David N.

I have a C240, and I'm barely getting 350 km (not miles) on one tank. That can't be right. The car only has 850 km on it (I know, only 850km!!). I'm thinking that once the engine is broken in fuel economy will improve. I hope so.

But I'm curious about all c class owners not just 240's.

How many clicks are you getting for one full tank? Tell me in miles or kms, whichever you use.

Thanks.

freakinfreak

I have a 2001 C320 and I get around 300-320 miles on average. If I drive to Vegas, I've been able to get around 400 miles to the tank.

MarkL

David, I've been getting around 250 miles per tank with my C240 6-spd. I usually fill up around 1/8 tank (I don't wait for the light to come on), so I could proabaly go about 60 more miles according to the range readout. My weekly driving is 7 miles one way to work with a quick jaunt on the highway. On weekends, I do some highway driving but mostly mixed w/ stop and go city type.

Fuzzo

i get anywhere between 320 and 350 as well on a full tank and I pretty much wait till the gas needle is at the last bar...and this is in mixed driving... i have noticed that as car gets broken in (no pun intended)...my mpg goes as well

David N.

Mark, freak, thanks for the replies.

Mark, I usually fill up with a 1/4 tank left. I've noticed that the first half tank seems to go faster than the last half. It seems as though our mileage is the same. As I said b4, I hope mine improves with time. Based on the current mileage I must say I'm very disappointed. How about you? Doesn't 250 miles a tank seem low?

David N.

Fuzzo, what kind of c class do you have?

Mike T.

David N,

If you mean that you're refilling the tank with 60 litres every 350 km, that's 17 L/100 km (16.6 MPG Imp - 13.8 MPG US), that's pretty poor fuel economy.

But then the C is not a particularly economical car - in Europe, the city fuel economy rating for the C 240 is 16.6 L/100 km....so, if you're driving strictly in city conditions, I'd say your mileage is about right, as bad as it is.

For comparison, the BMW 325i is rated in the same EU city fuel economy test at 12.8 L/100 km (22 MPG Imp. - 18.4 MPG US), massively better than the M-B engine, which the BMW also handily outperforms in power.

Every other carmaker's V-6 seems also to have far better fuel economy than the M-B engine - the Peugeot V6 for example pumps out 210 HP and, like the BMW, is rated at under 13 L/100 km in city driving.

I think the M-B people need to get some decently economical engines with modern technology in their cars, soon.

I am actually holding off buying a C for the very reason you posted this - until either the CDI versions some into Canada, or the GDI engines are introduced and they're way more economical than the present gas engines.

The French-built C Class-sized car I'm driving now averages 8.2 L/100 km on 87 octane gas, and has done for over 220,000 km now.

DtS

Actually I'm very happy with my C200K's fuel consumption.

Took it for a 2400 km (one way and 2400 back) drive thru Europe last summer and had an average fuel consumption of 8.1L/100 km.

600 of those km was in Sweden, average speed: 128 km/h
200 in Denmark, average speed: 115 km/h
1100 in Germany, average speed: fast...
200 in Austria, average speed: pretty fast...
200 in Italy, average speed: 95 km/h
The rest of the trip were on small, twisty and heavy trafficed roads in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

Ok, the numbers presented above was of course collected under pretty good circumstances, but now in wintertime (with temps down to -27C, that would be... ~-17F) I average 10-11L/100 km mostly spent on short trips. Best numbers sofar is 7.9L/100 km on a 150 km trip.

Conclusion: Nothing to complain about!

Mike T.

If the C 200 K was available in Canada, I'd buy one long before I'd consider a C 240. Unfortunately, all we get over here is the V6 in the sedan.

The C 200 K is nearly as economical as the BMW 6: 14.3 L/100 city and 7 L/100 highway vs. 12.8 L/100 city and 6.9 L/100 highway for the BMW 325i. Of course, the more comparable BMW 320i gets even better fuel economy than the 325i.....which I think proves my point that the M-B engines are not as economical as they should be.

Direct injection and better valvetrains seem to be needed to make the Benz engines competitive with respect to fuel economy.

The M-B V6 engines in particular are just gas guzzlers in comparison to the C 200 K four and all comparable BMWs.

c240x

I too get about 350 km on average before the empty fuel light goes on. I was a bit surprised too because I figured the gas tankwould last at least 400 km. My bimmer e36 went easily for 450 kms without a hiccup. Mind you I do a lot of city driving and short 5 minute trips to Starbucks...so that may explain the poor fuel economy.

David N.

Mike, I'm not sure how big the tank is on my car. So I'm not sure if it is 60 litres. If so, then you're calculations are correct, and the fuel economy on my car is ****. But I'll have to check on the size of the tank to be sure. I'm hoping that it does improve as the engine gets broken in. It only has 850 clicks on it.

As a side note, MSN.CA has the 240 engine rated at 13L/100km in the city and 8L/100km on the highway. Transport Canada has it listed at 12.1 and 8 respectively. Hopefully mine will come into line with those #'s.

David N.

OK, I just checked the MB Canada web site. The tank holds 62L of gas, and they have the consumption rated at 11.6 and 8.2. So, I will definately have to monitor the situation.

mleskovar

'01 C320 with 17K miles averages 25mpg in mixed driving. Most I've put on one tank was 425 miles. Mileage at a steady 60 mph is almost 30 mpg. As speed increases it drops off to 25 mpg at 80 mph.

vinmanc32

The tank is very small on this car and it also burns more gas. The two dont compliment each other very well. With a 16 gallon tank I get about 23 to 24 miles per gallon.... I hear thats good for this car. In the city, I can watch the gauge go down. I keep it on the road for good measure and usually go for long jaunts into the mountains. Such a difference from the 21 gallon tank that could get over 30mpg on the road (270hp). That car would get over 600 miles on a tank when on the road. But it wasnt as much fun to drive as this.

shtatc

I have an 01 C240 6spd...upgraded to 17" wheels from 16" stock ones. I am still averaging about 25mpg....about 350 miles per tank before I have to fill up.....usually will fill up 14 gal....I currently have about 10,000 miles on the car.
Like everyone else...i wish i got better mileage, but a bigger tank would be nice.....but after driving a SUV for the last 14 years...and getting 15mpg....maybe I should not be complaining...

benggolf

Keep detailed record and noticed that gas consumption does improve as you rack up more mileage.

Do mostly mixed city and urban driving. My car has a C32AMG exhaust system. Gas mileage was slightly better with OEM C320 exhaust, but the car accelerates quicker and sounds great now with AMG pipes.

pokerFACE

I'm going to chime in here cuz I live in Toronto.

Drive a C240 automatic daily. I cover about 350kms weekly and refill with about 1/4 tank left. I put up with morning rush hour on the Gardiner daily, and sometimes inthe afternoons and evenings.

However, I tried for a week to go home AFTER the rushhour and while making other trips I made 450kms for the same amount of gas.

My best fuel economy readout (the dash computer reads out after resetting once I get to hwy speed) is about 8.9L/100km, but I'd have to drive really conservatively to achieve that.

pokerFACE

My observation is that the city consumption on the C240 is just pretty horrible.

I think one could get the 500-600kms driving on the highway nonstop Full to Empty (ok, maybe not until Empty), say driving from Toronto to Ottawa? I can't state that as a fact, as I've never gone on long distance trips.

Well, in my earlier post I said I got 450kms with 1/4 left and that was 50% rush hour. I was also a bit more "liberal" when the roads were clear at night.

Mike E

Yesterday I drove from Framingham, MA to Jamison, PA (Bucks county, north of Philadelphia) for the first time in my C230. The trip was 275 miles of which about 200 miles are on interstate highway and 75 miles on state roads with some traffic lights. Also part of the interstate portion was through Hartford, CT and Danbury, CT at rush hour which included bumper to bumper stop and go traffic for maybe 5 to 10 miles. The rest of the time I tried to stay in 6th gear with the cruise control set at 5-7 mph above the speed limit. In some sections the speed limit was as high as 65. The net result was that I covered the 275 miles at an average speed of 54 mph and the gas mileage was 30.3 mpg (at least according to the trip computer). I'm just wondering whether, in anyone else's experience, this gas mileage performance is typical. I certainly wasn't disappointed!

mdp c230k

Yeah, I get about 30mpg when I go on trips more than 50mi at speeds of 70-80mph. I love it. In the city, on the other hand, I get 12-14mpg. I hate it.

pfphipps

30 on the road, 20 in town is my experience in the first 3200 miles on the car. I just got back yesterday from a 300 mile ski trip, average speed 53 mph, and it was 30.1 mpg (gas pump calculations, not the car's computer). That is with an automatic and a mix of about half 75-80 on the freeways and about half with some stop and go on secondary roads. Even a little mountain driving mixed in as well. It has been the same in the past.

Cullen

I have reached as high as 36mph, but only on a very short stretch going gradually downhill at 55mph in 6th gear . But most of the rest of the time i average in the mid to high 20s.

KWiK

I get about 30 on long trips, 20 around town.

Mike E

Apparently 30 mpg on an extended trip is pretty consistent. Nothing uneconomical about that!!! Luckily I don't have a daily commute in stop and go traffic. In the first 1200 miles I put on the car I averaged 24 mpg. Those miles were typical of the mix of driving situations I encounter. I've also been driving very conservatively for the break in but I tend to drive conservatively anyway.

falagic

I communte from Boston to Westboro every day and get 28-30 mpg, but once I hit the city that goes down to about 25-26 mpg.