Thanks for the excellent reply.
It definitely seems that given the nearly identical mpg's, the extra power is well worth it.
I haven't driven any 300E's yet as I'm not ready to buy, except for my friends '93 300E (3.2) which is a fabulous driving machine.
I actually liked the newer seats as they were very supportive but haven't sat in the older 300E seats yet. I do like the first gear start and the fact that the newer ones start in first, but I like the lighter weight and less complicated nature of the older ones.
Even so, with the increase in weight, mpg's managed to go up too.
The hardest part about getting into a 300E will be selling my fintail.
