Buying and CLS (218 gen.) 350 diesel vs 500 V8

[EmptyWallett]

I’m looking to buy two cars: one for long-distance driving, and another for shorter trips for my wife and me. CLS 500 vs 350 diesel

Can someone explain how reliable the Mercedes CLS (C218 generation, 2012–2017) is?
And how does the CLS 500 compare to the CLS 350 diesel in terms of reliability, fuel consumption and ownership?

[Chris_i8]

Not owned a 500 but have had 350 CDI in CLS and S-class - trouble free during my ownership but the research I did before suggests all the usual modern diesel weak points apply.

I would highly recommend a longer than normal test drive in the CLS to make sure you are both happy with the driving position as it's the reason I sold mine - pedals offset to the right, steering wheel offset to the left ever so slightly so you sit 'twisted' - technical term!
The above resulted in lower back pain which took a couple of visits to a chiropractor to rectify once I'd worked out it was the car causing it & bought a different car.

Chris

[EmptyWallett]

Thank you! What did you bought? What was the fuel consumption?

[MrC986]

I've got a 350 CDI Shooting Brake AMG Sport (2014). My first big modern Merc (I had an E320 CDI about 15 yrs ago). I can't comment on the 500 but I ended up with the 350 as at the time it was the same money as a 250. I've had mine for nearly 5 yrs and 60k miles. Unless you really want say an 6.3 AMG, I think the 350 CDI engine is more than enough performance wise if you either use the paddles to drop down through the gears or press "sport".

The car doesn't have full air suspension, but rides well, even though it is on AMG 19" wheels. Economy wise it does 500-600 miles to a full tank (38+ mpg) and I'd struggle with what I'd replace it with currently, especially given what is worth now it has 120k miles on it. With 260 bhp and the twin turbos

Reliability-wise, it hadls been pretty reliable...it's had an oil leak in the "v" of the engine early on (apparently most do at some point); a broken wire that meant the rear air suspension dropped slowly; a broken front spring and lastly, I replaced both batteries. I've just had an wheel speed sensor go (part cost £29) but it is 12 yrs old. I started off doing 20k miles a year, but my mileage has dropped back as I work from home currently but I still get it serviced annually. It is a relatively complex car for it's age but it was c.£60k in 2014. People comment on how good it looks (mine was stage 1 detailed 2 yrs ago and ceramic coated)

Tech-wise, you'd want an updated Nav CD or an Android uprated radio system, but otherwise I'd say buy a car with good service history from a Merc specialist. The wide 19" wheels can be prone to flat spots/cracking as the roads are cr4p these days (one of mine had a flat spot) with low profile tyres and the 285 width rear tyres, whilst offering great grip, are slightly excessive for the power IMO.

[softtop]

I suppose they are common faults as mine on 177,000 miles has had those same problems bar the oil leak, let me swap that for an air mass sensor.