2019 Mercedes-Benz E300

By Alex Forrest

First world problems, conveniently, are often solved by first world solutions. 

Rarely afraid of a challenge, Mercedes-Benz engineers have in recent years come up with a suite of solutions to address some of the most distressing first world problems ever faced by luxury car owners. 

These include the shock of sitting on cold leather seats, the agony of a cold neck in a convertible after forgetting one’s cravat and the physical exhaustion of pressing the seat massage button. 

Mercedes-Benz has also addressed the biggest first world problem of all, which is how to drive one’s luxury convertible with the top down without messing up one’s hairdo. 

Alleviating some of these dire discomforts is Mercedes-Benz’s voice control system, which goes by the awkward portmanteau, ‘Linguatronic’. So, rather than pressing a button, Linguatronic lets you just tell the car to turn on the massaging seats. 

Convertible drivers suffering a cold neck but who simply must be seen with the roof down can turn on what is called the Airscarf, which blows warm air on the back of your neck. 

Wind buffeting in the cabin, which could potentially damage the hair and the complexion, is reduced by deploying a wing from the top of the windscreen frame. It’s called the Aircap, and works in conjunction with a diffuser which comes up from behind the rear seats.  

In addition to all this frippery, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet is, at its core, quite a spirited thing to drive. 

The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine makes 180kW and 370Nm, which is ample for the type of vehicle it is. It’s no performance car, but it doesn’t need to be.