My recently acquired E420 seems to run on the cool side, but before replacing the thermostat I hope that I can get some feedback from other owners. I'm in Seattle, so it isn't exactly super cold here. When I start the car, it seems to take quite awhile for the temp gauge to start to register, and in most driving conditions the temp never seems to run much above ~65C, frequently below 60C. In city traffic with lots of sitting time temp rarely reaches 80C.
Other owners of this model, where does your temp gauge read in different driving conditions? Do your engines warm up quickly, or does it take more than 5 minutes to move into the 40-60C range?
My understanding is that this car should have an 80C thermostat, so I'd expect the temp to run close to that. But maybe MB just does things differently - any feedback or advice will be gladly acccepted!