2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class User Reviews

Pros

Great mileage and comfortable ride. Good acceleration

Cons

Complicated Ipod controls, disappointed in OEM tires

Purchased As New

Most people will buy this car for the mileage and ride. Even with lower gas prices, diesel is now less expensive than gas, making the Bluetec even more practical.

I have had for 15 mo.s and 17k miles. The mileage tracker indicates 29 mpg since I got it. That is 90% surburban miles at an ave. speed of 33 mph. The one long highway trip I took I averaged just over 34 mpg at 70-75 mph. Driving around 60 mph, you can easily get over 36 mpg.

I disagree with one review that said the seats are uncomfortable. These are some of the best seats I have ever riden in.

Overall comfort is great, at the expense of pure performance. The car has terrific acceleration and the turbo diesel really packs a punch. It's not as aigle as the other Es or BMW 5 series, but can handle most corners at speeds any other cars can't (especially with better tires, see below).

There are none of the traditional diesel issues as the engine is very quiet and smooth.

I have had no reliability issues other than a slight creek in the steering column with the MB dealer fixed in a couple of hours.

I can only report 3 issues, two are minor. First, the Ipod interface is great, with much better sound than those after market converters. However the process to pick songs or playlists is tedious and distracts you from driving. The second minor one is the MB warranty. It should cover normal maintenance for the warranty period, like BMW does.

Lastly, one issue that I consider somewhat major (but correctable) is the OEM tires that came on the car. The Michelin MXV Energy tires were picked because they offer low road resistance and a decent ride. They were fine until we had the first snow. The car was unable to climb even moderate grades. I swapped them out after 12k miles for some Contiextremecontacts. These are great in the snow and rain, offer noticably better handling (V rated vs the H rated Michelins), and the ride and mileage are about the same. Not bad for $120 tires. Don't get me wrong, this is still a rear wheel drive car, but having owned them before, I can say the Contis are the best all season performance tires for snow and ice.