Navlancer,this is what the 250cdi was made for; enjoy your new ride!
May I ask you guys how do you feel driving everyday on the highway with such a low speed limit(60mph most of the time,I guess)? I mean,to me is even difficoult to maintain our 130kmh (actually you can speed a bit) limit with a diesel wagon,not to mention when I'm driving a sportcar...

 

navlancer,
4 hour drive experience was not wrong. It is how the car performs. You'll appreciate more and more. Enjoy the car.

 

Well, two things. First, speed limits are not actually as low as you think. Here in Texas we have many seconary roads (essentially an A road) with 75MPH/120KPH limits, and Interstates (motorway/autostrada...) with 80MPH/130KPH limits. By European standards, these are actually pretty reasonable speeds.


And of course, we speed. A lot. It's common to drive 30%-40% over the speed limit in areas where it is set unreasonably low. Not that I would ever do that...

 

I have a somewhat rare '14 E250BT RWD, since most E250BT sold in the USA are 4Matics and I do believe was only offered in 2014 in RWD version.


I owned this E250BT since new for 21 months on 16 Feb. I now have over 51,000 miles and since new tracked the fuel used/mileage for a total average of 40.4mpg. For me it is common to see 44 to 52mpg on the reset or start menu after driving for at least 40 miles and not stopping. I have seen per the start and reset menu in the upper 50's and even a few times low 60's mpg, but that is rare. Sure in town stop and go does lower and my mileage might be only in the upper 30's to low 40's but climbs right back in short order to mid to upper 40's once back on the interstate or open roads.


Power, while I never drove a E350BT, I am surely not wanting more power in any circumstance with the E250BT RWD. Easy to see triple digits in a simple pass to get around a vehicle or group of vehicles. I love the way the E does not seem to ever downshift in the mtn's around where I live (Utah). Just purrs along in 7th all day long.


My normal commute is 60 miles each way with 52 miles on multi lane interstates posted at 70 mph. Normally driving anywhere from 73 to 80 mph just to keep up with the traffic flow. normal end of drive home or to work, in the upper 40's every day, day in and day out. Hard to beat that sort of mileage and ease of power on demand for the daily commute.


I will say, the throttle feels in "E" mode tends to be a little on the soft or economy side on start and immediate response. The way MB designed "E" mode to be. But placing the transmission in "S" mode, instant throttle and higher shift points are noted, like letting the cat out of the bag, the small 2.1L wants to run hard and fast. Got to watch the tires for spinning and feel ESP kicking in all the time in "S" mode, since this is a RWD version.


Now would I give up the 2.1 for the 3.0. Myself I rather get the great mileage since I put a lot of miles on rather quickly and do not miss the power in this vehicle over the V-8's I owned in the past. Might even have more off the line than most of the gas cars I owned in the past. I do not believe that the E350 is really that close in mileage that the E250 gets. And I gather the difference in quickness is probably only seen really on paper and if side by side - felt, not on a normal drive which is mostly done by most of us all the time.

 

i bought the BMW 535D instead of the four cylinder E250. Glad I did. I would have bought a E350 but they don't sell them anymore, as you know. I have a ML350 Bluets and often wondered what the fuel milage would be if it had a lower profile. Now I know.

You can drive 75-80 mph (in my case for 670 miles from point to point) and get 39-41 mpg. The mpg was figured dividing gallons put in divided into miles traveled, NOT the cars mpg computer figure.

Sorry Mercedes, I'd have bought then E350 Bluetec if you still were making them.

That said, the 'switchology' of BMW is difficult to cope with if you've been driving Mercedes for some time. The shifter has no business being in the center console on a automatic.......BMW does not have that brake feature where you come to a stop sign and give an extra push to the pedal to hold the car in place.......I get in and want to go reverse the car and move the washer stalk on the BMW making the wipers go up/down (shifter not on the stalk but in the center console, remember)............You have to, on each drive, depress a switch to get the BMW to hold at stop sighs..........you have to depress a switch each time you drive the car in order to engage cruise control, unlike Mercedes where you just move a stalk to engage the cruise.

My overall impression of BMW vs Mercedes is BMW is Sparta and Mercedes is Athens.

The 670 mile drive I mentioned earlier is a drive I do every few weeks from Tx to Ne. 670 each way on interstate for most of it.

 

I'm likely headed that direction as well within the next year. As I currently have a 211 bluetec, one of the reasons the BMW is appealing to me is because they've kept the shiftgate in the center instead of putting it on the steering wheel. I can live with the other oddities if it means I can still have a powerful diesel sedan. How's the overall "quality" of the car? Any major issues yet?

 

Under $35K not including tax, title, etc. 31,000 miles. I will also share I got the luxury model, not sport (personal preference, a sports model with 5K miles more was and still is available right around the corner)

Everyone will find value in different ways. For myself, getting 3 yrs unlimited miles warranty considering I'll be driving ~30K miles / year, it was a no brainer. I added the 2 yr extended CPO as well.

I can't think of a better incentive plan right now. 0.99% for 3 yrs, $550 towards your first payment, two maintenances covered, and unlimited mile warranty coverage as long as the vehicle falls under CPO coverage. Not trying to be a sales guy for the plan, but only Lexus and Volvo CPO warranty coverage compete.

 

I here what you are saying BMW vs MB, a couple of my buddies are Bimmer lifers. Myself, I've owned one, not a fan, I find the MB tranny smoother, and more reliable. Of course, not saying that the 5 series is not a great vehicle.

Also, I can't stress enough that the current incentives being offered by MB made this decision a no-brainer for me.

 

For me, Mercedes is preferred over BMW's.

BUT the BMW 535D (3.0 diesel) is outstanding engine wise imho. It has but 255 hp but has the same performance as the E350 gasoline engine or even a 2007 Jag Xk (4.2 engine non supercharged).

I've a love hate relationship with this BMW. It does not have the looks of the XK I traded in on it (right at 100,000 miles) but somehow with the diesel torque it performs as good as the XK or a E350 gasoline engine and I can drive it at 75-80mph for hours and get 39-40 mpg.

My performance figures come from this site:https://www.0-60specs.com/bmw-535i-0-60-times/ Note: even though this url refers to the 535I, you'll find the "D' results there also.

I'll stop now. I don't belong on this site. I belong over on the ML forum or CL. Gone now. Miss my XK.

 

Your insights and comments are always appreciated. There is no sense in belonging to a particular subform. You don't need to own or drive a particular car to comment on a subforum in MB world. Just having an interest or willingness to share your experience is sufficient. You seem to have both. Thanks for helping out.

 

And given that it's a turbo diesel, a tuning box is sure to yield sub-5s, which is plenty fast for a daily driver. Even without it, the only E350 gasser listed on that site that is as fast is the 4Matic Coupe, which is a much smaller car (based on the C-Class chassis)

 

Like DubVBenz above, I bought my 250E in DC a few months ago and have been in love ever since. I have the Distronic package and on my first ride home from the dealer in heavy DC and MD traffic my leg was very happy not going from brake to gas every second. This is my first diesel and hopefully will last until deep into my old age. I have driven a few different cars and although this won't be mistaken for a sports car, it have more than ample power for all your day to day driving. I do a lot of 40 to 50 minute commutes in this car and it has been the best choice I could have made. Oh, and I average 32mpg. It's a no brainer, go E250!