jbec.keane

I'm starting to look at replacing my 2003 E320 with a 2013 E350. The question is: gas or diesel? I've seen a thread in the ML forum about surging and hesitation with the diesel in cold weather, but nothing in regards to the E class. Are there still open drivability issues with the diesel?

As I see it, the PROs of a diesel are:
fuel economy
depreciation

and the CONs are:
initial cost
maintenance costs

As far as I can tell, the maintenance cost comes down to the ad-blue additive which can be done more cheaply by purchasing the additive from VW and doing it yourself.

Am I missing something? I'm mostly concerned about drivability. I drive about 20000 miles per year of a mix of some city and mostly highway.

dfordham

The lower depreciation of the diesel makes up for the higher acquisition cost.

In fact if you lease a diesel, the payments are lower than the gasser due to the higher residual.

20,000 miles/year makes the efficiency savings of the diesel significant.

Have not heard of any driveability issues with the diesel. Quite the contrary, the massive torque of that engine seems to have all the Bluetec owners here driving with smiles on their faces!

Regards,
Don

Mbenz260e

No issues with driving and surges with either of my diesels though I read what you are concerned about with the new MLs.

I think at 20k/year diesel is definitely the way to go for you.

As far as maintenance you also need to figure in the new fuel filters every 20k. But even with that I think you will still end up ahead...

ImInPA

Depending on the type of driving you do, the fuel savings can be significant. I fill my Volvo S80 T6 up twice a week. I fill my E350 Bluetec up once every week and a half. That is very significant. One downside to the diesel is that 4Matic is not available, should that be important to you. I have found that My Bluetec does just fine with a set of Micelin X-Ice winter tires on. I think you should drive both gas and diesel and go with the one that makes you smile more. There are few vehicles on the road that are more iconic than a mercedes diesel.

ghstudio

initial cost is about $1500 more.....the car will always be worth $1500 more, probably more than a comparable gas car. You have to drive the diesel car a bit and decide how much you really need/want the acceleration of the gas cars. In my case, I love the diesel and I've never floored it. Just got back doing a RT drive from Tampa to Atlanta and averaged just under 36 mpg in my 2011 e350 BT doing 75/80 on the interstates.

T.H.Carrera

we have 2 of these and love them.

davezaristo

The highest mpg I've attained so far with my diesel is 43.2 mpg and the car only got 6k miles...it should get a little bit better after further break-in and the bragging right of driving a luxury sedan with that kind of mpg is priceless especially in front of my tree hugger prius buddies...

mikemargolis

I could not be happier with the diesel.

I average 30+ mpg city/highway, and can break 40 on a pure highway run.

Tons of power and tons of torque, and it is fun fun fun.

listerone

For me the surging is,at worst,a very minor annoyance and maintenence is,at worst,a little more expensive *if* you do certain simple things yourself (e.g.,DEF).

I've loved both my diesels but,I must admit,the EPA stats on the '12 models are only 1 mpg apart.And BTW,being on my second diesel one thing I can guarantee you is that they're *meant* for the Interstate.....70-75 mph is where they shine.