Counter point: My 2016 E350 had the V6 engine. My 2019 E450 also has a V6 engine.

I drove the both he 4 and 6 before deciding on the 6. As I have posted many times, the 4 was peppy and loud: the 6 was smooth and powerful.

 

IMO the v6 is in between the i4 and i6 as far as smoothness. The v6 is also inherently unbalanced regardless of the angle. A V engine has many more parts than an inline engine.

 

An I6 is balanced. A V6 is not. But a V6 with counterweights is balanced. This is simple engineering - not rocket science. The same V6 in my E Class can also be had, and is standard in the world outside of the US, in the S Class.

My V6 is as smooth as silk.

Did you drive both the 4 and 6 before you bought your Mercedes and if so why then did you buy the 4 instead of the 6, as both were available?

 

Agreed. V6 can be balanced with counterweights. The Mercedes V6 is smooth as silk. I can't even tell oftentimes that the engine is running in my GLC43. There's nothing magical about the I6 over the V6.

 

That article is AMG-specific, and does not mention that the new C63 with four cylinders is heavier than the outgoing E63 with V8, has been universally panned, and is not selling.

MB management can wish all they want, but this is not The Way.

 

It is AMG specific but if the AMG models, which are the high performance versions of MB cars, then it stands to reason that the non-AMG models would also move to all four-cylinder as the biggest engine option. Eventually, we will have zero-cylinders as we fully migrate to EV only but I think that is a while out still. Until then, I think we will see much more mild-hybrids or full-hybrids with lower cylinder counts in the future.

 

Even with a split pin (split journal) crankshaft to enable a 90° v6 to fire at 120° intervals, only the primary firing forces are balanced, but some secondary vibrations remain due to the 3 cylinder bank. If the v6 was so good, why did MB abandon it and return to the traditional in-line 6 in 2021? Simply put, the in-line 6 is superior to the v6. AFAIK the only advantage the v6 has over the i6 is that it fits in a shorter engine compartment.

 

It does not stand to reason when their primary competition...the German rivals...continue to release new models with V8 power, and no 4-cylinders in their luxury or performance lineups.

 

It does! MB is doing it since the E-Class comes with an i4, i6, and no V8 options at all. All I'm saying is that if MB feels four-cylinders are good enough in their performance models why would they put more cylinders in their non performance models. That's backwards, regardless how you feel about their decision to abandon the V8.

 

There are cost considerations. A hand built high performance 4 banger in AMG models probably costs twice what a machine built i6 costs. Fuel consumption and emissions also play a role in the MB offerings. Abandoning the v8 wasn't really a voluntary MB decision. Government regulation was the force majeure.

 

Wrong! I have had several V6’s. it is a grindy engine when laboured to the floor. The last two were 2018 E 43’s .Traded one a year later for 2019 CLS53. Very, very different propulsion system.

 

Instead of 'The Best or Nothing" they are into "Nature or Nothing" : https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/08...t-greenwashing

 

You are beating a dead horse: We all agree that the I6 is inherently balanced. The V6 is not, but engineering makes it as smooth as the I6. The V6 is smaller, more compact and is cheaper to produce. Until the introduction of the present I6, I believe the only mass market producers of cars that still offered an I6 was BMW. Every other manufacturer switched to the V6, (from V8) for cars, SUV to trucks including Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Audi, etc. the only exception being BMW.

I think it is time to put this discussion to rest.

 

Along with Mercedes, Jaguar/Land Rover, RAM/Jeep, Mazda, and diesels for GM trucks are all relatively new I-6 designs.

 

Well, MB just launched the CLE53 and E53 with variations of the M256 to much praise. Unlike the C63. I sincerely doubt they will put that new AMG 4-cylinder drivetrain in a CLE63, E63, S63...or in any of the bigger SUVs or Maybachs...against BMW/Audi/Porsche/Bentley 6- and 8-cylinder vehicles.

 

I've been wondering that. More efficiency? Only 1 turbo to electrify? Cheaper to manufacture?

Meanwhile, they spent resources to electrify and hybridize the I4 and I6, and the I6 supposedly won't fit in the new AMG C class that no one is buying.

 

^ I believe the primary reason is an I-6 provides more modularity with 4-cylinder engines. Of course inherent smoothness is a great benefit, and elimination of accessory drives off the front of the engine with the mild-hybrid system greatly reduces one of the biggest I-6 disadvantages.