BENZALL

I have decided to own a new 2005 E320 CDI. I like all the qualities it has, but I was told it is rear wheel drive car. My wife is concern, because NJ roads could be very dangerous during winter.

Sales person for this dealership indicates, the new design have improved the road handling capabilities of this car and we should not be too worried.

Is it true?. Did anyone have experienced winter driving with E320 CDI?

I don't like to drive on snow tires.

Thanks

saffrontiger

Two issues:
1. To my knowledge, most if not all MB's are all RWD unless you have the 4matic which is not an option for the 05CDI.
2. ESP will help soem in the winter but it really comes down to your skills as a driver with slippery weather. Although I live in sunny hot Texas, I did grow up in the north and am used to brutal Canadian winters.

Buy the car and enjoy it. If weather and road handling is an issue, a comparable car may be the Audi (dare I say that name on this board?!) quattro models. They have essentially perfected this technology.
Good luck
Jay

levind

If winter driving is a concern, buy a set of wheels with dedicated snow tires. They will be cheaper than an AWD option.

BudC

It'll probably come with all weather tires but you can always mount good snow tires.

The Mercedes comes with traction control and ESP (anti-skid control). Front wheel drive cars give you good straight ahead traction but lousy control. You are better off with the Mercedes and snow tires.

The American public has been given so much propaganda about it that they believe that Front Wheel Drive and V6 engines are best when in fact, they are manufactured primarily because they are the least costly configuration.

The worlds best cars are rear wheel drive or all wheel drive.

khaug

I second the snow tire/wheel suggestion. Modern radial snow tires are hard to distinguish from "all season" tires on dry roads, and are much better on slippery roads. Be sure to get four tires, not just two. Here's an excellent site which sells tire/wheel combinations via mail and features user reviews of many tire types: www.tirerack.com

We've spent the past 5 Michigan winters with a BMW 528i, very similar to the E320 CDI in terms of chassis design and winter performance. With four snows, traction and stability control and ABS, it did well on snowy roads. Was it as good on snowy roads as a vehicle with AWD? No, but it was surprisingly close, and the major winter limitation was due to ground clearance, not which wheels were driven.

johna1

Although ESP isn't the complete answer, the systems in the E Class are very capable. I have been on a demo where the car was thrown around on muddy grass with the ESP on and off to compare. The car drove normally with it on and was out of control most of the time with it off.

I have also tried this myself and driving in gravel and mud, the car will only put down enough power to avoid wheelspin and skidding. So I was driving at walking pace with my foot flat to the floor, it was quite a strange experience.

ToyCollector

I lived in the liberal and frigid Northeast until 5 years ago and owned high HP BMWs for both my wife and I at the time. I invested in a set of rims and either Blizzak winter tires or one of the Finnish brands. Those combined with traction control were all we needed. Those cars did not have ESP (electronic super parent) inserting itself into my car's handling.

Note that when you are running the winter rims/tires, your summers are resting and not "depreciating". When you sell the car, sell the wintter wheels (tires if they have tread) on Ebay...and I think you will be miles ahead over the extra weight and loss of fuel economy of an AWD system. This also BTW let's you entertain putting your winters on stock rims, and doing a upgrade for your summer tires. That is what I recommend. They are assets that CAN be sold on EBay later on.

pa28pilot

Great thread, as I'll be getting my CDI in the middle of Winter, and was wondering how people regarded the handling in muck.

My W124 is a deathtrap in messy Winter weather, unless I put 200 pounds of sandbags in the trunk, which works pretty well. I'm actually looking forward to ESP in the CDI.

The question I have relates to buying extra wheels for snow tires and the tire pressure monitor. I'm presuming that one has to go with stock MB or AMG rims in order to accomodate the sensor. It's not clear to me whether the sensor is a part of the wheel, or something that attaches to it.

Are there any aftermarket options at all compatible with the TPM. Will AMG wheels work?

BoSoxFan

Not sure that I can agree with that. We've had 4 Toyotas with front wheel drive over the last 11 years and have never had a single problem in snow and ice. But, I've done 360's several times with RWD BMWs and Porsches. No experience yet with the MB.

BoSoxFan

Check the Tire Rack site and the Tire Racks Wheels, Tires, Suspension forum in the Technical Forums section of this site. There are definitely TPMS options for tires and wheels.

I was very surprised that my car was delivered with Summer (Michelin Primacy) tires on my Appearance Group 17" wheels. Since I'm very apprehensive about using these tires in our Virginia winter, I'm planning on getting winter tires to put on the 17" wheels and upgrading to 18"s with better summer tires next Spring.

Luke of the Tire Rack announced some specials last week for winter wheels and tires. You should check it out.

cdiken

So wait and see, or just get a gasser or another make of car.

Better yet, buy the CDI and also buy something like a 1995 Chevy Suburban 4x4 and leave the benz in the garage where it belongs during bad weather.

pa28pilot

A CDI 4-matic is actually my dream car...I almost held off to see if it would come late this year, but it was time...

You're right about having a winter vehicle though - I use a 4WD VW camper for that. It has held its own at speed in 6-inch slush against a Land Rover Discovery. If it ever couldn't manage, I would simply pull over, put a pot of water on the stove, turn on the furnace, watch TV and take a nap.

I believe there is a particular challenge in designing full-time AWD transfer cases that can handle the torque of diesels. At least a few of the AWD/full-time 4WD technologies can't take it.

glojo

First off it is not a CDI problem, but using the 'C' transmission mode and having an engine with excellent torque characteristics is a huge plus.

'C' mode is the old 'W' or winter setting which will cause the car to pull away in second gear. A light right foot and ESP is a good combination.

Oslo is the man you want to p.m. He lives strangely enough in Norway, and who better to get re-assurance from? (he does not own a 320CDI, but does own a RWD S211)

We do not have any snow, but one day we actually had some ice. The school where my daughter attends has a wide turning area for cars dropping children off, this bay had a coating of ice which most vehicles avoided. My wife however was following a 4x4 Discovery and did not notice the ice until the Discovery started sliding. It was only after she had driven over the ice that she realised it was there. No wheel spin, no sliding. It is possible that the Discovery actually tried to accelerate whilst negotiating the ice, but it certainly gave my wife confidence in our car, and the gadgets it has. I asked if she saw any flashing lights on the dash, but she was to busy watching the Discovery to notice anything else.

High performance rear wheel drive cars are crtainly not the best performing on slippery surfaces. The Porsche is a car that needs to be treated with a great deal of respect (I am certainly NOT criticising your driving skills). It is a high performance car that can be 'entertaining' (without ANY in car entertainment)

Putting on my instructors hat..... wide tyres, particularly low proifile tyres are NOT the footwear for driving on snow.


Good luck with your decision
John
A very windy morning in Torquay

DavidNJ

Snow tires, snow tires, snow tires.

First, AWD or not, you need snow tires. Sure, AWD gives you forward traction. It also improves steering on low traction surfaces. However, what about stopping now that you have all that traction?

In NJ, you will have some days the snow comes down while you are at work. And you will have many days when the roads have an unsalted morning ice.

Modern snowtires are really more ice than snow. Using compounds that a flexible a low temperatures and with many slices in the tread that expose edges that slice through the thin film of water on ice to provide good traction.

You need snow tires.

However, I will disagree with some others on two points. First, just have them mounted on your stock rims. Are you really planning on changing them yourself? If not, you will have to go to a shop anyway. And changing them gets the wheels and tires rebalanced twice a year. Definitely a good ides.

Second, Tire Rack is a good choice, however in NJ Costco is also an option. Prices are comparable to Tire Rack, however Costco will mount and balance and do subsequent changes for a small fee.

As to brands, there is a big choice. Over the last 6 years we have used Dunlop Wintersport M2s. However now there are M3s, new Michelin PA2s, Pirelli Sottozeros, Bridgestone LM-22/25, etc. Any are ok. At Costco you will be limited to the Michelins and Bridgestones.

You need snow tires. Otherwise...let me recommend Caruso's Collision in Plainfield...

BoSoxFan

I agree with everything you said, John. The BMW was one of the early 320's, a car that was notorious for its 'loose' rear and oversteer. It would fishtail in a rainstorm, never mind snow or ice. In the Porsche, I was on packed snow and hit an unexpected patch of ice which was covered with snow just as I did a gear change. No harm done, to which I mostly credit Porsche's engineering (especially its perfect 50/50 weight distribution) but also give a little credit to my many years of experience driving in New England winters. I can remember deliberately putting my dad's Oldsmobile into a spin on a deserted snow-covered road as a 16 year old just to learn how the car reacted and how to steer out of it. (Yeah, I know; all teenagers are nuts when they get behind a wheel). Even I was able to learn a little about driving in those conditions. Spinning the Porsche was very entertaining but more than I really wanted.