Regarding towing. My 6-cyl '98 320 did a terrific job towing an trailer with an '80 240D on it accross the state. It handled well and towed the weight (about 5000 lbs) strongly and without hesitation.

Later the same day, I loaded up a 300SDL (at 6000 lb total) and it was just as strong. I got 15-17 mpg as well!

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)