dw1

I'm looking for a new daily driver as my Saab is getting up there in mileage & age, and my 911 is just not practical for my daily commute.

I'm seriously considering several different 2007 C230's, but am confused by the fuel economy ratings for the 2006 vs 2007.

Specs I can find on-line seem to show the same hp & torque, but notably different highway mpg ratings:

2007 (A7): 19/25 (premium); 14/18 (E85)
2006 (A7): 21/30 (premium)

Was there a change in engine tune that hurt fuel economy between '06 & '07 for performance or for E85 compatibility? (Or is this just a typical bureaucratic snafu?)

Thanks

samaritrey

what year 911? the first car i ever drove on the road was a 95 993 6spd. and the same day got my first pull over but i wasn't speeding if you really want good fuel economy i would go with an 05 c230. if the 4 banger scares you the v6 c230 is a good choice. it is not super fast but will give you good millage. my 01 c320 was rated for 25 but on highways i can get 30+ no problem.

johnand

The difference in the 06 vs. 07 mileage figures have nothing to do with any changes Benz made. The difference is strictly the changes that the EPA made for rating mileage figures starting with 2007 cars. Both 06 and 07 will get the same mileage. Only difference was minor changes to the 07 to run E85, but those don't affect mileage.

I run a mix of E85 and Premium on my 2007 and I easily crush the 2007 EPA ratings and come damn close to the 2006 numbers. I drive hard and drive 80-90% highway. I average ~26 MPG with premium and my driving style. I get around 20MPG with E85. On long highway trips I can hit high 20's and low 30's, if I drive conservative.

Take samaritrey's advice. If pure gas mileage is your ultimate want get an 05 C230. If you want a much smoother, more refined engine, with a little dip in gas mileage any 06 or 07 V6 will do.

holycaoAMG

Wait, let me get this straight. Are you guys saying the M272 2.5L v6 gets the same mileage as the M112 3.2L?

According to mbusa: C320- 19/25 mpg

samaritrey

reread the epa changed the way they do the millage crap in 07.
so look at the 06 one which was done the same way as the c320 was.

remember the c320 has a really good engine that if you keep your speed below 80 can give you great millage and even better then the c240. i have no idea what a v6 c230 can get when driving the way i drive but i doubt it gets much better then my c320. mixed i get around 26 highway i usually get about 30 but if i keep the speeds closer to the limit i can get 32 easy.

holycaoAMG

Understood the EPA changes. I was wondering what MB was thinking putting a weaker engine in with the same mileage, but now i got it.

As for the C240 acheiving better mileage than a C320, thats BS. My step brother had one before i purchased mine and it will easily get better mileage on both city and highway, regaurdless. I did an actual one on one comparision between the two to confirm that.

samaritrey

interesting because i also did a test with a loaner c240 and my car did about 3 mpg better. we filled up at the same gas station and drove about 2 hours got gas around the corner from the dealership and the c240 had used more gas? well whatever gas mileage has so many variables and you don't get a Mercedes to get great mileage. you buy one because it is safe, comfortable, ...

holycaoAMG

True, Mercs arent great as being green. but if you look at it, the c-class specifically, is one of MB's fuel efficient cars.

Ive had my share with the C240 for a while and all i can say is that it reaches a higher mpg variable faster than the C320.

samaritrey

01 c240 18-27
01 c320 19-26
so pretty much so close who gives a f**k
i will admit during testing we were not driving the speed limit so that might have had something to do with it. we both had cruse locked on 75 the whole way except for getting on and off the highway. that being said power always wins

and for the record the c320 was leading the way i don't want to there about the c320 getting better millage because it was drafting.

amdeutsch

It was causing turbulence thereby helping to decrease the mpg of the C240 trying to draft you.

holycaoAMG

lol, yes. Drafting.

I could follow behind a semi on the highway if i wanted to, to get better mileage.

Glyn M Ruck

European cycle fuel consumption testing - automatic

urban C240 14.2-14.6 l/100 km C320 14.6-15.7 l/100 km
extra-urban C240 7.6-7.8 C320 7.7-8.1
combined cyc. C240 10.1-10.3 C320 10.2-10.8

dw1

Trying to make us old farts feel our age? First car you ever drove was a '95?!?!

Fyi, mine is an '87 3.2 Carrera (G50) sunroof coupe w. OEM f&r spoilers, SW DME chip, Fabspeed euro-style premuffler in place of the cat, Dansk 1-in-2-out exhaust, lowered to euro ride height & corner balanced, and has the anti bump-steer kit. The 993 twin turbo is about my ideal car among 911's, but there's just something about the '89 & earlier cars.

If anyone here is interested in those cars, or any 911, check out the forums at Pelican Parts ( http://forums.pelicanparts.com/ ). There are some VERY active forums there, e.g. the "old school" (pre-964) 911 forum has, as of this writing, 1.7 million posts in 151,000 threads!!!

(Given the M-B & Porsche ownership overlap, I'm sure many here are also members there.)
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Thanks to all for the inputs on "real world" W203 fuel economy. Yes, I realize M-B's are not economy cars, but given other largely equal factors can make mpg a difference-maker.

Besides, I'm in R&D and just used to gathering and evaluating data in order to make a well-informed decision.And something smelled very fishy about the EPA 2007 ratings.

According to the "updated" EPA ratings, my Saab has averaged an impossible fuel economy. Their rating is 26 mpg highway. I averaged 26.7 mpg in mixed driving (60% - 70% hwy) over 88.7k miles & 230 fill-ups, with a max of 30.7 for one tank full.

I mention all of these numbers because if the same logic holds for the 2007 CPO C230 I have my eye on, I could expect similar numbers. Based on the experiences of the knowledgeble folks here, I wonder if that was a realistic expectation.

This is also important because it is conceivable fuel will hit $5/gallon in the not-too-distant future.

Heck, the idea of a car with all of the traditional M-B virtues plus good fuel economy is my idea of a truly great car.

....Oh well, if I only still had my old 300CD (W123) turbodiesel coupe....
(Insert wistfull longing here. 0-60 in don't ask, but I still think it was a great car in many ways.)

samaritrey

actually the first car i ever drove was a lotus on my dads lap when i was like 5. the first car i drove by my self was probably a 93 land cruiser at 6 or 7. then if you look at my sig that is my car history of my personal cars.
i like some of the older 911's but really like the 993's. i would take any of them but a turbo would be heaven. my dads was a lot of fun to drive i got to drive it a lot then he decided to sell it so i had to start driving his slk 55 or e320 cdi if i wanted to drive something besides my j30. i know poor me . but one day i hope to get a 993 but we shall see what the future holds.

and any w203 besides amg's are a good mix between fuel economy and comfort. amg's are way more fun though! and how dare you speak of $5 gas i think i might start crying at least i have a job that is less than 5 minutes from my house can't beat that commute.

LILBENZ230

My C230's fuel economy has dropped. I'm only averaging 26.2mpg on this current tank. Then again, there was a 120-mile trip with 5 adults in it on Friday night maintaining speeds of 80+mph on I-75.

dw1

26.2 mpg @ 80mph ("+" you wrote, ) with 5 adults on-board? Yeah, I'll take that.

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Btw, I know this isn't a political/social forum, "lilbenz230", but my compliments on the signature quote. You must be a Yankee transplant in NW Georgia. FYI, I'm USN/USNR (ret.) and I take great joy in asking the "real American" posers (e.g. those who cheered when Chicago was denied the Olympics because they hate the commander-in-chief more than they love the USA) in which branch of the armed forces they served. It is amazing how many of them either try to give me a line of obvious b.s. (which I call them on) or "had other priorities". I'm certainly NOT a capital L "Liberal" (full disclosure: Keith Olbermann was a college classmate of mine) but I have NO tolerance for hypocrisy masquerading as patriotism. [I'll get off my soapbox now.] Sorry.

bdgdl08

I think amdeutsch and holycaoAMG hit on it. The rather large difference in mileage from '06 to '07 must be the addition of the lip spoiler adding drag and greatly reducing the mileage!!!

Glyn M Ruck

Ah well! Lots of you folk are going to see a slight drop in MPG as winter grade gasoline is introduced. You have nothing to complain about. Lead footed driving in the family taxi Matt

LILBENZ230

Nah! Our designated driver's personal vehicle is a Toyota Sequoia and he wasn't used to such high-speed stability and responsiveness. I-75 between Cartersville and Atlanta @ 3am lends itself to high-speed cruising.. beware GSP though. My gas mileage overall still seems in decline. Makes me wonder if something is up with my C230.

dw1, born & raised here, actually.. I love Keith Olbermann.