New York to Charlotte NC on less than One Tank of Gas.
(September 7, 2015) Last year Mercedes Benz brought over to the United States its 4 cylinder turbo diesel engine and put it in its midsize E-class and named it the Mercedes Benz E250 BlueTec. In the United States, diesels have gotten a bad reputation and have been thought of as smoke producing noisy vehicles. The new Mercedes Benz E250 is none of those things and actually the exact opposite. The car produces less emissions than most gasoline engine cars and unless you point out that the cars is a diesel nobody except a diesel enthusiast will know it. If you ask Diesel enthusiasts if they can hear the engine, they will say “Yes, I hear it but it’s really quiet.” The non-diesel enthusiasts will just give you a blank stare as to say “What are you talking about.”
Mercedes Command System
Almost Perfect.
The Mercedes Benz E250 isn’t perfect but it’s very close to it. I’ve decided to write a review in hopes that I can dispel the bad reputation of diesels in the US and also get Mercedes Benz to improve some simple things that would make the E250, the perfect vehicle. If everyone owned a modern diesel car, our dependency on foreign oil would be reduced in half and our carbon footprint along with it.
The Road Trip
Mercedes E250 dashboard with speedometer and mileage
I took a road trip in my Mercedes E250 this summer along the east coast from just outside of New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina. This was the first major road trip for the car. I pledged to drive from outside New York City to just south of Charlotte on one tank of diesel. What I accomplished on my drive from the largest financial capital city in United States to the second largest financial capital city in the United States was nothing short of spectacular.
I made it from just outside New York City to Charlotte and I had just under a ¼ tank of fuel left. Charlotte is 632 miles from New York City. I actually drove 712.1 miles because I drove locally the day prior to the road trip and stopped in Luray, Virginia overnight to break up the trip. Along the way, I stopped for coffee and bathroom breaks but not for fuel. It was strange to pull up to the gasoline pump and clean my windshield but not fuel up. If it wasn’t for my buying some coffee, I’d feel guilty about cleaning my windshield of splattered bugs with questionable window squeezys and using the restroom.
The car got an average of 46 miles per gallon with two areas of traffic and some local City driving a day prior to and my side trip to Luray Caverns and Automobile museum in Luray, Virginia. Without traffic, the city driving and the side trip, the car would have done even better.
The estimated EPA rating for the Mercedes E250 Rear wheel drive car is 45 miles per gallon on the highway and 28 mpg in the city. My vehicle a Mercedes E250 4-matic’s estimated EPA rating is 42 mpg on the highway and 27 in the city. I’ve consistently beat the city estimate with miles per gallon ranging from 28 mpg to 32 mpg. The road trip demonstrated that the estimated EPA of 42 mpg on the highway can be easily accomplished given my 46 mpg number. Remember, I drove a day in City driving and took a side trip off the highway. A straight run I would imagine get you very close to 50 mpg Highway which is unbelievable.
I had to curve my enthusiasm at how great the car did because my family was getting annoyed. The Mercedes E250 has a 21.1 gallon tank so it’s range is huge. Multiply let’s say 40 mpg times 21 gallons and you get 840 miles. Multiple the 46 mpg, I got, and 21 gallons and the range turns into 966 miles. There is no Tesla “range anxiety” with this Mercedes Benz. Even if you get “range anxiety” at ¼ tank or when the reserve tank warning on the Mercedes Benz kicks in, you will have plenty of time to find a Diesel fuel gas station. Don’t misunderstand my point, I’m not knocking the Tesla. It’s a great idea and beautiful implementation of the idea but without the ability to rapidly charge the Tesla’s batteries you are stuck driving close to home. Maybe Tesla should loan out the Mercedes E250 as the second car for long road trips to its customers.
Road Car & Power.
Mercedes E250
For those worried about driving a heavy mid-size vehicle powered by a 4 cylinder engine thinking that you won’t have the power of a 6 or 8 cylinder vehicle, Mercedes Benz has made sure the power is available when you need it while conserving fuel when you don’t. City driving has gotten me between 27 and 32 miles per gallon. On the Highway, I’ve gotten 42 to 46 miles per gallon. The car is good in City driving but it simply loves the road and is an excellent road car. On the highway, the 4 cylinder Diesel engine sipped ever so slightly on the diesel fuel as it glided down the highway. Driving a diesel is a little different than driving a vehicle with a gasoline engine. On the highway, you find yourself not pressing the gas pedal but just keeping a slight pressure on the pedal. Once you are on the open road, just point the car and drive. I’m not a fan of cruise control but if you love cruise control, engage it and drive. On those occasions where you need the power to pass someone, the car has the power. The dual Turbos insure power is available when you need it without question. The turbo does take some getting used to. My old Mercedes E320 with a 6 cylinder engine and perfectly matched transmission is smoother but it only gets 16 mpg on a good day. The E250 hesitates slightly, kicks in and propels you like a rocket. Initially, it’s a little disconcerning but now that I’ve driven the car for several months the slight lag isn’t even noticeable.
The Cons
My Mercedes E250 isn’t perfect. The engineers and craftsman at Mercedes Benz in Germany have made a beautiful 4-cylinder Diesel Engine and matched it to a perfectly matched transmission. They then added that Engine and Transmission to a world class mid-size vehicle, one of their best selling vehicles, and brought it to the United States pricing it slightly lower than its gasoline counterpart. As the saying goes, once you drive a Mercedes Benz you won’t want to drive another brand. That saying can be extended by saying “once you drive a diesel Mercedes Benz, you will be hard pressed to drive a gasoline engine version”. I’m sure that I could be tempted with an Mercedes SL 500 but who wouldn’t. As an everyday car, the Mercedes Benz E250 is hard to beat for many reasons.
What Mercedes got wrong however can be easily fixed and I am hoping just like an update to MicroSoft’s Windows 7 operating system or now Windows 10, Mercedes issues an update to its Navigation system. The Navigation system in my wife’s 10 year old Volvo is better than the navigation system in the Mercedes E250. I learned early on that the navigation would pick the craziest routes and even when I ignored the crazy route and started on the better route to my destination it took forever to re-route and when it did it tried to go back to the route I had already decided to abandon. In addition, the system had a lag which often told you to turn when you had already passed your turning point. I’d rather use my Google Maps on my phone than the built in Mercedes Benz navigation system. Mercedes can and should get together with some California Silicon Valley “guys” and re-work the Navigation system and update its Navigation system. While they are at it they might just redo their entire Command system that controls the radio, Cd player, Music hard drive and Satellite radio. Having gotten the hard part right (the engine, transmission, and safety systems), the electronics and user interface is something that can be done and added to the vehicle as an update to make the vehicle perfect. Mercedes Benz needs to learn some lessons from Apple and make its electronics user friendly. Maybe Mercedes can license Google maps and get that into the car or license the navigation in my wife’s old Volvo which will get you a Starbuck or a Sheetz gasoline station “along the route” something the Mercedes Navigation System can’t. It’s real annoying to have a luxury vehicle that gets the hard stuff right but has a Navigation System that is primitive.
Aluminum Rims
The other con is Mercedes aluminum rims. One of them cracked early on with normal driving in New Jersey roads. After my service adviser of over 14 years asked the Service Manager at Mercedes Benz of Morristown (NJ) to look at the rim, I got refunded a rim purchase because in fact the rim was defective. I’m disappointed that the new rims do not match Mercedes tradition of fine craftsmanship. Granted the roads of North Jersey aren’t the pot hole free roads of Germany but I never had a rim crack on my previous Mercedes Benz and Mercedes Benz sells cars throughout the world with places with pot holes worse than those of Northern New Jersey and New York. The rims are the most basic component of a car and Mercedes Benz purchasers deserve to have this issue addressed. An option for steel rims should be available.
Fuel Availability
Wawa Station Diesel Pump
For those worried about Diesel fuel availability. Car/Low Sulphur Diesel Fuel is available everywhere. On my road trip, gasoline stations who carry car diesel fuel advertise with Diesel on their signage. The Mercedes Navigation system allows you to search for gasoline stations who carry Diesel and asks you if you want a list and navigate to that station. Given the fuel economy of the vehicle you have plenty of miles to locate a station even on the reserve tank (below ¼ tank). I’ve never had a problem finding a low Sulphur Diesel station in my travels. Shell, Exxon/Mobil, Sheetz, WaWa, and BP all have gasoline stations who carry Diesel fuel.
Eco Start/Stop
Mercedes Benz E250 Eco Start Button
The Eco Start/Stop system in the car is something you need to get used to. I experienced a similar system in a Diesel Volvo in Europe several years ago. I rented the Volvo at the airport and when I got to the first stop sign, the car turned off. My first thought was that this brand new Volvo had just stalled out. But when I lifted my foot slightly off the brake pedal, the car started up again. I soon realized that the car had something “European” that I had never experienced in the United States. I came to love the system although there was a time that I needed to turn it off and the Eco button on the dash was all I needed to press to disengage the system. The Mercedes E250 has the same button on its dash for those who are wary of having your engine turn off at stop signs, red lights and in traffic. I recommend however that you tough it out and let your brain get used to the engine turning on and off. Does it improve your gas mileage. I’m not sure but Mercedes Benz says it does and its supposedly better for the environment. The added benefit of the engine turning off is that the cabin is even quieter. In the summer months, it’s a little taxing to have the air conditioning reduce the fan speed and in the winter the reduction of the fan speed can affect the windshield defrost. Turning the Eco Start/Stop system is one button press away so it’s not that big of a deal to disengage the system when needed.
Volvo hasn’t brought their diesel engines to the United States. That is a shame since my experience with a Volvo S60 wagon in Europe was what ignited my interest in the new diesel engines. On my European trip, I experienced the benefits of a fuel efficient diesel engine. Fuel costs were triple what they were in the United States and thus a fuel efficient vehicle was a must especially while touring the countryside. I initially thought the fuel gauge was acting up when it didn’t move from full. I then realized that the car was getting great fuel economy when it finally moved off the full fuel mark. Hopefully, Volvo will venture to bring at least one Diesel engine to the United States in the near future. Maybe they can power their new 2015 XC90 with a Diesel engine or just bring the Volvo S60 with a Diesel engine to United States.
4 Matic Drive
The Mercedes Benz E250 is available in rear wheel drive and a four wheel drive model called the 4-Matic. 4-Matic isn’t new technology it has been around for years. It provides traction to the wheel with the most traction. I drove for over 14 years a Mercedes Benz E class rear wheel drive vehicle without 4-Matic and I can tell you that the 4-Matic system makes a huge difference in inclement weather especially during snow storms. Nothing like knowing you have available four wheel traction when you head out in a snow storm. The 4-Matic is an option but well worth the investment.
BlueTec Technology
Mercedes Bluetec on a Mercedes E250
The Mercedes Benz E250 comes standard with run flat tires. The spare tire which would normally be in compartment accessible from the trunk has been replaced by a reserve tank containing AdBlue, a water urea solution, which when injected into pre-cleaned exhaust gas causes ammonia (NH3) to be released, converting nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water in the car’s catalytic converter. Per Mercedes Benz, this Selective Catalytic Reduction (SAR) process creates the most effective method of exhaust gas after treatment currently available. The Mercedes Benz E250 meets exhaust regulations in all 50 States. The AdBlue liquid is only added during regular service and if you run low the car will warn you. I’ve never had the AdBlue warning come on and service is only every 10,000 miles. I can tell you that there is no smoke out the back of my car. There is barely any smell at all. On occasion you can smell what I call a “sweet smell” in the back of vehicle but it isn’t often. I’m not being sarcastic about the “sweet smell”. It’s a pleasant smell and much better than regular exhaust smell from a gasoline engine. I’m not sticking around to take deep breaths but there isn’t any diesel smoke or smut on the car’s bumper. Remember this car passes California emissions without breaking a sweat. Erase from your memory, the old picture of a diesel car going down the road and replace it with a picture of a vehicle that you can’t even see the vapor coming out the exhaust pipe as it moves down the road.
Conclusion.
Don’t hesitate to purchase an Mercedes E250. But for its “I’m ready for an update” navigation system, and it’s crack prone tire rims, the car is a perfect everyday vehicle that looks great and will get you VIP parking up by the front entrance of your favorite restaurant because of it’s good looks. Most won’t realize that under the hood is an engineering marvel, a 4 cylinder diesel engine matched perfectly to a great transmission that beats a Toyota Prius’ fuel economy.
