May I ask owners to share real world experiences and MPG to help decision making.

Would like to replace my Volvo and believe there to be a ~10MPG differential between the 250 and 350? Majority of commute (100+ miles) is motorway at the "unofficial speed limit" and I cover 20-30K per annum.

Have a car for weekends so the 0-60 of the E350 over E250 is irrelevant. Cannot see myself in a 200 or 220 as fear they lack torque for motorway work.

Okay, I am fickle and will try one Any real world MPG figures?

I used to see 40mpg on a motorway run in my E220 but it was the older model (2008) with the 5 speed auto so the newer engine with the 7G box should get 50mpg I'd imagine - that's what I got in my 2011 C220 and it wasn't properly run in\loosened up yet.

Got a 350 e class CDI estate, 18 months old, done 39k miles at an average of 32 mpg
All different types of roads

I've got a 220 S212 with the 5 speed auto box. I have changed my driving style to get better economy from the car (also more in keeping with the relaxed style of an E class). I am averaging around 47mpg in all conditions.

I once drove 300 motorway miles at 50-55mpg, returning 65mpg. This was too slow!

I generally cruise at 60mph and the car will do 50+ on a reasonable distance. Increasing your top speed by 10mph tends to result in a 15-20% increase in fuel consumption. From my trial and error approach I tend to average low-mid 40s at 70mph, and around 40 at 80mph.

What was really interesting from these experiments was that driving faster really doesn't reduce you travelling time by a great margin. It is surprising just how little time you spend at your chosen cruising speed. I was doing a 90 mile each way commute and reducing my speed added about 7 mins to what was effectively a 1hr 50 min drive.

By the time I'd joined the motorway, respected the limits during roadworks, paused for overtaking lorries/ congestion and negotiated the urban bit at the end, I was probably only able to cruise for less than half the journey. Of course increasing your speed increases this effect and reduces this cruising time even further.

I am very happy with the car, I've now completed 50k miles from new since Sept.10. The car has been faultless, the higher speed economy is a little disappointing, but this should be resolved by the standard fit of the 7 speed auto from last year.

My only other comment would be that if you commute a fair distance on motorways and trunk roads make sure you consider the distronic system. This is an exceptional piece of technology which suits the characteristics of the E class perfectly. I wouldn't buy another car without it!

Happy hunting, whichever you decide I doubt you will be disappointed.

Regards, Neil

fyi - just checked out what discounts are available on E classes up to £10k on 350's I found at drivethedeal
Why buy a 2nd hand one!!!

This is the harder question - The 220 has had some great deals available, but people do seem to rave about the 250....

The 220 is the same engine. I think the turbo may be slightly larger on the 250. I think it is a little more than a map.

I thought I wanted the 250 but wanted to try the 220 before my decision. I drove the 250 and it was plenty fast enough, but nothing suggested that this would be significantly worse in the 220.

I found with the 5 speed, under acceleration there could be a slight delay in the acceleration as the 2 turbos and gear changes combined in the wrong way. I couldn't get a 220 to try so the decision so made my decision that the smaller turbo would be smoother through the band and more conducive to the type of car it was. I went for the 220 and don't regret it for a second.

The quoted figures of less than a second faster to 60mph and a top speed of 140+mph are irrelavant to me. This is a large comfy estate which is usually full of children and stuff, acceleration out of the corners isn't what I want, nor is acceleration in a straight line, in both cases the dynamics of the car are dictated more by the weight than power. Don't get me wrong with 400Nm of torque if I decide I want to overtake something I'm past it in a flash, but I want to cruise in comfort and economy.

I like corners and acceleration in lightweight cars not a 2 tonne cruiser. The 220 has plenty enough, and I would imagine that with the 7 speed box would be even more capable of exploiting its abilities through the ratios.

regards, Neil

My C250CDI 7G estate will hit 50mpg on a fast motorway run and 55mpg if you're keeping to 70. Down into the 60mph range and you'll hit 60's MPG.

My dad has the E250CDI 7G estate and gets about 5mpg less than me in like for like driving.

The E class is quite a bit more refined however, the engine noise is less intrusive and it is the comfier car. Not unexpectedly I guess.

I have an E350 CDi sport estate as the daily bus, great car easily takes 3 children, wife and stuff to go away and can comfortable cruise at battle speed with just me in the car, vast amounts of torque. The only thing I would change it for is an E63