When USA Today carmudgeon James R. Healey pours hate on a vehicle, you just know it sucks. Healey’s evisceration of the oil-burning Bubba Benz ML320 BlueTec begins with a slam at the powerplant’s herky jerky acceleration, then mentions Merc’s obfuscation: “M-B, in fact, disputes about every gripe. The gripes are serious, so it’s appropriate to give them a word.” And that word is? California compliant. OK, so it’s two words, but at least it wasn’t the two I was expecting (fans of German management culture will know what I mean). Anyway, Healey lets rip in his own not-so-special way, chastising the diesel ML for mediocre mileage (19mpg), terrible ride (“surmounting a branch felt like a major dynamic event”), lagging brakes (“Push, push, push the brake pedal and just when you think something’s amiss, the brakes start to haul it down”), hard seats (“Not firm. Not stiff. Not you’ll-get-used-to-it Teutonic. Hard. Like a board, or slab of concrete”) and sub-par details (“climate control was too hot at 70 degrees, too chilly at 68”). Healey being Healey, the litany is followed by amorous amelioration. But not much. And not for long. “Fifty thousand bucks for an uncomfortable, not-so-classy machine that’s unpleasant and unsatisfying to drive. Wonder who signed off on that business plan?” Jimmy, are you saying that diesel dog won’t hunt? Uh-huh. “Overall: Nope.”
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Current fuel prices in in Eugene:
unleaded: $1.87; diesel: $2.99, 60% more expensive.
A classic case of reverse amortization: the more you drive, the more of a premium you’ll be paying for the privilege of driving a (more expensive) diesel. No wonder MB has their hybrid development in high gear.
You know, ironically, using the word ‘obfuscation’ is obfuscating in it of itself…
I think diesels still have a place in the market, this one was just designed poorly, you can’t blame all diesels for this…
Focusing on my use of obfuscation obfuscates the importance of M-B’s obfuscation.
I’m not sure I agree with the “If Healey says it’s bad, it must be really bad” theory. For a mainstream writer, Healey is actually quite bare-knuckled and honest.
We gave him props here at TTAC for ripping the Acura TSX a new one (here)
and for a pretty unimpressed report of the Chevy Malibu (here)
While Healey’s review of the Durango Hybrid we covered here was nicer than it could have been, it certainly wasn’t a snow job.
@Paul Niedermeyer:
European prices are not that homogenous. I don’t know where you have those prices from, but here in Germany, Diesel is still cheaper than regular gas:
Diesel: €1.13/liter
Regular: €1.15/liter
At the hight of the oil prices, Diesel was slightly more expensive than regular gas here, at about €1.55/liter vs €1.54/liter for regular gas (at least that’s what my memory tells me…actual prices might have varied slightly).
AFAIK, Diesel vehicles still make about 50% of all car sales over here. You usually make up the initial cost with the lower consumption. They say that if you drive about 10,000 miles a year, a Diesel makes sense economically.
Edit: Sorry, I misread “Eugene” while skipping through the comments…
I see a surprising number MLs on the road, though I don’t know the percentage that are diesels. The domestic cartel has really cranked up local diesel fuel prices. Diesel cars no longer make economic sense here.
@Tom
Paul said Eugene, as in Eugene, Oregon USA (Go Ducks!). I thought he said Europe at first glance also.
I hail from Portland originally, doing grad school at Michigan…and questioning my sanity daily.
As for the Diesel engine, I think I have driven the 320 Diesel in an E-Class before and I thought that it was quite sufficient. I had no complaints about the engine whatsoever. I have definitely driven smaller Diesels in C-Classes before and they were also very good.
Low end torque was good. While the Diesel engines are no sprinters, they can do anything you need in your daily commuting. On the Autobahn, it got somewhat cumbersome above 160 km/h. You still get up to 240 or even 250 km/h, it just takes a little longer. But these are speeds that shouldn’t concern an American driver anyway. I for one could easily live with that powerplant.
I’ve never driven the M-Class, so I can’t comment on that, but the engine was quite all right.
@the duke:
Oh man, do I feel stupid…I guess this is a typical case of not reading properly…
tom, happens to me all too often; the mind is faster than the eye.
In Europe, diesel is taxed lower than gas; that explains some of the difference. Also, fuel is taxed so heavily in Europe, the actual difference of the wholesale commodity prices are largely masked.
A few days ago, the global commodity (untaxed) price of unleaded was $1.08, diesel $1.87. There is a greater global imbalance of supply and demand with diesel.
Also, diesel’s market share in Europe is dropping; in Germany, diesel share of new (retail) cars is down to 34%. And diesels are now at a disadvantage on the used car market in Germany. The pendulum has shifted.
Paul, the price difference between diesel and gas has all but vanished. There used to be a much bigger gap. I wasn’t aware that diesel sales are down that much, but it kinda makes sense, because you now need more miles to justify a diesel.
As for taxes, AFAIK, it’s about €0.90/liter on gas and €0.60/liter on Diesel here. On the other hand, the tax on a diesel car is usually about 100€-150€ more expensive than that on a similar gas car per year.
The problem on the used car market is that if you want to drive through larger cities in the future, you need a filter for particulates and most diesels that are older than 2-3 years don’t have one. So there’s your immediate hit on resale value. Other than that, diesels usually had a much higher resale value, as they are believed to last a lot longer. I don’t know if this is still true with modern gas engines, but it used to be true and it still pays off.
The ML is a pig, hence its lousy to drive. Mercedes could make even the gasoline version a hell of a lot more efficient by first cutting out about 1000lbs. of needless pork. On top of that, the 320CDI engine just isn’t that good. BMW and Audi’s big diesel sixes blow it out of the water.
why does everybody hate this engine all of a sudden? the TTAC review of the gl320tdi was generally positive on the engine. i know somebody that has this engine and he loves it. he gets way more than 19mpg, although as i write this i don’t remember the exact number.
I don’t get how this thing weights almost 5000 lbs. My Liberty CRD with a full tank of fuel and me in it comes in a bit over 4100.
The same engine gets 22/32 in the E-Class Car.
Between Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel and the 2007+ Emissions regulations the Value proposition for Diesel is dead. ULSD makes our diesel exportable to other markets whereas before it stayed closer to home.
The post 07 emissions requirements with EGR &SCR or DPF diminish performance, handicap fuel economy 5-15% and raise the purchase price.
@Paul Niedermeyer
Also, diesel’s market share in Europe is dropping; in Germany, diesel share of new (retail) cars is down to 34%.
I think that’s the “oh crap, diesel is now as expensive as gas” effect. For my car and driving behaviour, the diesel version saves me 2000 € a year.
I don’t see a lot of rental or company fleet cars being gassers. BMW’s diesel share is still 68%.
And diesels are now at a disadvantage on the used car market in Germany.
For subcompacs, maybe. But from mid-size op, diesels still hold their value better. Used gasser BMWs are still cheap.
BMW dealers still haver cheaper lease deals on diesels than on (cheaper MSRP) gassers.
So if I crashed my 118d tomorrow, I’d order another one.
@Davekaybsc :
The ML is a pig, hence its lousy to drive. Mercedes could make even the gasoline version a hell of a lot more efficient by first cutting out about 1000lbs. of needless pork.
People could just drive a proper Mercedes, for example an E-Class wagon.
+1
If they would offer a E-Class Wagon with AWD and the Diesel you would have plenty of interior room and snow capability without the fuel economy penalty.
Of course not so much in the case of Mercedes, but with all the other SUV makers they would rather sell you an SUV for $10k more than an AWD wagon. I’m convinced that Toyota kept the production low on the AWD Matrix and never offered an AWD Corolla for just this reason.
@RedStapler :
If they would offer a E-Class Wagon with AWD and the Diesel
Wait, they don’t? In Europe, you can get both 6-cylinder diesels in the E-Class wagon with 4matic.
Paul Niedermeyer :
In Europe, diesel is taxed lower than gas; that explains some of the difference. Also, fuel is taxed so heavily in Europe, the actual difference of the wholesale commodity prices are largely masked.
A few days ago, the global commodity (untaxed) price of unleaded was $1.08, diesel $1.87. There is a greater global imbalance of supply and demand with diesel.
paul –
don’t forget that us diesel prices tend to go up in the winter because the home heating oil adds to the demand on diesel refining capacity.
Prices of commodities are variable over time given market conditions, taxation, supply, demand, etc.
I can recall times when Diesel fuel was less than half the price of gasoline. Out in my barn where I make my own Diesel, it still is less than half the price of gasoline.
People bought heavy trucks for commuting duty (and occasional weekend towing) pre-Iraq/Katrina when gasoline was cheap. Now they look like idiots. Diesel is expensive in the US now due to ULSD conversion, seasonal demand, etc… yet every time a Diesel vehicle is mentioned on TTAC everyone jumps on the current prices in the US and declares Diesel dead.
I just drove home to NW Washington from central Oregon in a Jeep Liberty CRD, stuffed with 4 adults and 1 kid, all their luggage, and did that ~350 miles on half a tank of Diesel… ~29 MPG. The trip down was on home-brew, so it was almost free. How many gas-powered SUV’s can pull off that trick?
Answer: None.
–chuck