Would you say that the E320 CDI is the best diesel Mercedes produced?
 

I've owned over 30 Mercedes diesels in my lifetime, from the very early W114 diesels and everything in between up until the E320 CDI.

In your opinion is the E320 CDI the best diesel ever made by Mercedes?

I have had my 05 cdi for around 6 months the things I really like so far is the electric heater as I am living in a cold climate. Fuel economy has been great around 42 mpg, acceleration is excellent, maintenance seems fairly straight forward so far. It's a very comfortable ride and I am pleased with it and it sure helps since the dealer has warrantied the SBC brakes for 25 years. It has 235 km on it with an extensive service history with the front end rebuild being the most major service $5500 dealer service from the prevous owner. Lazer straight on the roads and great steering. Mine would likely not be optioned out as it uses h4 bulbs, standard suspension, no navigation is about all I can think of. So far liking it only put in the hydrocarbon sensor for the AC, thermostat, oil change and air filter. A bit of oil on the outside of the intercooler pipe that I haven't looked into yet and the starter seems slow at -16 degs C but starts right up. The only bad thing I can think of is the limited number that were ever produced.

I like my E300 but the na E300 is loud, the engine is just plain noisy. Our 300SDL was much quieter.

Its a really good one but I don't think its best. Best engine would go to the 606 or 651 in my opinion.

MB ruined the W211 for me with the wood rollerbox armrest/console disaster. You can't get comfortable! Your arm ends up laying on a hard narrow edge that drops down onto the wood cover......WHY.

As the proud owner of two of them, I'm very biased. But I just don't see them as having a weak spot. (No, I don't consider the SBC a problem at all.)

Rossafuss over on Benzworld has one with well over 450k miles...drives like new.

I suppose a case can be made for a 14-15 E250 Bluetec. But you're also paying 4x the price.

The 14-15 Bluetecs are more like 2 to 2.5x the price....but usually they also come with about 80-100k less miles on them based on the car browsing I've done on both models.....

Growing up with pontoon and finback diesels in the family, my impressions of Mercedes quality and diesel frugalness were embedded early in life.

The W115 slash 8 cars were the "one" for me. Ended up owning 3 in succession before moving into the W123 series. Really loved the W124 series, and eventually owned at least one of every W124 diesel permutation.

Then I got the 05 E320 CDI. I had skipped over the W210 diesels, due to quality issues that I felt were not up to MB standards.

The w211 CDI was, without question, the nicest MB diesel I'd ever driven. Power like no previous diesel, economy that surpassed the older, slower earlier versions. And a body that rivaled my W140 S500 in size and comfort.

What could be better?

Then, two years ago, I replaced the CDI with our current 14 E250 bluetec.

And you know what? It's even more better........

Jim

Thanks for sharing Jim. I've been thinking about adding one to the mix.

I've only owned W116, W123 and W124 diesels, 617s in the 116 and 123s, and 606na in the 124.

I have ridden in newer diesels, and they are nice, but as a mechanic by trade (watercraft, not cars) I look to the engineering from a maintenance standpoint first and foremost.

I will most certainly tell you the w124 is an amazing platform as far as comfort, but is miserable as far as how tightly stuffed in all the parts are. I've still got scars from maintaining that thing. Glad I got rid of it and moved back to w123s.

the 617 is a noisy, underpowered tractor engine by comparison to the newer diesels (that 606 was quite the turd for power too), but I'll take a slow, underpowered but simple as a box of rocks machine any day vs electronic everything.

Guess that's probably why I got 12v cummins for work trucks. Bigger angrier 617s, and liter for liter, make less hp lol.

These are all very interesting perspectives and I thank you all for your input!

Personally, my E320 CDI W211 just blows me away, the sheer acceleration alone is AMAZING!!!

My wife has a W210 E300D and THANK GOD it's tough because she is a Mercedes Benz KILLER!..... She's had so many diesels, 240Ds, 300Ds, 300SDs, 300SDLs, the list goes on..... The older diesels you could literally beat the crap out of, the more you beat em the better they ran.... She's used to shifting the transmission with her foot using the accelerator pedal like you could on the older diesels ..... That's WHY she stays out of my CDI!!!

I'm considering a BLUETEC as well but I hear that they have a lot of emissions problems :-)

I want another full cast iron 617.951. EMP proof don't need stupid computer. aluminum sucks in engines

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised to see the comments in this thread. It must mean that my preconceived notions and all the hearsay of W211 electronic failures must all exceptions to the norm.

I've heard good things about the W211 270/280 Cdi motors but never in the same breath as a OM61X or OM60X motor when it comes to durability or dependability. Fascinating...

It sure has a funky clock when you need to adjust it for daylight savings time almost worth getting one just to watch that.

I've noticed some comments concerning the trend from simplicity to complex as the newer cars are introduced. It's true, due to gov rules the cars are more sophisticated than before.
However, tools like Xentry make diagnosis much easier on the newer cars.
While I still enjoy our 85 300TD, it cannot compare to the new Bluetec in any measure, except perhaps nostalgia.....

Regards to the CDI, there are several in the extended family, one with well over 300k miles and still on original trans and engine, and still runs and drives great. I expect the 14 bluetec to follow on the CDI example, and provide the same high mileage potential.

Jim

I have driven a CDI once and it was nice, but I think I would be afraid to buy one because of the SBC and the potential for very expensive failures when its a much bigger risk ($7500+ car vs 1/3 that much for an older car). The bluetec will have the $1800 conductor plate replacement cost so that adds a bit to the maintenance budget too.