the thing with no spare and runflats is that the runflat tires apparently do not handle as well.

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Marty,

I apologize for hijacking the thread....and sounding argumentative for no reason.

The ML shows its drag coefficient and frontal surface area at over 75 mph - on a drive to see this year's Indy 500 I was shocked to find the vehicle only got about 24.5 mpg on the highway averaging 75 mph. A clear difference compared to the sleek E Class body.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Nope, that would be more like 20% more than US and I am only seeing 10%...I suspect it's just "padding" to make the owner feel better I suspect. I would be curious to hear if anyone else with the same car has the same results.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

No apology needed...sometimes it's hard to tell "tone" from a post, and I wasn't trying to be argumentative either.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

That's what I have heard too but I don't drive my car "at the hairy edge" and, frankly, the E350 isn't the kind of car you go around turns pulling maximum g's, it's a land yacht and the run flats suit its character just fine IMHO.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

The fuel economy gauge in the ML is pretty good. I fill the car up the same most of the time (try to fill at the same station at the same pump in the same location) and my "tank" arithmetic is within a few tenths of a point from the computer's.

The ML is very sensitive to ambient temperature. Below about 45F and it goes into a warmup cycle that chews fuel for a few miles. After the engine is considered "warm" it gets truly astounding mileage for the vehicle that it is. Also, it periodically does an exhaust system burn off cycle that I can now detect while driving - runs rich to heat the catalysts and get them to burn off any junk.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)