I found 10% more power!

[hallcp]

Sorry if this is old hat for many of you, but as the new owner of a used 2014 B-Class ED it's all new to me. My 2014 has two driving modes, "E" and "S". My only experience before with such a thing was my 2017 Chevy Volt. In the Volt, sport mode did not add any power, it simply mapped the throttle pedal to give more of the available power earlier in the pedal's range of movement. From test drives around town I thought the Mercedes was doing the same, you simply push down farther on the accelerator to get the "sport" effect. So I just drove around in "E".

But recently I've had some trips on the interstate. When merging I would floor the pedal and while pretty impressive, the power needle never exceeded 90%. There was that red 10% "Boost" range seemingly beyond my grasp. I was starting to check the Owner's Manual for a "turbo" mode or something when it occurred to me to try that "S" mode again.

WOW! Not only do you get the "Boost" mode and the needle goes to 100% but the acceleration feels significantly faster! How did I go so long not knowing about this!? I might have driven for years without trying it.

I presume newer B's have similar behavior, although I think they have more options than me. If you haven't tried it, you should check it out.

Five months into my owning the car and it continues to impress.

 

[rrattie]

Yep, I have a 2014 also, I think the newer models have 3 modes (2 E modes). The S mode is what my kids refer to as "Insane Mode". It will drop your range like nothing else (besides really cold winter days), but is fun to use from time to time.