E350 CDI or E250 CDI Estate or wait...?

[harveyn]

Hi, We have a 57 plate E320 CDI Elegance 211 series Estate which is great. We had a sport before and found the seats and the ride too hard after long journeys. The only problem we have is that we do lots of miles and already it is on 60k.

At some point we will want to roll forward, logically to a 212 series. My wife understandably is concerned that a sport will have hard seats, and thinks an Avantgarde would be better. I tend to agree, except almost all cars sold seem to be sports, so potentially the residual value will be worse and it will behard to find a used Avantgarde?

Drive the deal have around £8.2k off list, making me think a new rather than a used car might make sense. What do people think?

I also would prefer a 350 rather than a 250 diesel and can't understand why the prices are so similar, in the old days the 6 cylinder cars were much more expensive. Is it due to the demand being much lower these days as fuel prices are so high, with many preferring the more economical four cylinder car?

Or should we maybe wait for the face lift which is surely not too far off, though presumably the discounts would be lower initially?

Any thoughts welcome.

Cheers Harvey

 

[A210AMG]

Hello

I have a S211 and have been thinking similar however I do few miles and for now doing nothing.

Have you considered leasing or do your miles mean this is not worth it?

Some of the E250Cdi Executive SE estate 7g plus, leather, alloys, etc £350 a month !!

The facelifted front will affect the model if you buy the current shape, but almost all the time you buy you have this issue? how soon is the facelift?

The E250 and E350 are almost the same price but from what I have seen on the forum the mpg is way way better on the E250 and in performance terms the 250 will be similar anyway to your current E320.

I would normally say just go for the 350, but 50mpg against 35mpg if you do big miles will make a difference. I get 40 to 45mpg from my E320 and would be disapointed with 35mpg out of the 350. Yes it will be quick but I don't need quick these days. I like the fact I can get almost 1000 miles from a tank !!!

In real terms these cars are cracking value, my current S211 my dad bought new collected from the factory and was around £38K back in 2003. The new S212 estate in E350cdi mode with a better spec is less now (he too has checked drive the deal) Lots of items now standard.

As for version, I prefer the look of the sport, but I think I heared there will be an offer soon to get the sport body kit wheels and painted calipers for £1400 on a normal Avant guard model... so maybe thats an option.

Also don't forget the E220 E250 and E350 now all look the same with the twin exhausts at the back so a 250 will look the same as a 350.


For me the way things are going with fuel and the fact I like getting 40mpg plus out of my current estate I would go for the E250Cdi estate, ideally sport, pano roof, long range tank and through load facility. That would be nice thank you

 

[This is Pete]

For info, average MPG for the 350 CDI is about 31mpg on brim-to-brim top ups.

Performance is very becoming, but you need to be prepared for paying more per mile for the extra smile.

 

[harveyn]

Hi you make some good points. the fuel saving would be around £1500 a year if the 250 is 15 miles a gallon more economical than a 350 based on our sort of mileage. the leasing deals do sound good, but i am not sure if they work so well with higher mileages, we might only do 15k a year going forward. Is the 250 a harsh and noisy engine though, presumably the issues with the early ones have all been resolved?

 

[A210AMG]

^ Thats pretty poor imho

my dad gets 30mpg out of his SL500 and thats a lot more smiles

 

[This is Pete]

I think the change in sound between the 350 and 250 are relatively small. I doubt you'd really hear it above the road/wind noise except under hard charging.

 

[This is Pete]

^ Thats pretty poor imho

my dad gets 30mpg out of his SL500 and thats a lot more smiles

I was hoping for more, yes. But I am a little heavy footed sometimes.

 

[A210AMG]

I've not driven one yet.

I have the older IL6 E320cdi and I would think the new S212 in E250 form is at least as quite if not better than this?

Most lease deals are 10K miles per year however the excess miles is not always that much. You can also get a 12, 24 or 36 month lease. You would know the FULL cost up front and if they bring a new model out in a year you swap it at the end of the lease. I've never leased but looking at the figures seems litte point out laying £35K or more.

Currently I run 18" alloys on a S211 ********** and I don't think thats harsh. The S212 sport has 18's as std but if it has stiffer springs also then that would make a difference.


Best bet would be to find a dealer with both and drive them back to back.

I'm sure heart would say 350 and I woudl normally, but maybe I'm more sensible now, and for me I would enjoy saving more each time I used the 250.

 

[st4]

250cdi AG or exec is probably the best bet for the OP. Normally I would say a sport, and I have driven the sport 212 and the ride is amazingly compliant, but the smaller wheeled ones will be even better.

 

[This is Pete]

250cdi AG or exec is probably the best bet for the OP. Normally I would say a sport, and I have driven the sport 212 and the ride is amazingly compliant, but the smaller wheeled ones will be even better.

Good advice. Only downside is at sell-on. But if it's on a lease deal, that concern goes away completely.

 

[timskemp]

The 250 is a lot more economical in urban driving than the 350. Out on the open road the difference is not as great as you might think. I've driven C an E with both engines, the C250 on my regular woking run averaged 48mpg, the C350 43mpg. My C320 is down at 39mpg on the same sort of run. However, the 250 never feels as quick as it is, and lacks the V6 refinement.

 

[D-18]

The only thing I'd suggest is that you satisfy yourself that you could live with a four cylinder engine after several years of six pot smoothness. I had a W211 E220 and just couldn't get used to the noise and (relative) lack of refinement after driving V6's for years. I ended up changing it after about 1 year to get back to a V6 again.

Having said that, I did have a W212 E250 as a courtesy car and thought the newer engine was much more subdued than the older W211 4 pot version. The W212 is certainly a very good car and unlikely to disappoint.

 

[harveyn]

Thank you all for your input. A back to back test drive it will have to be. I suspect the close pricing between the models is due to the running cost differential, making the E350 less attractive these days.

That isn't a concern for me where I am just now, Saudi Arabia. The price per litre is 10p and they give you 7.5 litres of bottled water when you fill up for less than £10. No 212 Estates out here, most cars are 4 x 4's.

I will investigate the lease deals, but if a new car can be had with a very big discount, the differential won't be very different I suspect.

It looks like the facelift will be the 2013 model, so presumably deliveries will start late this year.

Cheers

 

[ace571]

Are you the same harveyn from 911uk?

 

[harveyn]

I sure am!

 

[Doodle]

I get 40 to 45mpg from my E320 and would be disapointed with 35mpg out of the 350.

How?

I average 35 at best, maybe 37-38 on a longer run. Clearly I have an absolute lead foot.

 

[Peter DLM]

How?

I average 35 at best, maybe 37-38 on a longer run. Clearly I have an absolute lead foot.

Or maybe a malfunctioning Thermostat

 

[kennie]

I have had my new E350CDi SS Estate since 1st Feb 2012.
Its the 7 seater version - rear facing rear child seats
On a reasonable journey it is showing 38 to 41 mpg.
Current COMAND average is 39.6 mpg based on 700 miles since purchase
Dont use it much for short journeys
Distronic is super - love it
Speed Assist - love it
Panoramic Glass roof .... etc etc

Its got masses of toys !

Going on a road trip round Europe in April (via Sindelfingen factory visit)
should do over 2000 miles - will post the average when I am back

 

[Doodle]

Or maybe a malfunctioning Thermostat

Perhaps, although it was fine when the waterpump was changed last year. I'll ask Olly to double check at the next service.

 

[W2--]

Have you try the petrol version of BlueEfficiency engines? On paper it's not far off to the diesel, much improve compare to the old petrol engine's MPG.