E350 Bluetec 6 Months Later
 

We've had the E350 about 6 months now and taken a couple of road trips with it including a trip up to Toronto this week. So far the car hasn't had any real quality control issues.

The only annoyance I have with it is the computer which calculates fuel economy is consistently 10% too high. I'll mention it when I bring the car in for its service later this year and see if they can recalibrate it. My true fuel economy beats the EPA estimates, that's using pen and paper not the computer. I can easily return 35 MPG driving on the highway without trying. If I tried (keeping speeds around 65 MPH) I can get more like 38. Around town I see 25. That's not bad for a car of its size and power. It has great highway range, you can easily take it 700 miles between fillups on the road and 500 around town, which is nice.

My VW is also a good performer and averages closer to 40 MPG all the time, as you can see in my sig. No QC issues with it either so far.

I bought a one year old, 2009 ML320 CDI Bluetec about 18 months ago with just under 10,000 miles. I have 47,000 miles on it now. I average about 27.5 mpg and routinely get over 650 miles to a tank (~22 to 24 gallons at fill ups). It has been rock solid. My only issues have been with the refilling procedure for the AddBlue stuff. You have to fill the tank to rim to get the sensor to do its proper sensing function and turn the alarm off by itself. If you don't, it causes a malfunction that the dealer has to reset. And, in an ML when the "add" AddBlue light comes on, it takes about 5 gallons. The stuff is available at nearly every auto parts store now. So far, a great vehicle. OEM tires are horrid though (run flats on an SUV give the impression they are made from pine or oak).

Jim

My 240 is practically like new... and I wouldnt trade it or my cd... But Im jealous and would love to add either to my fleet.

Keep us posted and please add pictures!!!

I'm envious of 35 mpg highway. I'm puzzled by 25 mpg around town. My 87 300D gets close to 25 mpg around town but nothing close to 35 mpg highway. I guess I need more gears.

Sixto
87 300D

You really can't compare technologies - the E350 bluetec has 210HP and 400 ft-lbs of torque - enough to propel its 4000+ lbs to 60 MPH in under 7 seconds. It can do that and still return 25 MPG in stop and go traffic, which is quite a feat. Squeezing about twice as much performance out of the same quantity of fuel when compared to 1980's technology is pretty amazing.

The 140HP with around 240 ft-lbs of torque in the TDI VW engine is probably still more output than a 30 year old SD engine had when new, and yet it can return fuel economy in the high 30's around town. If Mercedes would put the smaller diesel into the C or E class and sacrifice a little pep it would surely have a car that could do more than 30 MPG in stop and go traffic but they don't sell that car here in the USA.

Marty,
I must believe that the new MB shows true mileage on the odometer, but might this be the culprit. My '83 300 is off by 2-3%, other much newer lease vehicles were as well.

Thanks for the update, I am currently living vicariously thru you, I would love to own the new BluTec and enjoy its mileage, but alas, I am deffering that purchase.

Actually the odometer is spot on accurate...checked by experience and GPS, it is the MPGs computer that is consistently 10% too high. I'd like to think it is accidental but would guess they "skew" it higher purposely to make people feel good. The computer on my Jetta is always within one or two tenths of an MPG so I know it is possible to have an accurate system, it is just that M-B's isn't.

RUn flats
 

Is there even a place for a spare tire or are you stuck with the run-flats?

The ML has a bin under the cargo area. I don't know if it's deep enough for a full service spare.

Hmm... I suppose you can force a spare into the cargo area or on an external carrier. What do you do about a jack? Is there a factory designed compact jack available? Do the latest MBs use the age-old Bilstein jack?

Sixto
87 300D

That's really good fuel economy.

For comparison, my W210 E430 has 275 hp and 295 lbs/ft. of torque.

I consistently average 19.0 mpg in mixed driving.

Going back and forth to Las Vegas (250 miles each way), I was able to return 26 mpg, averaging about 80 mph.

That is a huge issue for me - I drive with an air compressor and the goo to seal from the inside. I suppose I could get a full size spare and put it in the cargo area after the wife made a cover for it. Plenty of tie downs come with the vehicle.

It comes with a jack. A genuine piece of junk - but it can be made to work.

The tire solution is not up to the level of the rest of the vehicle.

Jim

In the past 20 years I have suffered two flat tires on my cars, one was about 1/2 mile from my house and one was when my wife hit a granite curb in a turn about 20 miles away and I had to drive down and change it for her.

Maybe it's because I keep a pretty close eye on them and replace them proactively, or maybe I am just lucky, but the last thing I think about is changing a tire. You can always call roadside assistance or AAA and get towed someplace if it happens, but the odds of getting a flat if you watch your tires is no higher than any other mechanical breakdown that might leave you stranded...that's why I don't get overly excited about the whole "no spare" thing. That, and I don't really object to the ride of the run-flats on my E350.

The run flat choices for your E Class are probably more plentiful than for the ML. I had only one choice, and the night I picked the car up and drove home, there was light snow on the ground. I encountered the ESP system going around a pretty benign right turn, driving fairly conservatively the car being "new" to me at the time.

I later found the tires didn't stop in snow very well (a discover I made without hitting anything) and did not have notable traction in the ahead direction either in poor conditions. So I looked them up on Tire Rack - they have a rating page where tires of a certain size are ranked. Considering there are something like 63 tires in the survey and the run flat tire only beat one, the non-run flat version of the same tire, in the survey I was a bit shocked that MB would have accepted the "no spare" solution so readily. So I did not buy the same tire again.

But, for the most part I don't have any real issue with the no-spare concept. I carry this little compressor and a can of goop in the back. I also don't let tires get deflated (and now have an electronic monitor to monitor my efforts), or worn down before replacing them. My peeve is selling an SUV with a tire that everyone in the survey said was the worst tire they had driven, and would never buy it again, as the only choice.

But the vehicle itself has been great. I love putting 22 gallons of Diesel in there with almost 600 plus miles on the tank.

Jim

Hi Jim,

My prior reply wasn't meant to be critical of your post, just to put the "lack of spare" issue in context. People seem to get all bent out of shape if they hear a car doesn't have a spare, but, as you point out you can survive even with non run-flats and no spare.

I wonder how many people who gnash their teeth about buying a new car with no spare have ever used or checked their spare to see if it even has air in it...

I wonder if it's calculating using imperial gallons?