I went from a 55 plate 535d sport touring to the E320cdi Avantgarde estate with a Brabus D6 tuning box on it.
The Merc I enjoyed more and only really sold it as I fancied the newer model, which I hated.
I have owned loads of estates, 535d, 335i, Audi A6 3.2 quattro, S4 Avant, 2001 S210 E320 V6 petrol, 2010 S212 E350cdi, 2007 E320cdi avantgarde, to name just a few.
Hand on heart the S211 was the best of the lot, it was plenty quick enough, far more comfy than the BMW, nicer interior imho (and my 535d had loads of toys including prof nav, heads up etc.) and was just a joy all round to own, not as focused as the BMW but was plenty focused enough.
I will buy another one at some point, but this time it will be an E350 or E500 petrol.
My old petrol used to average 28mpg and the diesel was 33mpg.
Round town the petrol was about 24-25 where as the diesel was around 27-28.
The extra refinement of the petrol was really noticeable, it made it feel so much more special.
I was doing 40,000 miles a year then and even at that mileage the extra costs were not worth worrying about, now I am down to 20k miles a year the savings are tiny.
Plus no DPF to worry about etc.
I would happily own another E320cdi, but if two cars were sat their with identical spec and one was a petrol version that would get my money.
Where the diesel won was on a very steady 50mpg cruise, I could see 45mpg then, where as the petrol would be 38mpg at the very best, but I never sit at 50mph so that really was irrelevant.
Oh, and on my 10 mile run in winter from cold the petrol was more economical than the diesel.
