I like a little power. All right, I like enough power to make me scream and cackle like a deranged turkey buzzard. But times are changing, and I’m beginning to feel guilty about driving hot, fuel-hogging cars.
Enter the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec. It provides an abundance of willing power, all the while averaging 30 mpg or better. I tested mine in San Francisco, and after 500 miles of hard-charging Frank Bullitt impersonations on the steep hills and racing out to Napa, I still had a quarter-tank left. With EPA ratings of 26 city/35 highway (legitimate numbers, by the way), you can get 700 miles out of a fill-up.
I waited this long to tell you that the fuel it sips so parsimoniously is diesel, because diesel has a weird reputation in the States. (In Europe it’s far more commonplace; Audi actually won LeMans with a diesel recently.) With its pioneering Bluetec technology, Mercedes was able to get rid of the smoke and coffee-can clattering that rankled diesel owners of yesteryear and produce an elegant, smooth runner.
The horsepower rating of the 3.0-liter, V-6 engine is an unimpressive 210, but the real number to check here is the torque rating: a prodigious 400 pounds/feet. In real-world terms this means broad-shouldered get-up-and-go any time you ask. All that torque is channeled through a seamless seven-speed automatic transmission.
There is, of course, a normal, gas-powered version, the E350, which starts for $1,000 less but has an EPA rating of 17 city/24 highway. If gas eventually leaps to $4, the Bluetec’s fuel savings would wipe out the price differential pretty fast.
Also working in Bluetec’s favor is the general simplicity of a diesel engine. Those old Mercedes diesels were famous for going 400,000 miles. The current E320 is sold in 45 states and requires ultralow-sulfur diesel. A 50-state version is imminent.
However far you go in this, it’ll be with the patented Mercedes road poise, which combines limousine smoothness with a readiness for aggression. The dark, businesslike interior is welcome. And the standard Harman/Kardon Logic7 Digital Surround System offers beautiful separation and thunder.
Actually, “highly refined thunder” is a good way to describe the entire car. The thriftiness means you can enjoy all that power and not feel like a complete scoundrel.
– Chris Hodenfield
Posted: 11/5/2007
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