My E350 CDI Sport Saloon Review

[mbenz76]

I asked the same question about video, and you DO need a different cable - don't know if there is anything else inline as part of the cable or not though.

Cable is about £250 from dealer! So I think I can live without it. A bit cheap on MB's part not including it all in one cable though.

 

[johny5_uk]

Whaaa? thats ridiculous?
We both have full comand systems with DAB, Reversing camera, sat nav etc, the ipod cable and USB cable to plug in to command and we have to buy another cable for £250!??

So all this cable will give us is ipod video (when stood still).
If it is a simple cable with no electronic box in between the ipod and connector then I would be willing to sacrifice my USB cable to try and convert it into an ipod video cable if we could maybe club together and purchase one to get the pinouts.

<edit> looks like it is a new cable that plugs into the back of the comand unit :

http://www.comandonline.co.uk/product.php?productid=16334&cat=274&page=1

 

[mbenz76]

So it's a back of the unit job then! A bit sloppy on MB's part considering that the video-capable Ipods were out long before the W212 was built.

I have tried DVDs in my Comand just to play with it, and was quite impressed, but as it's only useful when under 5mph (or whatever it is), I certainly won't be spending £300 ona cable any time soon.

 

[tylerdurden]

my 3G ipod charges but not recognised. Do you think it could be because it takes a bit of time to register the device?

Is yours recognised by the system immediately?

 

[mbenz76]

My Nano (4th Generation) shows up the MB logo on screen as soon as the cable is plugged in (with a message saying it can't charge) and by the time I have called up the relevant menu on Comand it works, so no more than a few seconds if there is any delay at all.

 

[tylerdurden]

Ta, my son's 5thgen nano is recognised instantly. Works well but 16GB is not enough to keep me happy. SLightly annoyed there is only one classic. 160Gb is way over my needs.

Tell me more about the file size limits? Just how restrictive is that going to be?

 

[mbenz76]

160GB is possibly too small for me (will probably not last the year out on that).

On the subject of USB, although I have not tested this myself at all, I understand from others that the limit is 1000 files in up to 8 directories per partition. Each partition can be 32GB and you can have up to 4 partitons.

 

[johny5_uk]

Finally got round to logging a complaint with MB about 2 things on my E350 coupe.
1. Delay when setting off in standard auto mode
2. MPG (not a biggy and not expecting anything) but I am still only getting a maximum of 41mpg on a 95% motorway run with an average of 50mph total 180 miles with the aircon off, mainly downhill motorway, light foot, windows closed, tyre pressures checked, head crouched down under the fairing, itching the car forward in my seat downhill, you name it, I have done my utmost to spoonfeed this car into busting the 41mpg limit and it will not go.
I am nearly 25% down off the advertised figure and have done over 6000 miles now, lets see what they come back with.
Fed up of the local dealer saying "wait until the month update disk comes through" and "drive in manual or sport mode".
My wifes peugeot 207 has no problems whatsoever and that was £35,000 cheaper than my merc.

 

[hawk20]

Finally got round to logging a complaint with MB about 2 things on my E350 coupe.
1. Delay when setting off in standard auto mode
2. MPG (not a biggy and not expecting anything) but I am still only getting a maximum of 41mpg on a 95% motorway run with an average of 50mph total 180 miles with the aircon off, mainly downhill motorway, light foot, windows closed, tyre pressures checked, head crouched down under the fairing, itching the car forward in my seat downhill, you name it, I have done my utmost to spoonfeed this car into busting the 41mpg limit and it will not go.
I am nearly 25% down off the advertised figure and have done over 6000 miles now, lets see what they come back with.
Fed up of the local dealer saying "wait until the month update disk comes through" and "drive in manual or sport mode".
My wifes peugeot 207 has no problems whatsoever and that was £35,000 cheaper than my merc.

The combined figure for your car on the MB website is 40.9 mpg and that is what I would expect you to be able to achieve in careful driving at motorway speeds on a run. You can sometimes exceed the combined figure but need to keep to 70 or so max in my experience. Higher speeds seriously affect economy.

The ex urban figure is not done at motorway speeds. Worth reading up on the test then you will be happy with what you are achieving.

 

[johny5_uk]

Understand what you are saying, but the only time i manage to get mid to high 40's is when the car has just entered 7th gear and I have my foot off the accelerator whilst going down a hill on the M1 at about 55mph.
I have managed to achieve the extra urban figure quoted on the last 3 cars that I have owned without any attempt whatsoever.
I can only guess that the fuel consumption on this car is so tight with no deviation due to it being a 6 cyclinder 3 litre?

 

[st4]

The combined figure for your car on the MB website is 40.9 mpg and that is what I would expect you to be able to achieve in careful driving at motorway speeds on a run. You can sometimes exceed the combined figure but need to keep to 70 or so max in my experience. Higher speeds seriously affect economy.

The ex urban figure is not done at motorway speeds. Worth reading up on the test then you will be happy with what you are achieving.

I drove a 204 C class (essentially the same car) with the old 320cdi engine and it got 45mpg at 70-75 on the M8. The coupe is more areo dynamic.

I think the car once loosened up will do better than combined, which I frequently better by driving like a nun.

 

[hawk20]

Understand what you are saying, but the only time i manage to get mid to high 40's is when the car has just entered 7th gear and I have my foot off the accelerator whilst going down a hill on the M1 at about 55mph.
I have managed to achieve the extra urban figure quoted on the last 3 cars that I have owned without any attempt whatsoever.
I can only guess that the fuel consumption on this car is so tight with no deviation due to it being a 6 cyclinder 3 litre?

Of all the many cars I have owned none have regularly returned the extra urban figure on a run when driven at normal cruising speeds. And if you read all the main car mags they find exactly the same: - the combined figure is achievable with effort on a run -but stick to legal limits to do that.

Read up on the extra urban cycle and you will see it has nothing to do with cruising on motorways.

The combined figure for my E220cdi estate is 38.6 mpg and on every long run I've done I have got between 38 and 44 mpg (except one where there were long stretches with specs cameras at 50 mph and then I got a good deal more!).

 

[survey]

I agree with Hawk20, MB Combined mpg for my C220cdi estate is 41.5. To date (20,000 miles) tank/tank readings - 42.06. Highest tank return to date is 46.56. On-board computer of course has shown 50+ at times.

 

[mbenz76]

Watching the indicator you see it returns much better results between 50 and 60mph. Which is where I understand it's supposed to work best.

 

[johny5_uk]

It should give the optimum mpg as soon as you are in 7th gear, and obviously on a flat and long road. This is what I am trying to point out, even when I reset the trip meter in these conditions, outside temp 16-20deg, aircon off, no matter what I try I do not get anything higher than 41mpg.
I totally appreciate the rolling road sterile conditions that these figures are created from but these are the very same for other makes/models of cars that I have achieved the extra urban figure from with ease.

 

[hawk20]

It should give the optimum mpg as soon as you are in 7th gear, and obviously on a flat and long road. This is what I am trying to point out, even when I reset the trip meter in these conditions, outside temp 16-20deg, aircon off, no matter what I try I do not get anything higher than 41mpg.
I totally appreciate the rolling road sterile conditions that these figures are created from but these are the very same for other makes/models of cars that I have achieved the extra urban figure from with ease.

See if you can find a single road test in any major car mag where anyone has achieved the extra urban figure on a run, doing motorway speeds while cruising, and checking the consumption -not with the on-board computer- but properly with tankful to tankful data. I've never seen one.

 

[johny5_uk]

if this is the case that no one can ever achieve the extra urban figure why do the manufacturers give it to us?

The fact is, they stated the car will do XXmpg if you do XXmph with the outside temp at XX and etc etc etc.

The trip gauge updates live, SO if my car is supposed to give back 51 mpg at 56mph or whatever, when i reset the meter on a flat road with all the conditions above then the readout should be near the 51mpg stated and it is a good 10mpg off.

To be honest I am not that bothered about the mpg, its a V6 3 litre lump so I am happy with 41mpg but was stating I will never be able to achieve anywhere near 51mpg as it currently stands or there may be an issue with my car.

More importantly, I logged a complaint regarding the 1-2 second delay when setting off from a standstill in auto mode (after driving above 15mph and stopping) so if anyone else has this issue and is sick of waiting for these magic monthly update disks then call MB UK and raise a complaint. Hopefully if they have enough complaints then they will address the fault.

 

[tylerdurden]

what's this about monthly update discs?

They post these to your house?

 

[hawk20]

if this is the case that no one can ever achieve the extra urban figure why do the manufacturers give it to us?

The fact is, they stated the car will do XXmpg if you do XXmph with the outside temp at XX and etc etc etc.

.

They give you the 'extra urban' figure because the govt requires that they do so.

They do not state that the car will do x mpg at a given temperature. Worth googling to get details of the extra urban test and you will see that it is far more complex. The combined figure is what most people find they can achieve on a run in reasonable conditions, cruising at the legal maximum

 

[hawk20]

Urban cycle
The urban test cycle is carried out in a laboratory at an ambient temperature of 20°C to 30°C on a rolling road from a cold start where the engine has not run for several hours. The cycle consists of a series of accelerations, steady speeds, decelerations and idling. Maximum speed is 31 mph (50 km/h), average speed 12 mph (19 km/h) and the distance covered is 2.5 miles (4 km). The cycle is shown as Part One in the diagram below.
Extra-urban cycle
This cycle is conducted immediately following the urban cycle and consists of roughly half steady-speed driving and the remainder accelerations, decelerations, and some idling. Maximum speed is 75 mph (120 km/h), average speed is 39 mph (63 km/h) and the distance covered is 4.3 miles (7 km). The cycle is shown as Part Two in the diagram below.
Combined Fuel Consumption Figure
The combined figure presented is for the urban and the extra-urban cycle together. It is therefore an average of the two parts of the test, weighted by the distances covered in each part.
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/information/fuel-consumption-testing-scheme.asp