CLS 350 petrol

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bpsorrel

MB Enthusiast
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'21 C300 Coupe, '20 SLC Final Edition, Peugeot 208 (hers!) and a new Ford Kuga in Russia
Loads of people I've spoken to about a CLS 350 petrol I'm hoping to purchase have basically told me I'm insane and diesel is the only way to go.

Can anyone here defend the 350 petrol? I do about 12,000 miles a year split between 2 cars...
 
The lesser-spotted V6 350?

I think that for a model that only had a small engine range, it made no sense to buy a V6 petrol.

Frugal with torque? Get the V6 CDi.

Refined wafting? Get the V8.

Stonking performance? Get the AMG.

Suicidal depreciation? Get the 350 V6 petrol....
 
The lesser-spotted V6 350?

I think that for a model that only had a small engine range, it made no sense to buy a V6 petrol.

Frugal with torque? Get the V6 CDi.

Refined wafting? Get the V8.

Stonking performance? Get the AMG.

Suicidal depreciation? Get the 350 V6 petrol....
sounds like a great second hand buy!
 
You must have your own reasons for leaning towards the petrol model, so why let the opinions of others shake your resolve? Rather than asking people to defend the 350, I think you should be asking people what's so great about the CDi. I suspect you'll only get two types of response: "bucketloads of torque" and "better mpg". Against that, you've got the rattly engine at idle and the sales rep image to contend with.

For what it's worth, I've been happy with my petrol-engined 350 (though it's obviously not a CLS) for the past five years, and when I come replace it, it will be with another 350 petrol - even if they're doing a 350 CDi by then.
 
sounds like a great second hand buy!

Looking at it that way, you're right. :rock:

Whenever I buy a car, I always try my best to get the best engine in the range; if I had to buy a W211 petrol I would only buy either the 500 or the 55 AMG.
 
There are 2 types of 350 one with 272bhp and one with 294bhp (CGI), if I was to go for one then it would be the CGI over the CDi.

You can not beat the smoothness of the MB V6 petrol engine!
 
If the petrol is £5K or £8K less than the equivalent Diesel model - then that's a whole lot of petrol paid for.
 
You can not beat the smoothness of the MB V6 petrol engine!

But the diesel has more torque and is more efficient and the 500 is even faster than the 350. :rolleyes:

And the AMG, well let me tell you. Its automotive perfection.

In reality, there is nothing wrong with the 350 petrol and power wise, the original 5000cc V8s are not that much more powerful than the V6's (306bhp vs 272bhp etc). The 5500cc V8 with 388bhp moves the game on a bit, but then again so does both the 55amg and 63amg.

So my point is what.

If you've found a 350 petrol and you like it, buy it. There will be nothing wrong with it whatsoever and plenty right with the car. Its a good engine. So if you don't want a diesel, don't...Ultimate peak power prevails as does mass, and the 350 petrol ultimately will be quicker than the diesel, and its still a big engine, so it will move along nicely on low revs. Dillan had that engine in his last 211, he never said it was slow...
 
But the diesel has more torque and is more efficient and the 500 is even faster than the 350. :rolleyes:

.

That is true and I would normally take a 320/350CDi over a 320 petrol or even the old 350 but the CGI one is far from slow I drove a CLS with the new 350 engine and it is far from slow and it will manage 35mpg easy and has less to go wrong...

It has a quicker 0-60 than the CDi and it will sound nicer and will probably be more fun to drive!

If it was an E class than a CDi is the only way imo!
 
That is true and I would normally take a 320/350CDi over a 320 petrol or even the old 350 but the CGI one is far from slow I drove a CLS with the new 350 engine and it is far from slow and it will manage 35mpg easy!

It has a quicker 0-60 than the CDi and it will sound nicer and will probably be more fun to drive!

If it was an E class than a CDi is the only way imo!

35mpg is not a whole lot worse than what I get. I got the CLS55 well below 20mpg.

The CDi's are brilliant, but they are for high milliage drivers like me (25k-30k/yr miles) not for an average miles driver like Barry who splits 12k between two cars.

The diesels are very good, fast and frugal and my car fuel wises costs less to run than a family hatch, and it will give a hot hatch a real run for its money, and be more comfortable, spacious etc as a result.

However, thats not to detract from the 350 petrol. People say they are quicker than the petrols, they are not. They are not much slower, but they are not faster. Factor in the refinement, and the petrol has won.

Power is a measure of "work done" torque a measure of work applied. Power is the final output, torque is what is done to achieve that output.

Given that the petrol will average probably around 30mpg and the diesel typically around 35. What the hell, why not, he does not do the miles.
 
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i'll stand up for it the petrol 350 cls is an awesome car much better than it's diesel equivalent,OK so you don't get the torque of the diesel but you dont get to drive something that sounds like a tractor, god knows what MB thought they were doing when they soundproofing the cls or maybe they just did not bother its that bad. You also wont have to worry about suffering from black death.

IMHO CLS and diesel just don't work, it's a car clearly designed with petrol as the fuel :thumb:
 
god knows what MB thought they were doing when they soundproofing the cls or maybe they just did not bother its that bad. You also wont have to worry about suffering from black death.

IMHO CLS and diesel just don't work, it's a car clearly designed with petrol as the fuel :thumb:

Funny you say that, the CLS loaner I had was a lot noiser than my car.
 
Funny you say that, the CLS loaner I had was a lot noiser than my car.

I don't know what it is with the CLS diesels its as though they forgot to soundproof them altogether, yet the petrols are so quiet and refined (AMG excepted:D) Fantastic car though :thumb:
 
I drove a CLS 350 petrol on Saturday. Depreciation wise after 4 years the drop was significantly more than the diesel. Pace wise the diesel wins hands down. If you want petrol get the 500 or AMG.
 

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