2011 R350 gas or bluetec?
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2013
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2011 R350, 2019 E450
2011 R350 gas or bluetec?
I'm replacing my beloved 2006 R500. It was being serviced at the dealer and their lift failed and dropped the car straight down from about 7 feet. Needless to say the car is totaled. I bought the 500 originally because the 350s were so unreliable but I understand that the issues have been fixed. So, fellow owners, which is more dependable; a 2011 350 gas engine or bluetec? Were they still offering full airmatic in 2011? (based on prior experience I'd rather avoid it) Thanks in advance for your advice.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 116
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From: South Louisiana
06 SLK55, 22 EQS450
Holy crap!! I hope no one was injured.......
I'm a diesel fan so I would go with the Bluetec. It'll feel powerful as your 500 and will get better mpg as well.....a win-win in my book.
I had an R500 and it was probably the best car I owned when it comes to comfort and ride quality. So I'm sure you hated to see it totaled.
Hope this information helps....
I'm a diesel fan so I would go with the Bluetec. It'll feel powerful as your 500 and will get better mpg as well.....a win-win in my book.
I had an R500 and it was probably the best car I owned when it comes to comfort and ride quality. So I'm sure you hated to see it totaled.
Hope this information helps....
Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 85
Likes: 2
2007 R320 4matic / Airmatic
The V6 gasoline engine issue (balance shaft sprocket) was resolved by about 2008 (depending on engine serial #, which is documented elsewhere in these forums). So, the 2011 engines are fine.
I drove a lot of these cars, both gas and diesel, when I was searching for mine. The Bluetec diesels are VERY nice motors - you can barely tell it's a diesel. And, if you drive conservatively and inflate the tires a bit over standard pressure, you can get 30 mpg out of it on the highway. The only downsides are the loss of the spare tire to accommodate the DEF (diesel emissions fluid) tank, and needing to add DEF every 8,000-10,000 miles.
Due to changes in the premium packages and their additional costs, Airmatic became a very rare feature on R-class cars built after 2008. Unlike the earlier cars, buyers had to order a very expensive premium package to get Airmatic on the later cars, and not many buyers did this. All U.S. market R-class cars came with self leveling air suspension in the rear, but this does not include any adaptive dampening or height control that a full Airmatic has.
I drove a lot of these cars, both gas and diesel, when I was searching for mine. The Bluetec diesels are VERY nice motors - you can barely tell it's a diesel. And, if you drive conservatively and inflate the tires a bit over standard pressure, you can get 30 mpg out of it on the highway. The only downsides are the loss of the spare tire to accommodate the DEF (diesel emissions fluid) tank, and needing to add DEF every 8,000-10,000 miles.
Due to changes in the premium packages and their additional costs, Airmatic became a very rare feature on R-class cars built after 2008. Unlike the earlier cars, buyers had to order a very expensive premium package to get Airmatic on the later cars, and not many buyers did this. All U.S. market R-class cars came with self leveling air suspension in the rear, but this does not include any adaptive dampening or height control that a full Airmatic has.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
2011 R350, 2019 E450
Holy crap!! I hope no one was injured.......
I'm a diesel fan so I would go with the Bluetec. It'll feel powerful as your 500 and will get better mpg as well.....a win-win in my book.
I had an R500 and it was probably the best car I owned when it comes to comfort and ride quality. So I'm sure you hated to see it totaled.
Hope this information helps....
I'm a diesel fan so I would go with the Bluetec. It'll feel powerful as your 500 and will get better mpg as well.....a win-win in my book.
I had an R500 and it was probably the best car I owned when it comes to comfort and ride quality. So I'm sure you hated to see it totaled.
Hope this information helps....
Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 85
Likes: 2
2007 R320 4matic / Airmatic
Here's a nice resource I found while looking for my car. It shows all the options and premium packages for each model and each year. It's a bit difficult to navigate - use the menus on the left margin to find the car details, and the tree at the header to move between models / years :
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2007/...kages_options/
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2007/...kages_options/
