The First Three Months with the E - An In-Depth Report

[jspira]

I thought folks here would enjoy this - besides numerous photos in the article, there are 7 slide shows at the end. 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec Diesel Three Month Review and Report By Jonathan Spira Last November, I drove the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec sedan from New York to Boston and back and promptly fell in love. The trip of 331 km (206 miles) took three hours and my fuel consumption was 6.7 l/100 km (35 mpg). The return trip of 335 km (208 miles) took a little longer but my fuel consumption was only 6.3 l/100 km (37 mpg). These figures were on par with the fuel economy we saw with our BMW 335d long-term test car, yet the Benz was bigger. This year Mercedes is celebrating its 125th anniversary and is credited not only with inventing the diesel-powered passenger car in the 1930s but with having invented the automobile as we more or less know it in 1886. In the U.S. in recent years, diesels have remained solely in the domain of the Germans, while others automakers experiment with hybrids and electric vehicles. Mercedes’ diesel offspring have done it proud. It’s not uncommon to see a W123 240D or 300D still on the road, even though the last one was produced over 25 years ago. The resale value of diesels remains high and that is reflected in the very high residual value of the car for leasing customers. <SNIP> Article continues here

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[stemags]

Nice color on that diesel,,goog luck with it

[WEBSRFR]

Nice article. The thing with torque though is that with the diesel model you have a lot of torque but only when the timing is perfect with the right rpms. If you push the car in a hurry you quickly get out of the sweet torque spot. NA gas engines might have lower raw torique at a certain rpms region but the available torque is more consistent and more available.

[ghstudio]

One of the most important statements in that article is:

The resale value of diesels remains high and that is reflected in the very high residual value of the car for leasing customers.

Many don't realize just how much they can save by leasing the bluetec vs the gas e350 (especially on shorter leases)....and it's an incredibly good car.

I have a late 2011 (July build) and although I don't see the MPG that the test shows, I still get 26 mpg which is pretty amazing given that my average speed since new is 22 mph (city driving).

[ImInPA]

Originally Posted by WEBSRFR

Nice article. The thing with torque though is that with the diesel model you have a lot of torque but only when the timing is perfect with the right rpms. If you push the car in a hurry you quickly get out of the sweet torque spot. NA gas engines might have lower raw torique at a certain rpms region but the available torque is more consistent and more available.

Actually, the torque curve of the diesel is very flat from just off idle to 4000 RPM. Diesel is all torque all the time, over almost the entire power band. The fact that a diesel redlines in the 4K range is the only limiting factor. The big block V8s of the the 60's redlined very low but were all about torque. The fact is, only the V8 offerings have more torque. I am not sure what your experience is with with the diesel you are describing, but, it is contrary to every diesel vehicle I have owned.