2009+ E350cdi estate real life fuel economy - 25mpg?

[philcray]

Hi

I am thinking of trading my 2003 ML for a new model E class estate - the E350cdi seems to be the most widely available at the moment which appeals because of the performance. However I have come across a few comments complaining that they are only getting c25mpg - having had the ML for 8 years I am now keen to sample the superb fuel efficiency of a modern diesel which you hear so much about, so this concerns me!

Is 25mpg realistic (I get more than this from the ML), I would have been hoping for nearer to 40mpg? If so, is the E250 a better buy?

Cheers

Phil

[Fats25]

I have a 2009 CLS (similar size), in the 320D model.

I have never seen it (all as per the computer) above 39 mpg. Has never been in the 40mpg territory. On a clear 250 mile 70mph speed, is where I see the 39mpg.

Typical commute (40 miles) mixture of motorways and traffic, is between 29 and 33 mpg.

[r129sl]

I had a brand new E350 CDI saloon on loan the other day. I did about 600 miles in it. It readily gave 39mpg and with a bit of effort returned 44mpg and on one occasion 48mpg. I was pretty amazed by how economical it was. Mind you, these were long runs in the main: my commute is 30 miles each way and I also took it from Newcastle to Sheffield and back.

I don't know about the E250 CDI but I also had a C220 CDI on loan (which I think has the same engine as the 250 in a lower state of tune) and it was woefully heavy on fuel. I struggled to get 33 out of it. The 4-cylinder engine in the 220 was nothing like as nice as the V6 in the 350: that was a surprisingly pleasant and smooth motor for a diesel.

Edited by r129sl on Tuesday 8th February 14:38

[anonymous-user]

I have the previous model estate, 2008 model, the E220cdi, book says 29 urban, 39 combined and 48 extra urban - I get 33-36 but do mainly shorter 10-15 mile journeys with a bit of town driving thrown in, I can see 40 only on long drives, however it NEVER EVER dips below 30mpg, even with air con switched onto auto, in winter, or spirited heavy right footed driving - so I get very close to book figures for urban and combined.

The claimed book figures for both the new E250cdi are around 10mpg more than the book figures for my car, so I'd assume you'd get 40mpg easily in it.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 8th February 14:34

[philcray]

Many thanks for the feedback, it is interesting that even the most modern diesel engines in large'ish cars seem unable to achieve much more than 30-35mpg in real driving conditions. My old ML 270 is a bit of a noisy old tank, and woefully slow off the mark by modern standards, but will do a genuine 30mpg to the gallon on a long run (and about 26/27mpg on shorther runs) so is not much worse than the latest engines. This is measured on the old fill up, empty, refill technique. I am a bit wary of fuel economy readouts from the onboard computer (not that the ML has one) as my 911 claims 30+mpg at times, which bears litle relation to the rapidity with which it drains its fuel tank at a realistic 20-25mpg max if I am being optimistic....

Perhaps the fuel economy on the modern diesels has been sacrificed to a certain extent to improve the performance and make it more petrol like?

The next question is, how do the petrol engines compare in real life - presuambly they will 30mpg, does anyone have any experience as a comparison?