While I love my car, the Keithmobile-E (a 2014 Mercedes GLK 250 Bluetec), there are some things I wish it had.
Apple CarPlay: This one is basically impossible to have gotten from the factory, as CarPlay was only initially released the same year the Keithmobile was made. The head unit on the GLK is fine, to be sure, but sometimes I really do wish I had this feature. Unfortunately, I can’t even add it without completely ripping out the entire factory head unit, and I don’t think they even make replacement units for this vehicle.
Better Sound: Sadly the model of GLK I ended up getting only has the base sound system, not the upgraded one. As a result, the audio is… good, but not great. Maybe I could upgrade the speakers, but again without replacing the head unit there’s only so much you can do.
More Interior Room: Although the GLK is nearly the same length as my prior car (a Mitsubishi Outlander), it has less rear passenger leg room. This is largely because the GLK has a long hood, so some interior volume is lost to the engine. The reason for this is that despite only having a little 2.1 liter 4-cylinder diesel engine, that engine is mounted longitudinally rather than transversely, so it extends further back and robs some internal passenger room. (Also, other models of the GLK have a bigger V6 gasoline engine, so they had to make room for both.)
Better Headlights: The model of GLK I got only has regular old halogen headlights, which are not the brightest (especially compared to all the LED lights cars have these days). It was available with Xenon projector headlamps, so I could in theory swap them out – but the assemblies themselves are absurdly expensive. As for LEDs, while I do have LED daytime running lights, I’m not sure I want to play around with putting LED replacement bulbs in, given some of the troubles they can cause.
More Payload Capacity: I’ve talked before about my towing experiences with the GLK (which have all been great), but one thing I do wish is that I had more payload capacity – specifically so I can tow heavier camper trailers. The tounge weight limit on the GLK is usually the limiting factor, not how much the vehicle can actually pull. (And of course the diesel engine can pull a great deal.) Sadly this isn’t something that can be fixed, as it is intrinsic to the design of the vehicle, but it is still something I can wish for.
Better Brakes: The GLK has perfectly fine brakes – it has disc brakes on all 4 wheels – but it is also a fairly heavy vehicle, so the stopping distance is only about average. This has thankfully never been a problem for me, but it would be nice to know that extra capacity was there (especially when I’m towing).
So these are all the things that I wish the Keithmobile-E had that it doesn’t. None of these are major deficiencies (if they were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten a GLK in the first place), but with all the praise I give to the GLK I figured it was only fair to list off the things I’m not as fond of or that I wish it had. Still, despite these things, I’m still incredibly happy with the Keithmobile-E and will continue to be for years to come – until the day I have to choose what will become the Keithmobile-F!
