Just spotted 550I and like it, so it is hard decision between 550i and E550. Accordingly BMW 0-60 for 550i is 5.0, it looks quite conservative for me, so what is value for E550? I use to drive fast car I want to stay on 4.8 sec at least.

 

I haven't seen any published figures yet, but the CLS 550 with the same twin-turbo motor does 0-60 in the mid to high 4's and with the E550 being a bit lighter, I'd think mid 4's would be reasonable. I'll let you know as soon as I get my E550 coupe in December. (Should be on the boat right now). I did drive a '12 CLS before ordering my E and it was a monster. (and no it wasn't an AMG)

 

Car and Driver magazine advertises 4.6 to 60mph, and 13.1 in 1/4 mile for the E-550 with the old motor, 5.5L.

 

R u buying a car based on a 0-60 test? LMAO

 

Lol. This question cracked me up as well. To play along I guess....

I'm assuming they're similar, with the E550 probably edging it out due to being lighter, having a slight bit more displacement, and a bit more Torque if I'm not mistaken.

 

The E has more HP, the Bmw has more torque,, on the new motors. 402/443 to 400/450

 

+3...........

and plus bmw's are lame, haha....
buy Mercedes!

 

Nothing wrong with this question... He's coming from a fast vehicle and wants to stay in the same range. I'm sure it's not the only attribute he cares about when buying a new car. Good luck in your search!

 

I agree, thats why I didn't get a 350. Its nice to have a 4 door sedan with *****....

 

+1
the 268 is amazingly unpowerful!!

 

If statistics and HP numbers didn't exist, it would be interesting to see who actually can notice how much extra "tenths" or HP cars have (hence HP wars being more couch-racing or statistic bragging for most) over each other.

For example, I'm driving a Rental Civic right now, and I have no idea the HP, but assume it's like 140 or so, and this little sh*t's pretty zippy. If no one ever told me the HP stat or inevitably terrible 0-60 time, I wouldn't think of it as some slow snail of a car. The Tranny has it in the right powerband (VTEC YO!) seemingly at all times. If you tap the gas too hard, the car will even have a discomforting "jolt", and I can chirp the peg-leg FWD tire too.

For extreme comparisons sake, my friends GTR, which I've driven, at low RPM's, and around town, is actually kinda sorta sluggish.... A true "beast within, but he won't come out unless you unleash him" situation. If I drove my friends GTR around and kept it under 70 with no acceleration spurts, and considering I don't floor it anywhere or street race, I would never know the HP number or assume that it's such a beast, if no one told me.

Day to day, and with calmed driving manners, I'll say it again, there isn't such a notable difference between the N/A E550 and 268 HP E350. I've driven both, back to back, many many times, and unless I push them in ways I wouldn't in "real life", I'd be hard pressed to notice such a difference. Both have adequate enough torque and power to allow for smooth acceleration, without an engine winding up to absurd noise levels. The V8, more so than power, is mostly notable for that extra bit of smoothness. Now, driving a CLS55 AMG, that was a night and day difference from the get-go, an absolute aggressive demeanor right from the start, and you don't have to really push it to know that there's beast within.

Things that make you go "hmm", ya know?

 

wasn't vtec first for Acura??
don't knock the tec man!!!! LOL

 

LOL. I'm a believer! I dunno who had it first, but Honda/Acura obviously share it.

Once this little 4-buzzer gets into VTech zone, all bets are off! Actually, to be serious, like I said earlier, I don't know how slowly it's moving to speed, but when it gets in that VTECH zone, it actually scoots pretty well, and feels alright. If HP numbers and mag tests didn't exist, I'd probably think it was a pretty fast car. Lol.

 

Yep. I had a SLK350 for 5 years and test drove the E350 as both were the same HP rating. I thought 800 pounds shouldn't affect it too much. Then I test drove the E550 and I was sold.

 

Yea the 550 is very smooth, I mean like electric motor smooth and very poised and calm but when you mash down on the gas, your like "holy crap". It's quite a beast but driving it normal you would have absolutely no clue that it has this capability. Problem is these cars have too much power for the tires they use. It's hard to tap into all the power at low speeds cause all you have is wheel spin or the traction control engages. If someone put some drag slicks on the car and disengages the traction control, I'm sure the 550 could do upper 4's 0-60. Don't see it happening on stock rubber though. Also these 550's come to life after about 1000 mile break in, so if your test driving a dealer car with low miles, there will be a noticeable difference when the motor breaks in.

 

E550!!!!

good summary RNBRAD

 

I like having a faster car because I find it safer... In tight situation where you need power a slow car becomes rather dangerous and you have to time out when you can make a lane change, merge, or turn... In the city or traffic it really doesn't matter, but not many people who buy fast cars use them primarily in the city...

HPFP for the 550 if it's the the turbo version, I believe the older ones were N/A... Reliability issue... Not a big fan of turbo engines as far as reliability and maintenance, that's why all but one of my cars are n/a (maintenance and reliability is offset by the gains of a simple tune). Tough call, spend some time in both cars...

 

What year was it? I know that the previous SLK350 (not sure if this was the facelifted version) was rated at 300-odd horses without the direct injection in the newer V6.

 

No chance I would ever trade my 550 in for a 6 cylinder because unfortunately I am completely spoiled. I also agree that having 391lbs of torque is comforting in tight situations when some moron needs to be passed quickly. Although I do know for a fact 300hp out of a 6-banger is plenty adequate as well. But who wants adequate?? I want excessive!! Also, all that reserve power is a must when there are 4 or 5 people in the car.

 

no noticeable difference in daily driving between E350 and E550, have to completely disagree with that, almost laughable statement, unless you drive like a overly cautious uninsured motorist who's afraid to get into an accident or a ticket or driving to maintain a high MPG. 0-40 from a stoplight, passing ability and routinely driving on the freeway between 70-80 is pretty much daily driving for me and the V8 is marvelous, along with the effortless power delivery and smoothness, then put the car in sport mode at it feels like it lurching forward, almost scary when flooring it. In comparison, I also drive my wife's ML350 alot which is the same motor as the E350, I know not the same car but nevertheless, not too far off in dimensions and that car just feels like it straining under moderate acceleration.

I drove the E350 many times before getting the E550 and basically felt the same way, just felt underpowered, which is fine for basic daily driving or if I had an M3 in the garage for weekends, but when compared to a 535i, GS350, M37, you are getting shortchanged in the power department. Basically told my sales guy (who I already got 4 cars from) I plan on going for the 535i, he then offered me a deal I couldn't refuse on an E550 that was on the lot for a few months and could not be happier.

 

Try a steep up-hill on-ramp to a 75MPH Interstate, and you'll believe in the 550!

 

no difference? hmmmmm.....
the difference is power! muh hahahaha!!

also a good point about passengers, and the extra weight.....(solid granite)
that would really suck with a loaded car.......shew........

and also very true (live oak) about going up anything........not an issue

 

I initially had the e350 for a few weeks last December before trading it back in for the e550. I can appreciate what KA is saying about the adequate power of the e350. I actually think that it is a very good engine and is overly maligned by many on this forum. It has a good power to torque ratio and moves quite nicely when you step on it. That said, the e550 engine has meaningfully more effortless power at every range. End of story. Regards. Ned.

 

That statement always cracks me up. I'd understand if we were talking about 120 HP 3500 lb cars, but c'mon now, 270 HP isn't a "safety hazard". We must have been living on the edge in the 90's then, eh?

I agree, when you're spoiled with the extra power, you can't go back indeed.

You read that exactly right: I didn't notice such a difference with my driving style. Now, when I floored it, yes, I noticed, but I've never floored my E on the roads. Hell, I might have taken it to redline just once. Most of my driving is under 2500 RPM's, I just drive the car chill, and if I want to be a little aggressive, the 268 HP is enough to get me into trouble fast enough (375 would just get me in trouble faster). With my style of normal driving, I didn't notice a big difference, in fact, how could I? Do you think the extra 100 HP is on tap at every RPM throughout the powerband?

I agree that once you start getting aggressive, and start calling for more horses, yes, of course you'll realize how much more there really are in the V8, but that's not what I (personally) bought my E-Class for (I woulda just got the E63 W211 next to it which would have cost me less ), hence my driving them "realistically" back to back, and not noticing a giant real-world difference. The V8 smoothness is DEFINITELY the most important and noticeable case though, however, the 3.5 is actually extremely well done and close in that regard as well, kind of like a "baby 5.5L".

Very sensible statement, bravo sir!

It's all about "what you desire". Some of the statements here regarding power remind me of the Camaro/Mustang boards.... Only, they get more power, at a much lesser price (without creature comforts, of course). Funnily enough, I know many people (in real life) who are proclaimed power junkies, but drive more Grannily than I do, and never use the beasts under their hoods, but like to brag about the power all the time. Easy case there.

 

K-A there are still a lot of slow cars out there... I said in tight situations it becomes dangerous not all the time... I had a car spin out in front of me and begin to come back towards me; I didn't have enough time or distance to brake so I accelerated. I also had a semi merge over the white lines as to not miss the exit and again if I didn't have the extra power he would have hit me and taken my roof off. It's just like having added braking power in situations that call for it, you can stop shorter... A car with better handling can out maneuver an obstacle on road better... A slower car would not have cut it in the above situations... Especially if you have passengers... More is always better in my opinion until it becomes excessive.