If you could own only one W124....

[shertex]

Briefly owned an 87 300D. Long term ownership of of a 91 300D and 92 300D. Now getting to know a 95 E300D. Makes me wonder....

If you could own a perfect specimen of any W124 diesel of your choosing and it was going to be your daily driver FOREVER, what would it be and why?

As partial as I am to my 2.5T's, I'm having a really hard time finding a downside to this E300D.

[vstech]

try driving in the rocky mountains and the continental divide... Denver's altitude seriously cuts into a NA powerband...

but, the rest of the US, it's an amazing vehicle, fast, not quick, but fast, and super economical. all the newest features, nice wood trim, and the center rolltop and armrest stuff is cool also.
however, I am very partial to the TD's... so I'm voting for the 87TD wagon.
however again, only having a single car would blow my mind...

[chronometers]

I like the '95 e300 but the '76 300D I had once upon a time ran great for many years and didn't need much on-going work.

[davidmash]

Having only owned the 95 we have now I have little to compare against except the 240D I had a long time ago. I have no complaints about the 124 except for the seats. Not as comfortable as my 190. I find my back starts to hurt/fatigue a bit after a drive. Not so with the 190.

[Zulfiqar]

while the E300D is a very nice car, it lacks oomph specially at high altitude. you need to drive in 3 all the time in mountains and keep tapping the boiler room with your right foot to signal full steam ahead for the coal shovel crew.

An overall similar car with decent power would be an E320. you get power, facelift, smoothness, durability and longevity but it costs more to run.

[ROLLGUY]

Being a former owner of a '95 E300, and having driven a '91 2.5T (my bro has a low mileage specimen), it would be hard to choose between the two. If it came down to just the color choice, I would probably choose the '91. I have not seen many E300's that weren't black (charcoal?), and I am not fond of dark colored cars. My bro's '91 is light colored (champagne?), and is much more attractive in my opinion. I guess my perfect 124 would be a light colored 2.5T......Rich

[Jeremy5848]

If we are allowed a few mixes and matches . . . a light-colored (interior too) 1995 chassis (sedan or T-sedan) with all of the options (ASR, bun warmers, etc.) with a 1998-99 OM606 turbodiesel engine modified to use an OM603 IP and 722.3 transmission.

Yes, that's cheating, but it would be ideal for most everyone who has posted so far. It retains the looks and relative simplicity of the W124 while adding the power, torque, and high-altitude performance of the turbocharged engine.

If that is not allowed then the choice would be between a 1987 300TD, a 1993 300D-2.5, and a 1995 E300D.

Jeremy

[tjts1]

A manual OM603, of course.

[MBeige]

'95 E300TD (estate version of '95 E300D)

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by MBeige

'95 E300TD (estate version of '95 E300D)

Fantasizing like Jeremy are you?

[TheDon]

E36 Cabriolet -attainable

E300D Cabriolet - does not exist.

[MBeige]

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

Fantasizing like Jeremy are you?

Great minds think alike

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by MBeige

Great minds think alike

In that case, add me to the list!

[MBeige]

The estate version of the E300D was not available in the US. So it's not putting a '95 wagon body and a '95 OM606 diesel powertrain together.

In short, it does exist!