wmhjr

Folks, I'm trying to get some real world feedback about "actual" fuel economy of the E550 vs the E350 4Matic both in city/normal and highway mileage. Can anyone shed some light? I know what the government sites say. That doesn't always indicate what owners actually see.

Thanks.

SAguirre

Yes, I am sorry that I can’t speak for the E models that you are asking about, but I can tell you that I always get well above what the EPA says on the sticker. My E320 4-Matic gets about 20.5 around town (I am not a slow driver) and I have gotten as much as 28.6 MPGs on highways trips averaging about 70 MPH over a 275 to 475 mile stretch of road. On other occasions I have gotten about 32 MPGs when I keep the speed down to about 60 MPH (on mountain roads, but the trip is only about 120 miles).

My car is rated at 18 city and 24 Hwy. The whole-life average of the car since I bought it with 7 miles on the clock is about 21.7 MPG over the last 35,000 miles. What is very surprising to me is that I usually drive with a friend who has an AWD Subaru Outback wagon with a small 4-cylinder engine. Not only does my E kick the crap out of the Subaru going up the mountains, but I always get better fuel economy.

Perhaps this can help you see that you should be able to expect higher than what the sticker says.

Steve

001kz

i get 22-23 mpg just floating on the freeway (almost never do that)
regular somewhat aggressive driving gets me 18-20 mpgs.

in the city i get 15-17 mpg

btw, i am always in the sport mode.

i hope that helps

emilner

It really depends on average mph. With an average of 29-32 mph I get around 16.5-17.5 real world mileage (not the optimistic display mileage). On the highway I average 25 at 68 and 22-23 at 80. This is with light everyday throttle with only one or two tranny kickdowns. I never drive in S mode unless I am driving aggressive which is rare. Go aggressive and that number drops fast.

From everything I have heard there is about a 3 mpg difference from the 350 to the 550...

D.Schlichting

For the last 3 Christmas's have done a trip from New York to Denver and back. Probably 90% cruise control at 65-75 mph. 24.5 / 25.5 / 24.6. Always expected better, but I guess that is the 4-MATIC "penalty"

cyclerider

I get between 25 and 26 mpg on the highway with cruise control at 70 mph in my E550. The 6 cylinder 4-Matic loses its advantage on the highway over the V-8 by having to work through a 5 speed transmission and a 3.27:1 axle ratio, versus the E550's 7 speed tranny and 2.65:1 axle ratio.

gnma

And 114 hp and 133lb-ft torque.....

benze550

theres a big difference in e350 vs e550

ProV1

2008 EPA ratings are pretty darn accurate.

OBC MPG calculations are NOT accurate. u don't buy MBs for gas mileage, but you'll never get better highway MPG than EPA ratings unless you're rolling on skinny 16s going at 50mph and 5* downhill

mtnbenzer

I just returned from a 1,500 mi. trip from CO to Kansas City in 08 E-550 4-matic and the computer shows 21.4 mpg. I averaged 73 mph so speed between 70-80 mph but with fair amount of cruise control. I thought it should be better. Has anyone compared the car computer to actual gallons to miles driven??

MBNUT1

The OBC reported 26.3 at 70 MPH on my 06 E350 4matic. Priot to that I filled up and computed 24 mpg. The OBC had been indicating around 25 mpg. It was about 40-45 deg F. I'm hoping that this will improve in the summer.