Mercedes-Benz E250 Bluetec vs Toyota Prius MPG Battle - Road & Track

"Wow, I still can't hear this engine. How's the Prius doing?"

From the car in front of me, via radio: "The Prius is about to code."

Laughing, I ask, "What do you mean?"

"Cardiac arrest. My foot's on the floor. Has been for miles. Engine's screaming, some fan in the back seat just kicked on. But hey, we're just keeping up with traffic."

I'd like a car that cruises 800 miles before refueling.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

A 124 300D will do right at 500 miles before you need to pull over. That would leave you with a one gallon reserve.

That's crazy. I drove a thousand miles out west last Thanksgiving and had to fill up every 300 miles. It didn't help that it was windy and I had a rooftop cargo box, but I'd expect a little better from a 2.5l VW engine and a tiny car.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I think I have made 700 miles on a tank in my Passat, close for sure. I still don't have all the issues worked out in it. It can do better than it is. I intended it for a farm car and adopted it for a road car but it hasn't made it very far up the priority list. I might work on it today.

You can't help but go over 600 on a tank, even in town. Probably in town with the brakes dragging.

"4MATIC all-wheel-drive is an option" Here in the US?

"low-revving turbodiesel's 369 lb-ft of torque" Damn

I gotta admit that the newer smaller Prius is much more appealing to me than the older, bigger Prius but still can't touch the turbo diesel.

I think the E 300 Diesel (W210, 1995 W124) has a 700-800 mile range on the highway.

__________________
"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 hate you.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Think I did about 650 on a tank in the w210 turbodiesel. At any rate, it made it from Detroit to Dallas, a 1200 mile drive, with one fuel stop. The newer w211 car has about the same range. It gets better MPG, but the tank doesn't seem to be quite as large.

On the article, the Mercedes sort of won, but not really. It consumed a smaller volume of fuel than the Prius. But because diesel is more energy dense than petrol, the Mercedes used more energy. And of course it would cost a couple bucks more to buy 10 gallons of diesel than 10 gallons of regular. Still, the efficiency combined with the performance and comfort is very impressive.

Our TDI has done 650 miles on a tank before...all highway. It only has a 14.5 gallon tank though. I had .3 gallons left when I refueled

Our local dealer got in two E250 4matic's recently. One sold already. Was on the lot less than 3 weeks...both are highly optioned and over 60k each. Base price is around 52k. I need to go test drive one.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

On my 91 300D...I can probably get almost 550-570 before needing to refill.

__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

Ah heck guys, my Excursion can go about 700 miles on a tank. Of course that tank does hold 44 gallons!

I think the idea here is to go several hundred miles on the least amount of fuel.

Very few cars can claim the 650-750 miles per tank with a sub-20 gallon tank....they include the E250 MB....Passat TDI.....Cruze EcoDiesel....and Jetta/Golf TDI's. Probably the Audi A3 Diesel also, but its the same as a Jetta realistically. Amazing how few cars on the market can do it. In 51k miles I am planning on stripping the DPF from my TDI with a delete kit when the warranty is done, which should boost MPG noticeably.

With a diesel you can beat on it and it will just use more fuel, with a hybrid the car is going to power down and start crying at the side of the road.

My 190d frankencar can do about 350-400 miles...but that's because it has a puny 14ish gallon tank. I have been seeing about 30mpg.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I got to 500 once on my truck, it took about 30 gallons to do it.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

My 2003 Dodge PU can do that without even trying. DTE was still 180 miles, and that includes 100 miles of brutal Long Island traffic.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
'83 300D, 126K miles.

Yeah well the tank is probably massive. My buddy put an aftermarket 45 gallon tank in his 3/4 ton Chevy.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200