S212 E350 to W166 ML 350 bluetec

[NotAnumber]

Ive been offered a 2015 ML 350 Bluetec diesel Im wondering about buying to replace my pre facelift S212 E350 cdi estate, really just to update by a couple of years or so. Im trying to make up my mind whether to lay out some money on this or hang onto my S212 for a bit. .

Ive not had a 4x4 / SUV for many years and neither were a Merc (Toyota Tercel and mid 70's Jeep Wagoneer so hardly comparable). Hence not sure what to make of the ML, what they are like to live with so Id be grateful if anyone could give any insight

Some things that immediately sprung out at me were:

Theres no spare wheel in the ML. I have one in the S212 and havent ever had a car without a spare wheel before. Do people buy a spare/ spacesaver and stow it in the area under the boot in the ML, shifting out the clutter and pump etc or is that a no no ?

Decoding the VIN comes up with a few things Ive not seen before. Anyone know what this means please COLLIS.WARN. SYS. W/ ACTIVE BRAKE INTERV. FCW STOP ? Is it the same is Distronic ?

Apparently this one has PARKING PACKAGE and ACTIVE PARK ASSIST but does this add up to something that will parallel park the car itself or does it just indicate potential parking spots?

On my S212 and the several previous Mercs Ive had, Im used to the transmission having a normal / economy driving mode, sport & manual. Ive often found the sport setting is great for negotiating busy roundabouts. On the ML ive spotted a manual gear option but the only reference to sport i can find seems to relate to a lower ride height setting. Anyone know if this also put the transmission in sport mode ?

The E class has leather seats but the ML has a mixture of cloth and imitation leather. This surprised me as both cars are AMG sport trim level and Im old enough to associate vinyl seats with lower spec cars in a manufacture's range (base model Mk2 Escorts, Austin Maxi etc). Are these seats as comfortable ?

Can the BlueTec / Ad blue system be mapped out without facing problems at the MOT ?

 

[NotAnumber]

some interesting responses here

Lol

 

[CAlex]

I have a ML 350 Bluetec 2014 model with Amg Line Premium + Package. Its a very good car and rides well on air suspension.

1) my car does not have a spare wheel because it holds the tank for the air suspension. Not having a spare wheel has not been a problem for me- on 2 occasions i hit a nail I was able to drive to a nearby garage and repair it.
2) COLLIS.WARN. SYS. W/ ACTIVE BRAKE INTERV - the system detects a possible collision and lights a warning sing with a sound. it happens when you follow a car close and it breaks, so the car sends the driver a warning and possibly primes the car for impact. Luckily did not have to use active braking so far....but its a good safety feature.
3) ACTIVE PARK ASSIST - it does parallel parking for you.
4) I have 2 standard modes in my car - Comfort and sport. In sport it lowers the car, in comfort the air suspension makes miracles. You can also raise the car when off-roading and/or travelling below 30mph. once higher than 30pmh the car auto lowers to comfort. When in sport mode, it stiffens the suspension a bit so you feel the road imperfections a lot. Be aware the car is not a sport car though. It is set up for long distance cruising and focus is comfort.
5) i have leather seats (grey colour) and a panoramic roof
6) if you delete DPF system it will fail MOT, and it will invalidate warranty/insurance etc. the main thing with DPF is to not let it run empty. It has a heater element inside the DPF tank and if it is empty of DPF, it will overheat and burn. DPF lasts 8/10K miles i believe but you can top up easily.

hope i helped a bit...they are awesome cars as comfort cruisers.

 

[NotAnumber]

Thanks, thats a great response. Im warming to this car now.

What sort of fuel consumption are you getting ? I didnt expect it to match the S212 because it is a heavier and taller vehicle but buyers remorse really hit hard when i spotted the trip meter 21.4 mpg since the last reset (which was over 8,300 miles ago as the previous owner hadnt reset it throughout their ownership). This seemed dreadful

I couldnt understand this as so far Ive been getting a minimum of 27 mpg for urban trips of round 10 miles and had 34 mpg on a recent 230 mile trip which involved a combination of country roads, motorway traffic jams and urban rush hour driving. From this I'd estimate it should return somewhere in the high 30s on a propper run. Does this sound feasible ?

I contacted the last owner about the 21mpg thing and he said he was in the habit of starting the car and leaving it to warm up for a while before setting off on his 1.5 mile daily commute- which if correct would feasibly explain the otherwise frighteningly low mpg figure capture on the trip counter.

The low AdBlue warning came on so Ive just added 10 litres of DEF/ AdBlue which was only £ 12. It took no time at all to pour in so the system is easier to live with than i expected. That should be around half way filled so I'l order a 20 litre or larger container so I can fully top it up and will be sure to always have some spare.

Mine has 265/50/20 inch tyres but the manual says they should be 45 profile for 20 inch rims. Im assuming these are on there because the previous owner wasnt very savvy and the tyre depot sold him what they had in stock. That 5% sidewall difference is making the speedometer read slightly higher than it would and is probably ading to the feeling of bounciness so I'll look to replace them with 45 profiles when any of the current tyres have a puncture or get near to the trye wear limit

 

[DSM10000]

"Can the BlueTec / Ad blue system be mapped out without facing problems at the MOT ?"

BlueTec and Adblue are not the same.

BlueTec referred to a change in engine design by Mercedes which improved emissions and efficiency.

Adblue is a system that injects Urea into the exhaust to reduce NOx emissions by selective catalytic reduction.

 

[ALFAitalia]

BluTec cars are the one that have Adblue though don't they.....its the Blue Efficiency models like mine that have improved economy but no Adblue.

 

[CAlex]

Consumption is average for me as well because most of my driving is in town with lots of cold starts and sort trips... but no way 21mpg average. I would say mine is similar to yours and little bit lower during the winter - but I rarely see high 30s due to my driving patterns.

However, on long travels to the continent , I often achieve 1000klms range on one tank (65 litres) with 4 passengers and full boot at 70/75mph average speed which I was positively surprised with because its a heavy, tall SUV with a v6 engine.

Also be aware that the car uses some fuel to burn the shoot trapped at the DPF. Once a month i make sure I take the car on 30/40 min motorway trip keeping constant 2000 revs. This helps clean the DPF filter so it does not get clogged.

The user DSM10000 is right, Adblue and DPF are 2 different systems but work together to help reduce emissions. I know in some countries people bypass the whole system, but in the UK is illegal.

 

[DSM10000]

BluTec cars are the one that have Adblue though don't they.....its the Blue Efficiency models like mine that have improved economy but no Adblue.

Yes.

My error

 

[jdrrco]

Also be aware that the car uses some fuel to burn the shoot trapped at the DPF. Once a month i make sure I take the car on 30/40 min motorway trip keeping constant 2000 revs. This helps clean the DPF filter so it does not get clogged.

If the previous owner did 8,000 miles-worth of 1.5 mile trips, the above would be a good idea, perhaps sooner rather than later.

Also adding some Adblue cleaner (Wynns do a good one, £9 on Amazon) wouldn't hurt to prevent crystallisation of the Adblue liquid.

Enjoy your new toy!

 

[NotAnumber]

Good advice, I'll get some

What's the consensus on tyres for these ? Anything to avoid other than the obvious unbranded cheapest offerings from the far east ?

 

[CAlex]

tyres is whole different story. mine is 265/40/R21. Recommended MO tyres are Pirelli P Zero and Contis. My preferred brand is Michelin though.

Pirelli is a very good tyre, i was very happy, but it did not last a lot and at nearly 300 a side is very expensive. I replaced them last month at 15k miles - 2 were word below legal and one at legal and once slight above legal.

I have now chosen to go for medium range tyres (Kumho) at half the price. I am not racing the car so a high performance tyre is not as important to me as wet grip performance and longevity. 1000 miles so far and its good.. I can feel bit more vibration at speeds over 70mph on certain road surfaces whereas with Pirellis there was none. i cannot justify spending 1300+ on tyres every 15kmiles especially when most daily driving is in town (with potholes, bumps, nails, etc) or at motorway speeds.

 

[NotAnumber]

Thanks, Indeed Ive had really good experiences with Kumho tyres on a W210 and an old W126 S class in the past. It makes sense for me to do the same on the W166 unless anyone tells me it is a particularly picky car for tyre choice.
Ive been driving saloons, estates and sports cars for decades in which time Ive made some right and wrong choices on tyres but Im starting from scratch with learning about tyres on large 4x4

 

[NotAnumber]

I just checked on a tyre size calculator and using the correct tyres widths and profiles in the book for any of the size wheels offered gives an overall wheel with tyre diameter of 29", thats irrespective of whether they are anything from 17" to 21" wheels. Against this the 265/50/20 50 profile tyres on mine come out at a whole inch higher at 30".

That would explain why the dashboard speedometer reads the same or 1mph marginally higher than the GPS speed on my phone rather than a few mph lower as is the norm. It also presumably means that when Im driving in Sport it equates to Comfort mode on a car with the correct profile tyres - hence why Comfort mode on mine feels bouncy.

I think I'll drive in Sport until I can justify changing the tyres then.