The engine isn't very eager above 60 mph.

 

Finally drove the 4 cylinder to test it out. I actually liked it. It has more power than I thought it would.

 

I wanted to weigh in and give you some personal insight and possibly allay any concern. I am not the guy who would drive an AMG (or more appropriately a M series Bimmer) but do like smooth power in a luxury vehicle. My wife has had an ML350, a GLE 350 and now just got a new GLE 350 in early Nov. I too was very concerned that a 2 liter would be inadequate for an almost 4800 pound (very modestly equipped) vehicle. I currently drive a 2016 BMW 535 XDrive which tests out in 0-60 in the low to mid 5s. Previous to that was a 328 XDrive which accelerated similarly without quite the smoothness. I have a new 540 that will be delivered within the next 2 weeks so I like smooth six cylinder power (and the E450 is a lovely car but the drivetrain, while nice, is not quite as cohesive as the BMW and I prefer the user interface of the idrive. You may start throwing tomatoes now).

Back to the 4 cylinder. While it is not the new inline 6 in the GLE 450 or the X5 drivetrain, I have found the 2.0 litre in the GLE to be more than adequate. This is a completely new engine ( as I understand) compared to the 4 in the E300. With the 9 speed auto, it accelerates as well or better than her 2016 3.5 NA V6. There is minimal turbo lag and low end torque is good. Passing on the highway at speeds between 65-80 do not cause undue stress. Engine noise is not the smooth whir of an inline 6 but (at least in the 2020 GLE) it is well muted and not bothersome. The car only has 1000 miles so it has not been beaten on but it does the job without needing foot to the floor abuse. C and D just tested the GLE 350 and got a 0-60 time of 6.6 seconds. Extrapolate the weight drop for an E350 and you should be seeing high 5s or 6 seconds for 0-60. But really it is about feel and given how decent the GLE 350 feels with the extra 6-700 pounds, I am guessing it will make a fine duo with the E Class chassis. And by the way, her current, unbroken in vehicle gets far better mileage then the previous two.

As an aside, I am of the age when I remember that the fastest Camaro you could get in 1982 (when I got my license to drive) could go from 0-60 in 9.5 seconds. Today base Camrys and Accords can do 0-60 in 7-8 seconds which was muscle care acceleration in the 1970s and better than most muscle cars until power starting moving up in the later 1980s. We have all become so spoiled by today's cars that we scoff at cars that do 6 second 0-60 times from puny 2.0 litre fours. For perspective, the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado was rated at 190 horsepower from 8.2 litres.

When I ordered my 540, the 530 is still using the older version of the 4 as compared to the one in the new 3 series so I did not consider it even though it accelerates to 60 in the low 6's. Had it had the upgraded 4 from the new 3 series (and in a few years they will all be at least a mild hybrid like the new GLE 450) , I would have definitely considered the 4 without hesitation. So yes, for 3 years I will delight in my very quick, buttery smooth inline 6. But next time I will try out the 4 and likely get the 4 and a few more options.

Good luck with your decision. I think that unless you are a true leadfoot you will find the E350 to be a more than adequate and very nice luxury vehicle.

 

Went to a Mercedes Benz dealer last week while I was in Dubai. The brand is pretty popular over there and according to my salesman they do a significant amount of export business. The last few times I purchased a MB locally I was required to sign a document attesting that I was going to be the actual owner and also agree not to re-sell the vehicle outside the country for 24 months. Maybe that's a US only issue, I'm not sure. In any event the salesman assured me that they would ship the car to any place I wanted including the US. He also indicated that quite a few of their customers buy a second vehicle for use in the US.

The dealership definitely prided itself on being a First Class shopping experience including offering to let me take a car for a spin on the spot. I would've if I had more time. I'm not sure where they get their salesmen, my guy's english was impeccable -- I thought I was listening to a BBC newsreader. I told the guy I wanted info regarding the E350 and he showed me Mercedes official numbers of 0-62 in 6.3 seconds (or roughly 6.0 seconds to 60). The horsepower figures were slightly different though - 258 BHP instead of 255 here in the US. I asked if I could keep the brochure but I managed to leave it in my hotel when I left for the airport. So much for that.

All E350s and 450s get the full digital screens and in order to get heated seats the salesman said it often requires special order since most of the vehicles in their inventory had cooled seats instead. I sat in one to make sure and would you believe the switch on the door was for cooling only? I forgot to ask if rear cooled seats were an option.

So it appears that the "new" engine is modestly faster, and noticeably more fuel efficient than the 2.0 liter which preceded it. Not sure why the MBUSA site doesn't list this info though.

 

For different markets they may tune the engine differently. Or they just have different requirements for different markets so hard to say why the HP numbers would change. If you were going to buy in Dubai, you mind as well do European delivery, they take 7% off automatically and people sometimes get some additional percentage off that and they don't have the 1k delivery charge. Still sometimes the left over deals on the lot could be better than that and you still have to pay for the trip to Germany.

You can get a copy of the brochure here:

http://www.auto-brochures.com/mercedes_benz.html

 

Thanks for the link. But that is for US cars. I wanted the one from Dubai as just a keepsake of my trip. As for a new purchase, I'm not in the market. I just popped in to kill a little time.

 

I just noticed that the torque comes on a little bit earlier in the 2017-2019 E300 vs the 2020 E350

E300:
241 hp @ 5,500 rpm
273 lb-ft @ 1,300–4,000 rpm

E350:
255 hp @ 5,800 rpm
273 lb-ft @ 1,800–4,000 rpm

But the 0-60 mph went from 6.2 seconds in the E300 to 5.8 seconds in the E350 (RWD)
interestingly the 2020 E350 4MATIC is 5.6 seconds. Faster than the RWD. Traction helps with that 0-60. Although the 2017 model the RWD was faster.

sources:
https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...***-Family.pdf
https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...PDF_101719.pdf

 

Weird the 0-60 numbers are listed on the brochure but not on MBUSA.

 

Well it seems that has now been corrected. The configurator shows this information as well. Wonder when we will see actual road test reviews?

 

Taking a look at my original brochure I see that the e400 4matic sedan is listed at 5.3 secs for the 0-60 run. MBUSA now lists the e350 4matic at 5.6 secs. I'm really curious as to what that translates in real world test reviews as well as a comparison of the 1/4 mile run.

 

I'd rather have the Mercedes M139 4 banger engine @ 416 hp, 369 lb/ft.