Merecedes E250 Diesel Gets Better MPG Than Toyota Prius - Road & Track

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 157k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 175k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 144k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 70k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

From the faraway land of OD:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/351716-prius-loses-efficency-title.html

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

Haha....I never venture over to OD...perhaps I should check in once in a while. But this is really a DD and not an OD topic.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 157k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 175k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 144k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 70k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Beats? I don't know. The E250 and Prius were very close to each other (the E250 "won" by a half-pint, which even they said is within the error), and the Prius certainly beats the E250 in the city. I would say that the article would be more accurate if it said that the E250 beat the Prius on the highway but that the Prius beat the E250 in the city.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I read that about a month ago, Toyota made a name for itself with the Prius, but it is not the most fuel efficient car there is, however, even though the Merc beats the Prius in fuel economy, it almost doubles the price which sort of defeats the purpose from the buyer stand point.

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W211 B-PILLAR TRIM PANEL REPLACEMENT
My Continental Tire Experience

By Land:
2005 E320 CDI (Unnamed as of yet)
2011 Toyota Tundra DC limited 4x4 "Big Red"
1965 euro import VW Beetle "Mojo"
By Sea:
22' Grady White Seafarer "SeaSun Pass"

Ever drive a Pious (ooops I mean Prius)?? I had to drive one for work a few times. I felt like I was in a tin can that was mated to an entry level video game. Felt like a very light/cheap car, that had way too much gee-whiz electronic video features to show supposed mileage and efficiency. Funny thing was, no matter how steady and gently I drove it, according to the cars computer display I was never able to best the economy of my 12 yr old Jetta TDI with a five speed......

Sorry, but I will take diesel for power and efficiency (plus I find them simpler to work on)

Glenn

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

for 30k extra I'd want a damn sight more than a pint of Diesel and slightly better on ramp performance

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1993 MB 300D 245K died.

So don't buy a E250 (can't here in N/A anyway). Buy an older Jetta, Golf, or Passat TDI and get the same or better fuel economy in a much nicer car. Or if you want new(er) get a 2013 or 2014 Passat TDI. My wife's gets 45 -47 mpg regularly with four adults in the car (she carpools). It is a nice car and also very roomy and well appointed. Plus, like the Mercedes it is still German engineered .

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

My Dad has two 2010 Priuses and 300sd(I have 85 300D) and he did 575 Miles on one of his Prius which took for refill 10.2 Gallons of 87 octane fuel (it require 87) and 75% city with AC ON with normal acceleration he wasn't driving slow. It is Very economical car If You know how to drive properly. And Very reliable!

It is available. I saw one last night owned by the guy looking to unload his 06 CDI so his 2014 E250 has a place to park. I would never buy a hybrid car. I think the point of an article like this is for most real world driving a Cruze diesel, Audi or VW TDI or Mercedes Bluetec are on par efficiency wise and a much more pleasant ride.

If you have a short city commute I would bypass the Prius and go straight to the Leaf. The parking lot at my office is filling up with them. I would probably get one too if I didn't have a 40 mile one way commute. The great news is that oil burners are getting positive press and hopefully will be here to stay

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My Daily : 96 E-300 Diesel with 195,000 miles
Retired: 92 300D 2.5 T 345K miles and for sale
Retired: 95 E320 157K miles and currently parked with blown engine

Both retired cars are for sale as is my w124 shop inventory

I believe the main reason why this is such a big deal is because you have the economy of a Prius while still maintaining the quality, refinement, and reliabilty of a mercedes. Also there's the benefit that the Benz doesn't have batteries that will fail, making it much cheaper to run in the long run.

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1978 w123 300D astral silver "Benzie"
1980 w123 300CD orient red "Benzie 2"
1994 w124 E500 "Big Black"
1998 w163 ML320 "Ole' Faithfull"
1969 Datsun 2000 roadster

Given the horrible disposal issues usually associate with spent batteries, a diesel is probably more environmentally friendly to boot

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1978 300D

Myth. The batteries can actually be rebuilt. Usually only a cell or two goes bad. A guy with a DVOM can do it. You can pick up individual modules on eBay.

As for those nickel-metal hydride battery cells that fail, they can be fully recycled without too much difficulty. This is from Edmunds.com:

"The nickel-metal hydride batteries found in hybrid vehicles are basically "zero-landfill" products. Whatever can't be recycled is consumed in the recycling process, leaving no trash behind. The primary metals recovered are nickel, copper and iron. The principal rare earths are neodymium and lanthanum."

The batteries are the huge problem with hybrids and plug ins. Those batteries are hugely environmentally unfriendly to manufacture and the issues of having and disposing of them. These cars also now become a disposable appliance with little residual value after being depreciated.

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My Daily : 96 E-300 Diesel with 195,000 miles
Retired: 92 300D 2.5 T 345K miles and for sale
Retired: 95 E320 157K miles and currently parked with blown engine

Both retired cars are for sale as is my w124 shop inventory

The Daily Mail in the UK published an article several years ago linking the Prius to environmental damage from nickel smelting at Sudbury, Ontario. Needless to say (I think), they were smelting nickel ore at Sudbury a century before the Prius was developed, and the vast bulk of it goes to the steel industry.

Here's an excerpt from the story, followed by a link to their retraction, posted after readers pointed out their distortion of the truth:

Toyota factory turns landscape to arid wilderness
By MARTIN DELGADO, Mail on Sunday - More by this author » Last updated at 22:36pm on 18th November 2006

Comments Comments (9)
The 'green-living' Toyota Prius has become the ultimate statement for those seeking to stress their commitment to the environment.

However, the environment-saving credentials of the cars are seriously undermined by the disclosure that one of the car's essential components is produced at a factory that has created devastation likened to the arid environment of the moon.

So many plants and trees around the factory at Sudbury in Ontario, Canada, have died that astronauts from Nasa practised driving moon buggies on the outskirts of the city because it was considered the closest thing on earth to the rocky lunar landscape.

The retraction: Toyota factory | Mail Online