New to the world of Mercedes, some advice please!

[z00ber]

Hi All.

Having owned a few decent German cars previously I am now turning my attention to Mercedes for the first time (please be gentle...) I think I'm pretty settled on a facelift (2013) E250 CDI AMG estate and am very aware that the online community is invaluable when it comes to advice for getting the purchase right. A few questions if I may:

Is it worth tracking down a model with Distronic Plus? I use cruise control quite regularly but only do long journeys every now and again. Would love to have a bit of tech for the occasional motorway cruise but it seems that it's not common spec.

Does anyone know the name of the telescopic bars that attach to the boot floor and the kit that goes with it? Google isn't helping much. Can it be retrofitted easily if I find a car without it?

Are there any options that I should definitely try and seek out? (I know that it's personal, but I'd hate to miss out on something good).

Any common snags to watch for? I believe that the injectors aren't a problem in the facelift model.

Feel free to offer up any advice or link to another thread if there's anything else you think I should know, I have trawled the forums for advice so I think I'm good but there's always something that I miss.

Thanks all

B

 

[RSTurbo50]

Could your funds not stretch to the much smoother, more refined E350?

 

[z00ber]

Yes, is the short answer. I had a 530i touring and the beemer straight 6 was ace (excellent auto gearbox too) but I never achieved more than about 30mpg. 2.0 Audi TFSI now, 30mpg again. I understand that the E350 won't realistically do much better, whereas the 220/250 will get close to 50mpg with a light right foot. I do 20k miles a year and am struggling to justify spending about £3500 every 12 months. A 250 should save me about a grand.

I did consider it though. I do like a smooth powerplant.

 

[z00ber]

I'm in Cheshire too BTW, any garage recommendations?

 

[HorseandJockey]

If you can get down to Shrewsbury MB Shrewsbury are great! Been using them for 10+ years

 

[z00ber]

Thanks H&J. I'm Chester/Mid-Cheshire so Shrewsbury's a bit far. Nice to hear you're being treated well by a main dealer though.

 

[Headhurts]

Yes, is the short answer. I had a 530i touring and the beemer straight 6 was ace (excellent auto gearbox too) but I never achieved more than about 30mpg. 2.0 Audi TFSI now, 30mpg again. I understand that the E350 won't realistically do much better, whereas the 220/250 will get close to 50mpg with a light right foot. I do 20k miles a year and am struggling to justify spending about £3500 every 12 months. A 250 should save me about a grand.



I did consider it though. I do like a smooth powerplant.

I believe most 350's will do better mpg than 30 mpg.

I get around 37 mpg normally using B roads but over 40 mpg on longer journeys and had around 50 mpg last year on the lovely French auto routes, my car has only done around 8500 miles so may get better as the engine beds in better.


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[MikeInWimbledon]

350 CD will do 35mpg

Fuelly's statistics on UK fuel consumption for a 350 suggest 35mpg


Mercedes E350 CDI (Mercedes-Benz E350) | Fuelly

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

According to the cars instumens i have averaged 41.?? MPG over the last 8000 miles.
The car is a Sept 2011 W212 E350 cdi spt (265) saloon.

 

[Tiim533]

I get 40 Miles per Gallon in mine, unless I press the sports button... then I can see it go down to about 30 but by then I'm going so fast I have to keep my eyes on the road ahead!

 

[Rory]

Thanks H&J. I'm Chester/Mid-Cheshire so Shrewsbury's a bit far. Nice to hear you're being treated well by a main dealer though.

I, and a few others on the forums, use Mercedes Specialist Wirral & Chester | MD Motorcare - Dave Owen - he's a little after Cheshire Oaks on the M53.

There's a whole bunch of MB indies on The Wirral but I'm not aware of any on the mid-Cheshire side of Chester.

 

[z00ber]

Thanks Rory. Cheshire Oaks is entirely doable for the (hopefully) occasional visit.

Honest John real MPG suggests that mid 30s is about what to expect from a 350, although it doesn't differentiate between pre & post-facelift so I suspect the 7g gearbox would make a difference. You can normally knock about 10-15% off of the car's own figures, so late 30s I guess is what I'd get given my mix of driving. Not bad, but still a way off of the E250 economy. Thanks guys, but I'll give the bigger engine a miss this time around.

Any opinions on the distronic plus and luggage thing?

 

[wivenhoe]

Thanks Rory. Cheshire Oaks is entirely doable for the (hopefully) occasional visit.

Honest John real MPG suggests that mid 30s is about what to expect from a 350, although it doesn't differentiate between pre & post-facelift so I suspect the 7g gearbox would make a difference. You can normally knock about 10-15% off of the car's own figures, so late 30s I guess is what I'd get given my mix of driving. Not bad, but still a way off of the E250 economy. Thanks guys, but I'll give the bigger engine a miss this time around.

Any opinions on the distronic plus and luggage thing?

You'll need to do a bit of research. Distronic Plus improved considerably around 2015. The 2015 version is superb - particularly in stop go traffic as you can leave the car to brake and accelerate to follow the car in front. I think the pre 2015 version only operated above 30 mph and didnt steer !!

I had a 2012 E350 CDI Coupe and averaged 40mpg over 15,000 miles. I then had a 2014 CLS 350CDI which on a good run achieved over 45mpg and averaged 40mpg over 12,000. I don't hang about so less enthusiastic driving would improve on these consumptions.

 

[z00ber]

Thanks for the advice all. I'm sorely tempted by the 350 given the experiences of others, will test drive both and see how I go. Can't find any cars with distronic so I'm not going to wait around until one comes along, it's not that important.

The niggling question is whether the luggage securing bar rails for the boot can be retrofitted to a model which doesn't have them already in. Anyone have any idea?

 

[Major774]

If you use cruise control a lot then you need Distronic... it's an absolute pain when you use normal cruise control in traffic.

If you are talking about the easy pack loading rails option then it should be fine to retro fit it (I assume).

I have a 2004 E Class saloon and have retrofitted the easy pack option in my car myself.

 

[219]

Pretty much anything can be retrofitted if you're handy enough .

In the past I've retrofitted cruise to cars that didn't have it , swapped manual seats for electric ones , swapped engines , fitted towbars and much more .

Fitting easy load runners in the boot sounds like a dawdle to me , all the fixing points will most likely already be there - just a case of getting the parts , either new or used .

When looking for options , cars further up the range tend to be better specced , so you're more likely to find what you want in a 350 .