W211 - Which Engine?

[Jeebz92]

Hi all,

So I bought an Audi A4 recently and found it wasn't my taste. I couldn't grow to love the car and while it is mechanically amazing, I just didn't gel with the car.

Fast forward and I'm looking into buying a W211 - I've always wanted one and they seem incredibly comfortable cruisers. I need a diesel due to ~30k miles a year and Im after decent spec.

I've found an E220 CDI Saloon @ 2008 with low mileage in pretty good condition.

I wanted to know if the 220 engine is any good? Most people opt for a 280 or 320 but to be honest I want better MPG rather than bone shaking power - I have an E46 M3 for that.

Is the E220 a safe bet? Will it be too underpowered?

[74merc]

The facelift E220 has the upgraded 170bhp engine which I believe is well suited to the car. For many, it is the sweet spot of the entire range as it has the earlier 5 speed auto gearbox, the more powerful engine, no SBC and many of the other niggles earlier cars had, have been ironed out.

[anonymous-user]

Jeebz92 said:

I wanted to know if the 220 engine is any good?

Yes.

2008 is a sweet spot in the life cycle as you'll get a facelift car with less electrical gremlins, but with the reliable 5 speed auto as said above.

There's a few posters on here that have ran them up past 200k miles, and thousands of private cab and airport car drivers across Europe can't all be wrong.

More power is never a bad thing but when I had mine I safely did my share of 2/3 car overtakes on A-roads without it feeling dangerously underpowered.

Avantgarde with leather and the black wood trim is a lovely spec in my opinion.

[Jeebz92]

Thank you!

Would you choose it over the W204? I feel the W204 Interior isn't a nicer place to be than the W211 and while it is looking a bit dated, I feel the W211 just seems to be the better car.

Also, is it only post 2008? Or would I be ok with a 2006 model too?

[anonymous-user]

Jeebz92 said:

Thank you!

Would you choose it over the W204? I feel the W204 Interior isn't a nicer place to be than the W211 and while it is looking a bit dated, I feel the W211 just seems to be the better car.

Also, is it only post 2008? Or would I be ok with a 2006 model too?

Replacing a 2008 W211 e220 cdi with a 2011 W204 c220 cdi is what I did and was disappointed!

The 220cdi engine in the W204 is different to that in the W211, I found it harsher and noisier, more economical coupled with the 7G box but less refined internally and I lasted 6 months in my C220cdi. EDITED TO ADD - I'm now back in a W212 E Class with the later 220cdi and 7G combination and am much more impressed, it was simply that combination in the (IMO) less refined C Class that I didn't gel with.

The interior of the W204 is more modern, but I think the W211 feels better built and as mine had the black leather and black maple wood trim looked lovely compared to the aluminium trim of the W204 - personal choice I guess.

Im not sure when the facelift was, you can tell by the different front bumper if you look at a few.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 13th January 16:41

[Jeebz92]

IIRC, The rear lights were the start of the facelift model correct?

[74merc]

The front grille is much pointer on the facelift.

[Monkeylegend]

I ran both my '03 and '07 plate 220's to well over 300k miles with no issues, both with the 5 speed box. Others have run them to 450/500k. There was one with 630k miles up for sale a few weeks go, just had a new torque converter.

My current '60 plate 220 again with the 5 speed box will click over to 250k miles on Thursday.

All mine have a full Merc service history, averaging about 17 k miles between services, and regular gearbox flush and oil change approx. every 80k miles.

Economy wise I am getting 52mpg currently and the older cars were both around 49/50 mpg.

Buy with confidence

[Jeebz92]

Would you guys say, a W211 either Facelift/Non Facelift is still a safer bet than an E60 Diesel Auto Pre LCI?

[va1o]

As above the facelift 220 CDI seems a decent enough all-rounder.

I would not buy a pre-LCI E60 as they are just too old now and complicated to sort when they go wrong.