Suck it Prius owners, Mercedes E-Class luxury sedan gets better mpg!

[smokingman]

The Ford Focus Econic with a diesel engine gets 86mpg.No batteries,no hybrid tech,just a small efficient diesel engine.Of course it meets all US standards,but to buy one you have to import it from Europe(a few have).No Ford dealer will do it for you though.I tried.I even talked to the CEO who runs the import department for Ford out of Chicago.He made it clear no Ford employee could help import one,and no dealer would ever be allowed to have them in inventory or they would lose their job or dealership.

Fords official line is no American wants a diesel car.The truth is not really relevant though.

 

[melensdad]

The Ford Focus Econic with a diesel engine gets 86mpg.No batteries,no hybrid tech,just a small efficient diesel engine...

Please understand that it may get 86mpg using IMPERIAL GALLONS but it will NOT get that same fuel economy in the US because our gallons are smaller. It probably would be closer to 70mpg. Then, realize also that the EU's version of our EPA is netorious for OVER-RATING the fuel economy of cars, so you'd have to knock off another 20% or more to get a "real world" fuel economy.

I'd estimate that the car, imported to the US, with a claimed 86mpg in Europe, would get about 50mpg in ACTUAL DRIVING CONDITIONS here in the USA.

 

[smokingman]

Please understand that it may get 86mpg using IMPERIAL GALLONS but it will NOT get that same fuel economy in the US because our gallons are smaller. It probably would be closer to 70mpg. Then, realize also that the EU's version of our EPA is netorious for OVER-RATING the fuel economy of cars, so you'd have to knock off another 20% or more to get a "real world" fuel economy.

I'd estimate that the car, imported to the US, with a claimed 86mpg in Europe, would get about 50mpg in ACTUAL DRIVING CONDITIONS here in the USA.

Looks like you are correct.The 2011 version(rated at 76mpg in Europe)was rated at 55mpg in the USA.Still a car that gets 50+ mpg with fair performance without the additional cost and maintenance of batteries/hybrid systems would sell here diesel or not.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/09/06/55-mpg-ford-focus-cant-have/

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Is there any modern car that's inexpensive to repair if something significant breaks and you have to see a dealer or other service shop?

Probably not...

But a car that needs most everything shipped in from Europe somewhere will, generally speaking, be more expensive to repair than if a part needs shipped in from Canada or Mexico...

 

[melensdad]

Looks like you are correct.

QUICK TELL MY WIFE. Apparently I am not always wrong!

But seriously, I've got a sister who lives in England and she loves to claim all sorts of high mileage with her vehicle, and apparently can't recall the fact that each time she does that I remind her of the US gallon to IMPERIAL gallon conversions. Also about the dramatically inflated MPG claims by the EU testing standards. I know of no US car that actually gets what our EPA claims it should get in terms of MPG, but the folks in Europe have come to totally ignore the EU testing for MPG as it is so grossly inflated as to have become a joke.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I know of no US car that actually gets what our EPA claims it should get in terms of MPG,

I regularly exceed city and highway mpg for my cars and trucks, but I am also a very conservative driver.

 

[melensdad]

I regularly exceed city and highway mpg for my cars and trucks, but I am also a very conservative driver.

I actually should amend my statement. I do exceed the EPA claims in the diesel Jetta, but none of my gas cars have ever met EPA claims. I don't know anyone else who meets the EPA claims in a gas car. But diesel drivers typically do get close to or exceed the EPA standards.

If you are meeting/exceeding EPA claims in a gas car then you probably are a very conservative driver.

 

[jkaetz]

I actually should amend my statement. I do exceed the EPA claims in the diesel Jetta, but none of my gas cars have ever met EPA claims. I don't know anyone else who meets the EPA claims in a gas car. But diesel drivers typically do get close to or exceed the EPA standards.

If you are meeting/exceeding EPA claims in a gas car then you probably are a very conservative driver.

It's directly related to the use of the skinny pedal. I can beat the EPA rated MPG in my G8 or I can completely obliterate it in the wrong direction. All depends on how I drive for that tank of gas. It is much easier with the diesel though.

 

[melensdad]

It's directly related to the use of the skinny pedal. I can beat the EPA rated MPG in my G8 or I can completely obliterate it in the wrong direction. All depends on how I drive for that tank of gas. It is much easier with the diesel though.

Can you sustain the EPA rated MPG? From my experience almost nobody can with a gas engine vehicle. And by sustain it I mean long term average over 500, 1000 miles or more. I've never seen it.

I've made trips in my daughter's Jetta, at above the posted speed limits, with the AC running full blast, driving a combination of city and highway, from NW Indiana to St Louis, driven around St Louis over the weekend, then back to NW Indiana, and had trip averages (combined City & Hwy) of greater than 42mpg in a vehicle with a 40mpg EPA HWY rating (ours is a 2010 TDI with DSG transmission).

The Jetta is rated for 34mpg "combined" city/hwy but I can run it 5000 miles (the interval at which I change the oil) and see long term averages of 39 to 41 mpg and that car is not softly/conservatively driven!

 

[Brandon]

I hope the E class is better designed then the C class.
I test drove a C class a couple of years ago before the M5 and the way things were laid out on the inside just stunk. The way the speaker came out of the door and rubbed your knee while trying to press the clutch to shift... NO thanks!

I have not sat in an E class.

 

[melensdad]

I hope the E class is better designed then the C class.
I test drove a C class a couple of years ago before the M5 and the way things were laid out on the inside just stunk. The way the speaker came out of the door and rubbed your knee while trying to press the clutch to shift... NO thanks!

I have not sat in an E class.

The E class cars are pretty nice. They are probably the most popular model made by MB? The TAXI services tend to use them in Europe, and the E Class is favored by livery drivers for running business people to/from the airports in England. Its a model that is well established and pretty refined.

 

[jkaetz]

Can you sustain the EPA rated MPG? From my experience almost nobody can with a gas engine vehicle. And by sustain it I mean long term average over 500, 1000 miles or more. I've never seen it.

I've made trips in my daughter's Jetta, at above the posted speed limits, with the AC running full blast, driving a combination of city and highway, from NW Indiana to St Louis, driven around St Louis over the weekend, then back to NW Indiana, and had trip averages (combined City & Hwy) of greater than 42mpg in a vehicle with a 40mpg EPA HWY rating (ours is a 2010 TDI with DSG transmission).

The Jetta is rated for 34mpg "combined" city/hwy but I can run it 5000 miles (the interval at which I change the oil) and see long term averages of 39 to 41 mpg and that car is not softly/conservatively driven!

Yep. The EPA rating for the G8 is 13/20. Over a tank of gas driving back and forth to work (~13 miles one way, a few miles of interstate and the rest surface roads) I consistently see 17 - 18 mpg occasionally I can get close to 19 but that's rare. Taking a road trip (65 - 75mph) I've never seen it below 23 and seen as high as 25. When you consider that the G8 is a 415 hp 4000 pound car that's not doing terrible. I can't fathom how the EPA only got 13/20 out of it as I do drive gentle, but I also like to hear the V8 roar while I'm out.

Our diesel ML story is similar to your Jetta's. EPA says 18/25 and we rarely see it go below 25 even in city driving unless we're stuck in a traffic jam.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I actually should amend my statement. I do exceed the EPA claims in the diesel Jetta, but none of my gas cars have ever met EPA claims. I don't know anyone else who meets the EPA claims in a gas car. But diesel drivers typically do get close to or exceed the EPA standards.

If you are meeting/exceeding EPA claims in a gas car then you probably are a very conservative driver.

For my stock 2006 Corolla it's 29/35. 35 is the LOWEST I get with combined mileage. I have both a Scangage II and check the fillup versus trip mileage. Most of the time I am getting 37-38 combined. The absolute lowest I ever got was 29 on a highway trip to South Dakota doing 85 most of the way past Illinois into a very strong headwind.

For my stock 2005 Silverado its EPA rating is 15/17. I almost always get 17 combined.

It's been like that for every vehicle I have owned. But then, I am always amazed at how wasteful most people are when they drive. I know people who replace brake pads every 30-40k miles. I generally get over 100k on them.

 

[jkaetz]

But then, I am always amazed at how wasteful most people are when they drive. I know people who replace brake pads every 30-40k miles. I generally get over 100k on them.

This is a great point. I typically will downshift and use engine braking when coming up to slower traffic/stop lights/etc... Most people will drive the speed limit right up until they have to mash the brakes to stop.

 

[churchmouse]

This is a great point. I typically will downshift and use engine braking when coming up to slower traffic/stop lights/etc... Most people will drive the speed limit right up until they have to mash the brakes to stop.

The last second is usually the point at which they become aware that an impact is eminent.

 

[Tanfodude]

Mercedes has been sucking at quality. Still no win there.

 

[actaeon277]

The last second is usually the point at which they become aware that an impact is eminent.

And the point they notice the ice, at the last minute, when it's too late.