E Class - 240 petrol v 220/270/300/320 Diesel

[roadiesean]

Hi all

I've got an S Reg S210 E240 with 125000 miles, its been a brilliant car for the 4 1/2 years and 65000 miles I've had him, but I'm thinking it might be time to trade for a diesel, if for no other reason than I am driving to Croatia and back next year for summer holidays, so an improvement in fuel economy would be very welcome.

Having never driven any of the main (affordable) E class estates of 220/270/300 and 320 versions, how do they / would they compare with my Hermann the German ? In terms of BHP and fuel economy what sort of differences are there ?

I'm probably likely to be looking at something up to an 04 model, I probably do around 12,000 miles a year.

Any thoughts/information would be gratefully received !

Cheers
Sean :bannana:

 

[V12]

I wouldn't rule any of them out based on comments from this forum.

They are mostly pretty sound engine wise.

I don't need to state the obvious about performance. Any of them will do the job unless you are lewis Hamilton/have 5 kids and pull a caravan around the alps.

You should see a significant improvement in mpg if you went for the 220 cdi.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using MBClub UK

 

[Dryce]

I'm probably likely to be looking at something up to an 04 model, I probably do around 12,000 miles a year.

For long distance driving it's unlikely that the E240 will look good in terms of economy against any of the contemporary diesels.

If performance is important then E320 is king of that group. And the older version will be the 6-in line version.

If outright performance is less important then the E270 is probably the best all rounder from that generation.

Compared with a W210 the W211s of that generation should be better for rust but come with the risk of needing a SBC pump replacement.

 

[roadiesean]

Yes indeed the rust on Hermann is starting to be an annual issue, still only perfunctory and more about keeping him looking sweet than anything else. When you say that performance on the 320 is an improvement over the 270, I would have guessed as much, but is it considerable and does the economy suffer as a result ??

Thanks
S

 

[Dieselman]

Yes indeed the rust on Hermann is starting to be an annual issue, still only perfunctory and more about keeping him looking sweet than anything else. When you say that performance on the 320 is an improvement over the 270, I would have guessed as much, but is it considerable and does the economy suffer as a result ??

Thanks
S

Yes and Yes.

The 270Cdi will make your 240 appear sluggish at speed and definitely returns better economy than the other diesels.
Given your situation, it would be my first choice.

 

[st4]

270 is my choice but 220 or 320 are good too. Buy on condition not on engine size.

 

[V12]

The 220 diesel will be slightly slower than your 240 petrol (not noticeably).
The 270 will be faster and the 320 is a pretty quick diesel estate car with bucket loads of torque for pulling heavy loads.

I always use the rule of thumb that there is 2mpg between them - 320 will get around 35mpg, the 270 gets 37mpg and the 220 - 39mpg.
That's pretty close to official figures. A lot of town driving will see much lower figures.

For performance there is approx 1 second between them to 60. 320 is just over 8 sec, 270 just over 9 and 220 just over 10.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I've owned two W211 IL6 E320 CDI's and one W211 5cyl 270 CDI.

The difference in mpg between the 270 and the 320 was barely noticeable in my experience; late 30's in the 320 and early 40's in the 270.

The power and feel of the cars were like chalk and cheese, the 270 seemed to run out of steam whereas the 320 had that bit more oomph to make the difference. The 270 has 177bhp & torque 295 lbs/ft whereas the 320 has 204bhp & 369lbs/ft.

There isn't really a 'wrong' choice, but I think if you drive the 320 & 270 back to back, you'll prefer the 320.

 

[trapperjohn]

To fully make use of the 270 engine get it in a C Class. It has the punch and economy just right in that shell. The E is just not suited to the 270. And like SPX I have driven a C270 an E270 and an 320 but never owned them.

I currently own a 210 300TD and just hanker after the extra power and economy that the later 320 has.