LemonSqueezy

The 550 is still the king compared to the 400. "Rock solid and fast as hell" is exactly how I would describe it too.

TeeEl

I can attest to the mileage on the E550. I get 12-13 and I don't push it around angrily. Just lots of stop/starting. I personally didn't get the E550 because I expected supercar performance, I just wanted something fun to drive with a V8 (after driving my hybrid for 5 years). I test drove a Corvette and found it too difficult, then test drove my E550 and it was seriously a world apart. The fact that it's basically blisteringly fast is bonus.

DubVBenz

I'm the OP and ended up with a 2015 E400 (couldn't find a 16 with the right options for less than 8K more). By the time I went to buy, finding a 14 E550 CPO'd with low mileage was close to impossible. I put a BMS JB4 on the E400 and am pretty pleased. It's no E550 but it's the fastest car I've personally owned.

SteveE400

Hey - dtsdig - Do some research on the reported performance of the two cars. Compare them to your type of driving.

Example - Car and Driver found in their Instrumented Test article on the E400 (published in August 2015) that the E400 was "about one-half second slower than the E550 from 0 to 60 MPH, and about the same in the quarter mile". Would a half second matter to you? To me, a half-second boils down to driver reaction time.

I've been driving the E400 for nearly 4 years now, and let me tell you, it is still a hoot when you pop it into "Sport" mode and hammer the throttle. More than a couple of younger drivers have been totally owned by the old gray haired dude in that ordinary-looking steel grey sedan.

TeeEl

Does that mean that the E550 is a hooter...?

dtsdig

Thanks for your response. I believe I read that same article, and you’re right. A half second will not mean much to me and I’m sure I’ll be thrilled with what the E400 has to offer.

550x2

The 550 is the only choice if you like a powerful, fast, sleeper of a car. The 400 is just ok and won’t have the resale value of a V8 down the road.

S-Prihadi

I would anyday get the E550 if such model exist in my country, unfortunately it does not exist from the official distributor due to the jacked-up import tax for engine above 3 liter back in 2013 and
in 2018 the government increased it again and it will be 2x more money for me than US buyers would pay.

The E400 engine is already a nice comfort engine due to its high torque at low RPM for a 3 liter, the E550 is even better spec wise.
Speeding aside, its so nice to be in high gear but we can still pull away fast and be at high cruise speed at very low RPM.

E550 Displacement: 285 cu in, 4663 cc
Power: 402 hp @ 5000 rpm
Torque: 443 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm <<<< weight +200 lbs more then E400 according to Car n Driver.

E400 Displacement: 183 cu in, 2996 cc
Power: 329 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 354 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm

True comfort driving is high torque at low RPM, if for me.

I would de-badge an E550, I did it on my E400.
So, if on the road or traffic light you come across some younger dudes with 300HP engine trying to show off to his girlfriend how slow your assumed "E300/E550" is , he will be flabbergasted.
There is a beautiful uniqueness if a 4 door is very silent engine + exhaust wise and it is fast. I would only call a sleeper car a sleeper if the exhaust is super quiet.
I guess I am older now, at 52 I am kinda embarrass if a 4 door car has loud exhaust but I totally don't mind if a 550HP+ 2 door being a bit loud.

.

DFWdude

Here's an image taken at the end of a marathon, 21-1/2 hour drive from N. Carolina to my home in N. Texas (1300 miles). Some may think there is not much difference in fuel mileage between the two. But a computed 30% better fuel mileage (at a 4mph higher average speed) cannot be dismissed...

This drive took just 2 tanks of gas, and during the first stint registered as high as 35.1mpg.YMMV.

KEY08

Yowza, that’s stout mileage. Mine was not all highway, with lots of local driving over a week. When on the highway I was doing 75-80 to get that 60 mph average.

DFWdude

Mine was not all highway mileage either. It included a 40 mile side trip through portions of the Blue Ridge mountains on 2-lane switchback roads, and a 35 minute stop at a park.

S-Prihadi

The mileage you guys get do not get me jealous , the average speed for long distance is what drooled me : 60 - 64 MPH average...damn !!
What is your average speed in typical daily city driving ?

This is my E400 average speed and distance traveled since 12 Feb 2019 ( oil change ) to 7th June 2019. 1,998KM or 1,240 miles and 81.5 hours engine run.
With Sat/Sun weekends and my local holiday excluded, it is 73 days today, or 115 days if all days counted.
Usage profile is :
01- Drive on every other day, so 73 / 2 = make it 37 days. Duty shared between 3 cars is why it is driven every other day, half day of every other day actually.
02- City bumper to bumper driving, but has paid city highways driving too 65% of it at 60-80 KM / hour for my daughter schooling.
03- 1,998KM / 37 days = 54KM per day or 33.5 miles per day

My average speed is very sad and it is the better one already if at 25 KM/H ( 15.53 MPH) average, usually 21 KM/H ( 13.05 MPH ) average.

I am getting 7.52 KM per Liter or 17.69 MPG with above usage profile and it is VERY good for a 3 liter car at 1,800 KG. My chauffeur is light on the throttle. I drove only like 5% of those distance at best.
My 2011 non turbo 120HP 1.6L Fiesta at 1,100 KG , if I am the one driving 100%, would do only 0 -10% better and that is my normal driving, not spirited in anyway but usually 1st & 2nd gear change at
4,500 RPM if I have the opportunity, because the engine is so weak, I need to hit higher RPM.





On a side note :
The above calculation on engine running hours is also the reason I do oil change at 3,107 miles or 5,000KM. I use 200 hours oil life duty.
My 7G+ oil change I set at 20,000KM / 2 years or equal to 800 hours if it can do 10,000 KM per year, which is crazy plenty of running hours.

Damn.... I am still so envious of the average speed you guys are getting on long interstate drives.

.

DubVBenz

I recently had the opportunity to complete a 1000 mile round trip through WV, PA, VA and Ohio through pretty mountainous terrain (well, not really the Ohio portion). I was on the entirety of the WV Turnpike, 64 through VA, 77 in WV, 79 in PA, 68 in WV/MD and lots of backroads like 48, 50, 259. This gave me ample opportunity to test my E400's low end torque compared to my chipped W211 Bluetec. The bluetec is a highway champ, I could accelerate (pretty briskly) up those hills in 7th gear all day long at speeds of 80-90Mph. I figured my first road trip in the E400 would prove whether or not it was a worthy replacement and the metric I planned on using was downshifts. If I had to downshift going up the same hills using the same driving style I have used for the last decade in the bluetec, I'd be disappointed.

Well, the verdict is in. The E400's low end torque was more than adequate to stay in 7th gear and maintain the same driving style. In fact, there was power available should I needed it. Granted I'm running Map 2 on the JB4, which gets the TQ levels to low to mid 400s (right below where the Bluetec was after chipping). I also averaged 27MPG , which was only about 2 less than the bluetec on that same route. Overall, I was extremely happy with how it drove. Also, the passing power on back roads is tremendous. The car jumps up above 100 in a flash compared to the bluetec.

S-Prihadi

Dub,

Holy Cow, OM642 diesel depending on year has a torque of 510 - 540 NM !! That puts E400 480 NM seems ordinary ... LOL.
I never knew you when you started the thread in 2018 your barometer was a super torque common rail diesel engine.

It this OM642 data correct ?
European models: 195 kW (265 PS; 261 hp). US vehicles: 157 kW (213 PS; 211 hp).
European models: 620 N⋅m (457 lb⋅ft). US vehicles: 540 N⋅m (398 lb⋅ft).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merced...z_OM642_engine

Is this the correct OM642 torque chart for US model ? I mean standard non chipped one.
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/c...7g-tronic.html


I am totally inexperienced on Mercedes diesel engines specs, as my country have VERY low quality fuel, common rail Benz/Audi/BMW sedans will not live long if imported prior to 2018.
I experienced only Japanese small power common rail and its already very nice for its HP and displacement vs its gasoline cousin.

Passing power on backroads the HP advantage of the M276 DELA 30 over the OM642 would be obvious, but slow high gearing city driving I think your OM642 would be very awesome.

No wonder Kajtek1 loves his E250 BTC, that is a torque monster too for such a small 2.1 liter engine.

.

DubVBenz

Mine was the first iteration, which only made 211HP/398 ft/lbs stock. I had it chipped and it was somewhere in the ~250ish HP, ~450ish torque. Would have loved to buy a W212 with the 265HP version, but they never brought it. You could get a similar version of that iteration in the later SUVs and the last two years of the W221, but I didn't want either of those. VW basically killed the euro diesel market in the US overnight. A real shame, the new MB inline 6 diesel is a work of art apparently.

S-Prihadi

Thanks Dub

sittinlowbenz

Does anyone have any exhaust notes from a modded E400? I'm in the market for a E550 but they are so rare its getting annoying having to wait. A 2016 E400 just popped up at a dealer in my town and for the price its very tempting. I've heard a modded C43 and it sounds great so curious if the E400 would be similar.

cls5504matic

rolling starts are different...

SteveE400

Agreed -- that's when there's no replacement for displacement.

The issue for me was that by the time I was ready to buy, there were no new E550's left, and I was not willing to buy a high-performance car used - even CPO. I would have loved to get my exact car, but in a 550.

Kadokane1989

I have a 2016 e400 Coupe my friend has same car but 2015 I beat him every time I've raised the 550 and was neck and neck I think the 2016 is a freak model

DubVBenz

ok

BenzV12

M278 V8 , twin turbo is fantastic

Mr shawty

That e400 I actually was about to buy and ended up getting the e550 2 years older but the 14 doesn't have the turbo v6 if it does its easy tune its much softer the seats are fragile the leather I looked at 4 all had peeled leather the 550 held up better. But I was this close to getting the e400. Every time I hit the gas n hear my turbo i know I made the correct choice. I need to ask some e550 coupe vets some issues that came with the car i purchased seats steering wheel and the type of shocks

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

I know this is an old thread and I am posting this for new buyers, but I prefer the M276 3.0 biturbo because with a tune, you can get near the E550 hp. Of course, if you want more than ~420hp, go with the V8. The V6 is lighter, giving better F/R balance to the car, but the E-Class really isn't a car for the twisties, I would imagine. The other big difference is the space in the engine compartment.

The smaller V6 makes working on the car a little easier for DIYers. And the M276 3.0 is MUCH easier to change plugs on than the M276 3.5 NA engine.

DubVBenz

I'm actually the OP from several years ago. I ended up with the E400 and a JB4 and have been quite happy with the performance. From what I've seen of M278s as they age, I think I made the better choice in terms of reliability (cooling plumbing/cylinder scoring).