class.

One of the features of the transmission is that it allows programmable modes, which I've used to create a mode where the computer almost never shifts gears. Almost. It still shifts down if I slow to a stop, which is probably for the best. And there's a "kick down" button on the throttle if I get too enthusiastic, which I need to learn to avoid. The point being that the considerable grunt of the engine is generally available with quite predictable throttle response, avoiding the hateful delay of the transmission trying decide what to do. DECIDE NOTHING - DO MY BIDDING. Avoiding that salves 90% of my quibbles with the vehicle dynamics. The shifting is still numb, and sometimes clunky, but being in control of shift timing gives me a much better power delivery experience from a driver standpoint.

Plus, I found how to disable the stability/traction control. The ability to hoon in the empty parking lot at work is a nice facet of company lease participation for me. The feature is sufficiently buried to prevent too much spontaneous abuse.

I'm still not a huge fan of the shape, and it is definitely not causing cheek aches from induced grins. But I am often smiling evilly. And that's not nothing.