Help me chose a Petrol MB please!

[afmuir]

Hi
I’m struggling to settle on a next car. Just sold BMW 330d touring, nice car but getting unreliable. I now want to move to petrol, I want auto, estate, as reliable as possible, keen to get back to MB (have had 3x 220cdi in past). Budget could go to £18k if I guess but would rather pay less. Have considered 1.8 C250s which seem around £10-12k for 2012 50k miles, up to £18k for C200 2014 with 30k miles. Trying to decide if older model is as good/reliable and I get to spend the change on something else, or if it makes as much or more sense to get newer. Not sure if my question but any advice appreciated! Thanks

 

[OrangeSport]

Only advice I can give is that having had CLK200 (1.8 supercharged 165ish BHP) and a CLK350 (3.5 270ish BHP) the V6 is in a different league all together and not that much more thirsty.

 

[afmuir]

Thanks. I very nearly went to see a C350 estate advertised on AT, not sure why I didn’t. Do you remember average mpg on each?

 

[OrangeSport]

The 200 was mid 20s in town and high 30s on a run

The 350 is low 20s in town and high 20s on a run but is being driven much harder (if only to hear to exhausts sing).

Probably not a fair comparison

The real difference is how smooth the V6 is.

 

[Monday]

Either the MB website has gone haywire or MB do not now offer an E Class PETROL saloon below the E43 4MATIC, starting at £56k. So much for the petrol revolution!

 

[mikestrivens]

Mercedes have yet to wake up to the demise of diesel, by which time BMW will have collared the market.

 

[afmuir]

Well the other one I was looking at was a BMW 328i GT - 4 cyl petrol. Bit wary about the timing chain horror stories you read about, but warranty and 10k oil changes would help. It’s not an easy decision!

 

[A.J.]

Hi afmuir, welcome to the forum. Now go and wash your mouth out with soap, BMW........really !!

 

[afmuir]

Yes I know, that’s why I’m on here looking for help!!!

 

[SunnyDee]

C350 has a 3.5L engine, it sounds amazing but you can get a C250 which is a 1.8 Turbo which is nippy!

Mercedes have opened up to petrol market as if you go to their page their petrol cars are on top display rather than diesel.

 

[Naraic]

MBUK haven't woken up yet. The only petrol E classes are from AMG. In Ireland there is a the E350 hybrid and I suspect in other markets there are more petrol models.

In the UK there is the 300h and 200 petrol C classes. In Ireland you can also get the 160, 180, 200, 300 (but not the 300h). So it's MBUK who are holding back the UK market.

 

[mikestrivens]

...Mercedes have opened up to petrol market as if you go to their page their petrol cars are on top display rather than diesel.

Only if you want an AMG, which I don't.

 

[L John]

The 350 sits nicely between the smaller engines and the AMG's, performance is good and MPG is good.
I've had 42 mpg (displayed not measured) on a careful long run but usually around 30mpg driving normally, it does sound great but I always drive with passenger comfort in mind so only play when I'm on my own and then it goes down to around 20mpg.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Unfortunately the petrol 350cgi (M276 engine) wasn’t carried over into the 213 chassis as far as I know so for the present the choice is 1.8 or 6.3 petrol if you are buying new

Secondhand they are out there in 212 guise but a rare car especially well specced, before I opted for the diesel 350cdi (OM642 engine) I spent 6 months waiting for a well specced secondhand 350cgi to surface without success so eventually settled for the diesel equivalent with a fantastic spec. The diesel is a very well sorted engine mainly due to it being in production for twelve years and I’m very impressed with it but if you must go petrol the choice is very limited

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...badge-engine-size=3.0&body-type=Estate&page=1

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Just done a bit of research and it appears the V6 petrol is in the 213 line-up in E43 AMG line-up

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...-size=3.0&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

 

[Monday]

Unfortunately the petrol 350cgi (M276 engine) wasn’t carried over into the 213 chassis as far as I know so for the present the choice is 1.8 or 6.3 petrol if you are buying new

No, there is no 1.8 petrol anymore. For the E Class saloon, it's E43 or E63 only and all with 4MATIC. There is an E300 coupe with a 1.8 engine (which most people seem to agree is not MB's best ever effort) and an E400 V6 (same engine as SL400 I think?) but again that is 4MATIC only and adds £10k to the price of the E300. Umpteen diesel options for both.

Sad but if I want an E Class-sized petrol car I am being driven inevitably towards a BMW 5 series.......

 

[ernieh]

Has the OP considered the 1.6 274 engined C Class Estate? Reasonable power, even when loaded, seems to have a good reliability record and economical. I can provide real-life economy figures if required.

Ernie

 

[SunnyDee]

2x E class Coupe in petrol
2x E Class Coupe in diesels
3x CLA Shotting break in petol
2x CLA Shooting break in Diesel
5x A Class in petrol
3x A Class in diesel

Do you want me to continue?

Shows there's more petrol on MB UK website then Diesels.

There no E class petrol unless you go for E45 or C63 they all diesel... but lets face it E classes are taxi's so diesel will suit them!

I rest my case!

 

[Mr Filipov]

2x E class Coupe in petrol
2x E Class Coupe in diesels
3x CLA Shotting break in petol
2x CLA Shooting break in Diesel
5x A Class in petrol
3x A Class in diesel

Do you want me to continue?

Shows there's more petrol on MB UK website then Diesels.

There no E class petrol unless you go for E45 or C63 they all diesel... but lets face it E classes are taxi's so diesel will suit them!

I rest my case!

If E classes are taxis, does that mean the C class is the poor mans mercedes for being the cheapest in the range with rear wheel drive?

 

[SunnyDee]

na..... its no longer the entry model car

Sorry but I never liked the E class, MB made a mess of it since they did the Bug Eye model. But I love the E Class Coupé