Every MB Diesel is different. My TD as very little black smoke, if any, mostly grey smoke. I've seen some that just have a small puff, a small stream, a small cloud and one that had a HUGE pitch black trail for 1/2 block after take-off.

It's all about maintenance (and injection pump tuning. )

Italian Italian Tune up, fuel filters, air filter, ALDA adjustment, and "proper" EGR adjustment .