Sensible family daily wagon - Mercedes Benz S211 E500

[bolidemichael]

May 2022

I washed the car ready for special cargo and a large responsibility...



Mrs Bolide was driving up to Glasgow with Miss Bolide in tow... come on Magnus, we're relying on you to justify our man maths and uber-titivation..!

Witness the smoother driving style of a lady driver...



Magnus also surpassed the 176k milestone on the way up, marking my ownership for over 60k miles.

Over 30mpgeeeees to Glasgow! I thought that it was a myth, when another local owner told me of this MPG return over long distances!

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 12th June 23:35

[bolidemichael]

Ken986 said:

Great updates , do your best not to get banned please .

Thanks, I'll try but it seems as though having a personality is precipitous under the zeitgeist of forum curation.

[brickwall]

bolidemichael said:

Thank you Mr McNugget

I take it that you'll be travelling in the 140i (according to your garage)?

My method of covering ground is essentially to clear an obstacle and then blitz the remaining clear road until the next obstacle. I'm tolerant for 80% of the time and occasionally intolerant for those that are belligerent and fail to move over. However, the worst that happens is that I back off without aggression and undertake then. Sleepy sods don't ever seem to notice what has happened either. That's probably where the 26ish MPG comes from. Take Mrs Bolide, for example, and the MPGeees will be around 28-30mpg as she isn't testosterone fuelled and a hardened to covering ground.

Thanks. Yes I’ll be taking the 140i.

My general tactic across France is to (generally…) keep the true speed <140kph, which tends to be an indicated 90-92 mph. Occasionally will nudge the cruise to 95-98mph if the coast is clear, but don’t tend to go into three figures for any sustained period. At those speeds one can maintain an 80-85mph moving average and cover distance quite quickly without too much fear of the Gendarmes.

Must have done London-Alps in a dozen different cars over the years. Worst on fuel was the Disco with the roof box - the engine was really working hard to maintain 95mph in the hills around Dijon.

The 140i has been the best - I’ll get ~35mpg out of it for the run. A day on the autobahns it does 22mpg, mind.

Interestingly pretty much any modern diesel 4x4 big or small tends to come out around 30mpg (I’ve done it in a Touareg, RR, X3, and Disco Sport). I guess the aero is the big factor at the higher speeds.

[bolidemichael]

June 2022

This final anachronistic post after fifty one months since having begun this thread!

Mrs Bolide returned from Glasgow after a week with a magnificent MPG return and purring about the satisfaction of driving Magnus. Sunken cost fallacy? Possibly, but right now, the S211 E500 is still ours and still wonderful to satisfy our varied requirements.



At the present moment in time, I'm feeling bittersweet as the forum into which I have invested so much time and encountered genuinely wonderful people that have enriched my life, seems to be eating itself from the head downwards.

[Geekman]

bolidemichael said:

At the present moment in time, I'm feeling bittersweet as the forum into which I have invested so much time and encountered genuinely wonderful people that have enriched my life, seems to be eating itself from the head downwards.

Likewise.

I hope that one way or another, I can continue to follow your adventures. Your threads, along with those of r129sl plus a few others on here represent the best of the internet. I have little interest in most "car scenes", therefore I like the fact that on PH there are (or were) still people like me who enjoy driving old barges long distances at high speeds.

[Gallons Per Mile]

Oh dear, what happened to get someone banned? I do hope you keep posting, Mr Bolide. I enjoy reading your threads

Edit: Ah, found it now. I'd be interested in alternative platforms too if you know of a good one.

Edited by Gallons Per Mile on Monday 13th June 04:50

[v8ben]

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery&#128077;&#128077;

[Amirhussain]

What a great thread, one of the best I’ve read in a long time, hats off to the OP.

[bolidemichael]

brickwall said:

bolidemichael said:

Thank you Mr McNugget

I take it that you'll be travelling in the 140i (according to your garage)?

My method of covering ground is essentially to clear an obstacle and then blitz the remaining clear road until the next obstacle. I'm tolerant for 80% of the time and occasionally intolerant for those that are belligerent and fail to move over. However, the worst that happens is that I back off without aggression and undertake then. Sleepy sods don't ever seem to notice what has happened either. That's probably where the 26ish MPG comes from. Take Mrs Bolide, for example, and the MPGeees will be around 28-30mpg as she isn't testosterone fuelled and a hardened to covering ground.

Thanks. Yes I’ll be taking the 140i.

My general tactic across France is to (generally…) keep the true speed <140kph, which tends to be an indicated 90-92 mph. Occasionally will nudge the cruise to 95-98mph if the coast is clear, but don’t tend to go into three figures for any sustained period. At those speeds one can maintain an 80-85mph moving average and cover distance quite quickly without too much fear of the Gendarmes.

Must have done London-Alps in a dozen different cars over the years. Worst on fuel was the Disco with the roof box - the engine was really working hard to maintain 95mph in the hills around Dijon.

The 140i has been the best - I’ll get ~35mpg out of it for the run. A day on the autobahns it does 22mpg, mind.

Interestingly pretty much any modern diesel 4x4 big or small tends to come out around 30mpg (I’ve done it in a Touareg, RR, X3, and Disco Sport). I guess the aero is the big factor at the higher speeds.

I admire your discipline. As has been repeated continuously throughout this thread, my default setting in this car is to squeeze the pedal until I reach the horizon -- it is to the credit of the E500 that I feel comfortable doing that repeatedly as it's so solid, competent and composed at high speed -- it's in its element as it were. It possesses the ground covering elegance that may be absent from the E55 AMG, which is in possession of a five, rather than seven 'G' gearbox -- thanks to prodigious torques.

[bolidemichael]

Geekman said:

bolidemichael said:

At the present moment in time, I'm feeling bittersweet as the forum into which I have invested so much time and encountered genuinely wonderful people that have enriched my life, seems to be eating itself from the head downwards.

Likewise.

I hope that one way or another, I can continue to follow your adventures. Your threads, along with those of r129sl plus a few others on here represent the best of the internet. I have little interest in most "car scenes", therefore I like the fact that on PH there are (or were) still people like me who enjoy driving old barges long distances at high speeds.

r129sl being banned is really quite sad. Going back to the first post on this thread, it quotes his titivation threads as having inspired me to create my own -- which has been quite an undertaking, particularly when I've wanted to try and offer a 'fly on the wall' experience to fellow enthusiasts.

bolidemichael in 2018 said:

Had I really appreciated this forum within Pistonheads, I may have spent the last ten+ years since joining as a member squatting in here! There are some bloody brilliant threads, with (all paraphrased) 'finally picking up LFA', '124 titivating' and 'SL600 V12' being amongst my favourites (I've only spent the last month or so reading these threads and have yet to discover others!).

So I've covered my costs, cock ups, travels, family hols, experiences and other personal views. The fact that he received a ban on the day that I finally caught up is a sad reflection of how PH has descended into a lack of self-respect, if it doesn't cherish the type of contributor that makes the internet meaningful for a world of data-overload and fast-paced narrative.

I too love to discover that there are still people like me us who enjoy driving old barges long distances at high speeds

The fact that Mrs Bolide did so and loved it, makes me very pleased with my £3k special

Edited by bolidemichael on Monday 13th June 21:45

[bolidemichael]

Gallons Per Mile said:

Oh dear, what happened to get someone banned? I do hope you keep posting, Mr Bolide. I enjoy reading your threads

Edit: Ah, found it now. I'd be interested in alternative platforms too if you know of a good one.

Edited by Gallons Per Mile on Monday 13th June 04:50

If you're not on already, PM me with your number GPM. I intend to keep posting for now, we're hoping that the climate will change for the better.

[bolidemichael]

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

[bolidemichael]

Amirhussain said:

What a great thread, one of the best I’ve read in a long time, hats off to the OP.

Top man Amir, comments like this are very much appreciated. Thanks.

[AC43]

bolidemichael said:

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

Well I certainly enjoy reading about your 500 and your RR even though I don't comment particularly often.

I'm glad we recently figured out that we have a common connection and are now also connected on email.

[langtounlad]

Can someone enlighten me? I've followed all R129SL's various threads and enjoyed them immensely. He always struck me as the kind of guy that I'd gladly call a friend if met in the real world - and the last person I'd expect to get banned. I'm shocked and bemused and not a little disappointed to have lost his contributions.

[bolidemichael]

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

Well I certainly enjoy reading about your 500 and your RR even though I don't comment particularly often.

I'm glad we recently figured out that we have a common connection and are now also connected on email.

I was actually with Stu on Friday evening for drinks and we toasted you, of whom he shares fond memories. He has somehow arrived at the conclusion that you're a petrolhead

[bolidemichael]

langtounlad said:

Can someone enlighten me? I've followed all R129SL's various threads and enjoyed them immensely. He always struck me as the kind of guy that I'd gladly call a friend if met in the real world - and the last person I'd expect to get banned. I'm shocked and bemused and not a little disappointed to have lost his contributions.

I have actually met the man in the real world and he is as you'd hope him to be, the type of chap that leaves you with a spring in your step. We were both knackered on a Saturday night and almost bailed, but we made the effort and it was worthwhile.

To address your request of enlightenment, frankly, he got naffed off with the sensation of intolerance limiting the natural course of interaction between largely genteel members of Pistonheads (in particular on the effect of said decisions on the barge thread) and expressed his views in no uncertain terms (though gentle in delivery, really) on his own thread. Now, the emphasis on 'his own' isn't to say that it is excluded from forum rules, but that he was banned within a couple of hours of having aired his thoughts on a Sunday evening (comments made as part of a general commentary on things that naffed him off, including the anti-car policy of Northumberland County Council that is allegedly killing the high street), which strongly indicates that bargeistes are being closely watched by those in a position to make such instant decisions.

Doesn't that make the environment feel a little pernicious towards long-standing and valued contributors -- in contrast to the little known and seldom revealed people that 'push the button'? Also of a sudden, it feels as though we have the illusion of a community, rather than having earned one through long-term time investment and interactions. This is why long-time PHers that don't seem to regularly indulge or promote hysterical behaviour are upset by the decision making of those-who-shall-not-be-named-in-case-a-forum-rule-is-invoked-against-me.

Edited by bolidemichael on Monday 13th June 23:12

[AC43]

bolidemichael said:

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

Well I certainly enjoy reading about your 500 and your RR even though I don't comment particularly often.

I'm glad we recently figured out that we have a common connection and are now also connected on email.

I was actually with Stu on Friday evening for drinks and we toasted you, of whom he shares fond memories. He has somehow arrived at the conclusion that you're a petrolhead

Excellent :-)

Now I've been outed I might as well admit it. My name is AC43 and I have a problem with petrol.

[bolidemichael]

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

Well I certainly enjoy reading about your 500 and your RR even though I don't comment particularly often.

I'm glad we recently figured out that we have a common connection and are now also connected on email.

I was actually with Stu on Friday evening for drinks and we toasted you, of whom he shares fond memories. He has somehow arrived at the conclusion that you're a petrolhead

Excellent :-)

Now I've been outed I might as well admit it. My name is AC43 and I have a problem with petrol.

Je suis AC43 et j'ai une probleme avec gasoline.

[AC43]

bolidemichael said:

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

AC43 said:

bolidemichael said:

v8ben said:

So sad that you won't be here Michael, I'm lurker but I have loved your threads, wonderful. Thanks for all the entertainment and excellent geekery????

Hello Ben, thanks for the kind comments -- I do love the lurkers and am delighted when they reveal themselves (fnarr). I'm not threatening to leave, but commenting on the current malaise in which the values community to which I contribute finds itself -- and frustratingly, for unclear and seemingly spurious reasons.

Well I certainly enjoy reading about your 500 and your RR even though I don't comment particularly often.

I'm glad we recently figured out that we have a common connection and are now also connected on email.

I was actually with Stu on Friday evening for drinks and we toasted you, of whom he shares fond memories. He has somehow arrived at the conclusion that you're a petrolhead

Excellent :-)

Now I've been outed I might as well admit it. My name is AC43 and I have a problem with petrol.

Je suis AC43 et j'ai une probleme avec gasoline.

Et les gendarmes.

Ecrivez cent fois.

Il me faut uliliser le Distronic tout le temps.
Il me faut uliliser le Distronic tout le temps
.......