Modest Power
Throw in the upsized dimensions and standard all-wheel drive, and the E350 wagon is, well, portly. Its considerable 4,213-pound curb weight is greater than the V-8 E550 4Matic sedan's. The wagon's sole drivetrain — a 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 — is up to the task of moving this barge, but it never feels sprightly. Power is strong enough around town, but the engine needs to rev high to muster up interstate passing power. With two occupants and some 500 pounds of cargo, the E350 didn't feel outmatched at low speeds, but it required the drivetrain's full reserves to merge onto the highway.
The standard seven-speed automatic upshifts smoothly and kicks down to a lower gear soon enough to accelerate lightly out of a corner. If you need immediate power, though — passing slow traffic, for example — it can stumble clumsily through two- or three-gear downshifts. There's a Sport mode that holds lower gears longer, but it does little to clean up the shifts.
Overall gas mileage is a disappointing 19 mpg — a figure the supercharged Audi A6 3.0T Avant (wagon) and turbocharged BMW 535i Gran Turismo (wagon-like) beat by 2 or 3 mpg. What's more, both competitors are much quicker.
See also:
Driving systems
The red distance
warning lamp lights up
while the vehicle is in
motion. A warning tone
also sounds.
Risk of accident
The warning is issued if you approach a stationary vehicle or a
veh ...
Avoiding a section of the route blocked
by a traffic jam
This function blocks a section of the route
ahead of you. You can set the length of the
blocked route section. If possible, COMAND
calculates a detour around the blocked
section of the route.
...
Exhaust check
WARNING
Inhalation of exhaust gas is hazardous to your
health. All exhaust gas contains carbon
monoxide (CO), and inhaling it can cause
unconsciousness and possible death.
Do not run the e ...