Hello. New to the forum. Looking at getting a new E300 or E350. Da wife won't let me get a E400 or E450 due to $$$. For those that have the E300 or E350 how do you feel about the 4 cylinder engine? Being older now I'm not much of a speed racer but would like a little spirited drive every now and then. I've heard that the 4 cylinder has problems pass on the freeway? Hard to get a real world feel for this while test driving. Would like to know what E300/E350 owners feel or have to say about this. Thanks for any input that you can provide. FYI last E I owned was 2016 with V6. Currently own a 2016 Infiniti Q70.

Thanks.

 

Just my $.02:

Relax: As the dollars for the E450 are beyond what you are willing to pay, you have no other option than the E350, so why even bother beating yourself up about it?

Those of us that have the E450 as I do, did not feel that the 4 cylinder was adequate. In my instance, when I drove the E300 for a full day (it was a loaner) I felt the the 4 cylinder was "peppy but not powerful". It certainly was adequate both in town and on the highway. But, I felt the V6 in the E450 was smoother and for $70,000 plus I felt embarrassed to admit for that price I was driving a 4 cylinder.

Those of us that have the 4 cylinder are perfectly happy with it and enjoy the savings in not only the purchase price but fuel economy and have no regrets in their purchase.

 

I would say test drive it again and on the interstate and see what it has.

no reason to skimp on a test drive for something that costs this much and end up being unhappy.

 

I definitely think it’s a personal preference. With that said I have a 2017 E300 and love it. I have absolutely no issues with the power of the 4 cylinder and think is perfectly adequate.

Fuel economy is great and there is always the sports or sport + option should I feel like I need an instant boost. I have achieved 35 MPG on long trips and high 20s on the day to day round town trips.

I have driven friends in it and they think it’s a 6 or 8 cylinder. The owner of the car wash by me was talking to me one day while I was having it washed.

By his conversation I knew he was curious about the car so I took him for a ride in my neighborhood at an area where there were some twist and turns with good visibility and no cops. Placed the car in spot + and blew his mind. He currently has a Viper and a Caddy and he couldn’t believe that the car was a 4 cylinder and said this 4 made his 8s look like they were 4.

He said he had never been driven like that in a car so capable and handled like that. coincidentally that is what my two friends had said when I drove the at the same location. I don’t generally drive it that way, I even have the Luxury model so your typical led foot

 

I have restricted my 2018 E300 to in-town driving only because of the limited passing power (50-70 mph) on two lane roads. I have a BMW for highway travel. That said, the E300 is adequate in Sport or Sport+ mode. In those modes the car is quite responsive for the short bursts needed when merging with traffic.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I will schedule a few more test drives. I was just concerned as I've never owned a 4 cylinder engine before. Always owned V8 and V6. So I am a little leary and it's not like I can take it back after a month or so. Could you expand on the "limited passing power"? Is it that bad between 50-70 mph where it would be unsafe to pass?

 

Like JTK44, I felt I'd be a bit embarrassed knowing, or telling, that my $75k car was a 4-cylinder. I mentioned that to a salesman (80-90% of what he sells are 4-cylinders), and he said whenever anyone asks what size engine, he says it's a 255hp turbocharged engine, and lets people drive it to decide if that's enough power. They almost always feel it is.

I also have a 2012 VW GTI, which I've always considered a "pocket rocket" or "Hot hatch". It handles great, is quite powerful and quick for its size, even has launch control, though I've never used it. All the power I'd need for that size car. The E350 has an almost identical 0-60 time!

 

I go to the Everglades and the Keys quite a bit. The road South of Miami is congested with 1 lane in each direction. There are some very short areas for passing. One can get stuck behind a slow mover for several miles unless one can accelerate very quickly. If that happens, the 9 hour trip can turn into a much longer trip - even overnight. That's where the 50-70 mph acceleration is needed.

 

But a light weight quick handling GTI will always feel faster than a heavy mid size car like an E300/E350.

My Boxster, which is 1 second slower to 0-60 than my E450 feels faster: It is lighter, quicker handling, louder and lower to the ground

For similar reasons you feel the GTI is faster as well.

 

That's true. But actual 0-60 time is really close, and I'm guessing the 50-70 time would be better with the MB due to the 9 speed gearbox. But yeah, you can throw the GTI all around the road, and it loves it, as does your Porsche.

 

I've owned mine for a year and half now and other than the prestige associated with the 6 cylinder, there hasn't been any practical experience causing me to question my purchase and certainly nothing to cause me to think that the power is inadequate. Granted I haven't taken it to a race track, but urban, suburban as well as rural driving has given me plenty of opportunities to find out if there are circumstances where I'm disappointed and nothing yet. I will tell you that I've not had one question about the engine size -- most everyone is interested in the 'self-driving' features. I wanted a rear wheel drive e-class with the luxury package. I wasn't so concerned about the cost. And I'm very happy with this car. BTW, MBUSA doesn't list performance stats for the new "350" engine with 255 horsepower and I've only seen one YouTube review of that engine. Can't say whether the difference is noticeable but nothing wrong with more horsepower and better fuel efficiency I guess.

 

No such thing, although I didn’t make that statement. If you have an existing MB, request an E class loaner your next visit so you are not limited to a test drive. As I started before you have sports and sports+ modes at your fingertips. I have had other V6 & V8 MB before and turbo 4 is pretty spirited. Your previous V6 is not much more powerful than the current turbo 4.

 

Hi,

I have my E350 cab for a month now and I absolutely love it.

I was assuming there won’t be any lag whatsoever but to be honest I don’t see much advantage over E300 (I tried E300 as well but it was long time ago). Fuel consumption is not great either. I drive in Economy mode and in best case i made around 35mpg (UK) In mostly motorway traffic but usually it is around 27mpg. I still feel lag and heavy weight of the car. My car was called to dealership other day and I was given E220d (194HP) estate for a day. To be honest, it felt much lighter and agile. Fuel economy was great as well - 45-50mpg.

I think you should try E220d as well. having said that, I think if you switch off stop/start, there won’t be as much lag but fuel economy will be worse obviously.

 

We don't get the diesel E-class here in the US. And if I'm not mistaken the engine you describe is not the same as the 350 offered here. Ours is 255 hp and 273 lb ft of torque. It could be just tuned differently though.

 

I think you should try E220d as well. having said that, I think if you switch off stop/start, there won’t be as much lag but fuel economy will be worse obviously.[/QUOTE]


I bought the aftermarket device that shuts off the stop/start feature permanently and I continue to get excellent gas mileage. As an observation for the OP, I had forgotten that the 4 cylinder's sound during the stop/start activation is something that definitely diminishes the premium impression of my E-class. I had forgotten about that. There will be quite a difference between the 4 and 6 cylinder when it comes to that aspect unless you learn to deactivate it each time you drive the car or do as I did, and permanently deactivate it.

 

Seems like US E350 is UK E300. There is table below comparing Petrol E class Coupe/Cabriolet in UK

 

I'm 65 years old, I just recently bought a 2018 cpo E400 Coupe. I started looking at the sedan, and it was more important to me if the car had intelligent drive or air suspension than the 6 cylinder. Then I gravitated to the Coupe because I liked the look of the Coupe and it only comes with a 6. I've been car crazy all my life. Have had American muscle cars, also BMW Z3, Mercedes SLK , and a whole lot of cars in between. I've been to Deal's Gap or sometimes called the Dragon. If I lived close to that or the Autobahn I would not buy a four cylinder, Today's four cylinders sound good, have more than enough power for most people, and use less gas. Even if you don't care about your money don't forget with better gas mileage you don't have as many finger numbing trips to the gas stations in cold weather. My two cents

 

I bought the aftermarket device that shuts off the stop/start feature permanently and I continue to get excellent gas mileage. As an observation for the OP, I had forgotten that the 4 cylinder's sound during the stop/start activation is something that definitely diminishes the premium impression of my E-class. I had forgotten about that. There will be quite a difference between the 4 and 6 cylinder when it comes to that aspect unless you learn to deactivate it each time you drive the car or do as I did, and permanently deactivate it.[/QUOTE]

What is the purpose of stop/start then if it won’t save fuel (other than complying emission standards?)

I agree that, E350 is slightly less noisier than diesel engines.

 

What is the purpose of stop/start then if it won’t save fuel (other than complying emission standards?)

I agree that, E350 is slightly less noisier than diesel engines. [/QUOTE]


That's a debate for others. I absolutely hated the feature from the day of the first test drive to the day I took my new E-class home. Maybe it saves fuel, maybe it doesn't. What it did do was announce loudly and clearly to any and everyone that you're driving a four pot powered car. The sound, the shutter - I hated it. But I've had it deactivated for so long I've actually forgotten what that was like and I think it might be the main reason why I've never been asked what engine is in the car. Passengers tell me they love the ride and the modern interior styling. I'm impressed by the remarkable gas mileage and how trouble-free the car ownership experience has been.

I'll say again, if there had been a RWD option with a larger engine I likely would have gotten it. As it happens I'm very satisfied with the performance of this engine in this car.

 

In the US the 2019 E450 has a 21.5 gallon tank vs.17.4 gallons for the E300 so the range on the open road is actually greater in the E450 vs. E300.

The real fuel savings for the E300 is in stop and go and suburban driving. On open road at 75 miles per hour, in my E450, I consistently get between 31 and 33 mpg. I believe the E300 does slightly better - but not much. This may be due to the fact that the E450 is less stressed at high speeds..

But in local driving the E450 is lucky to get 18 mpg while the E300 gets 24/25 mpg.

The E350 for Euorpe is the straight 4 cylinder with the 48 volt Lithium that produces 299 HP. That engine is slated to be available in the states for 2021. For 2020 we basically get the 2019 4 cylinder engine with a few more horsepower.

The acceleration figures I have seen for the 4 cylinder with the 48 lithium battery are halfway between the E450 and present E300: 0-6 is under 6 seconds, which for all practical purposes is sufficient.

The 4 with the 48 lithium battery I believe is the perfect compromise for the E Class: fuel efficiency of the 4 and performance of the 6.

In a few years this will all be academic as Mercedes has already announced that the present engines are the last of the internal combustion engines that are in development. No future internal combustion engines are planned.

After these engines run their course, by 2026 at the latest Mercedes will be all electric.

 

Really? Then I think a lot of us will not be buying Mercedes. My ordered MB will be my longer distance, trip car. If I can't drive 800 miles in a day when I have to, it wouldn't do it for me. I can stomach the hybrid feature, although don't like the added complexity and cost, but I can't see ever going to electric, unless it's for use only around home. IMHO, before electric is usable for long trips, we'll have other more practical power for our cars (fuel cells, hydrogen, etc).

 

I imagine it's on about a par with eliminating the spare tire. In general, fuel usage, for a given engine/transmission combination, is proportional to weight. Using 60 pounds as an approximate weight of a full size tire and wheel spare, 4000 pounds as a reasonable sedan loaded weight, and 25 mpg as a base mpg, adding a spare would be expected to reduce mileage by 0.38 mpg, something MB probably cares about but none of us will be able to see or measure. The Start/Stop will probably save more than that in City driving, much less if anything during longer trips.
I was hoping that could be shut off in Settings somewhere. What aftermarket device did you use, and can it do anything else?

 

Yes: the end of the internal combustion engine:

The headline says it all:

Daimler Will Pull the Plug on Gasoline, Diesel Engines, Focus on EVs

here is the link to the article:

https://interestingengineering.com/d...ustion-engines



and

https://interestingengineering.com/d...ustion-engines


and

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...90c54f18f24c5b


and

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/20...s-but-not-bmw/


and


https://electrek.co/2019/09/19/daiml...electric-cars/

 

Doing a search on each of those pages, I could not find that headline anywhere. I did find:

Daimler Has No Plans to Develop Next-Generation Combustion Engines

And that's fine with me. They've developed IC engines just about as far as they can, and it makes sense to spend development money on new technologies. That does NOT mean they won't keep producing and selling IC engines, I would think as long as there is a market for them, and as long as there are no long-distance alternatives.

 

I own an E300 2017
Im happy with the power and the fuel economy averaging 26 MPG and I drive in city most of the time. if your not a racer and only want a quick pass on the high way. your gonna be happy with the power. my previous Mercedes was an E350 W212. coming from a V6 N/A to a four cylinder Turbo.