The fleet of E-Class BlueEFFICIENCY 250 CDI's awaiting at the start, driven by motor journalists and staff from Mercedes-Benz Belgium Luxembourg SA, at the Fascination Center in 1200 Brussels.

Modern Diesels coupled with efficient automatic gearboxes can achieve very impressive consumption figures nowadays. To prove this point, and to celebrate the 125 years of innovation of the marque, Mercedes-Benz Belgium Luxembourg SA organised an economy run from Brussels to Stuttgart and back with the E Class Blue EFFICIENCY 250 CDI, equipped with the new 7G-TRONICPLUS gearbox.

The results are indeed nothing short of astonishing…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

I drove together with Gert Verhoeven, a young Belgian professional car journalist who already had won last year the “green” week economy run on the Zolder circuit. He was able to drive the E-class expertly in city traffic, accelerating quite briskly from standstill to about 40 kph and then trying to drive as much as possible at constant speed and coast wherever possible in dense city traffic. On the motorway, we drove at cruising speeds between 110 and 130 kph, and cruised between 80/90 kph on the well laid out German Landstrassen. Of course we maintained also adequate speeds on uphill stretches of the Autobahn or open roads, just to conserve the kinetic energy as much as possible.

We started off quite briskly in the morning, but settling immediately to an average of 4,9 litres/100 km... 

During the run, the weather was very hot indeed (some 34-35 °C) so we kept the air conditioning going full blast. On the initial leg we achieved 4,9 litres per 100 km, with just some effort towards “economy” driving, and having to confront quite dense Stuttgart city traffic upon arrival.

We were the first to arrive in the afternoon at the Mercedes Classic Center in Fellbach, proving that one can drive briskly while being frugal...  

The consumption of our car was carefully checked upon arrival by Lisa Baudermann and her colleague of Mercedes Benz Stuttgart...

When using the full power of this Merc, its impressive economy remains…

The start of the second day, at the Mercedes Museum... 

On the return leg, we decided to use the available power of this formidable engine to a large extent, driving at truly high speeds (220-235 kph) when conditions (and the law) allowed… Of course we kept using the airco on the car.

After starting the return leg from Stuttgart in slow traffic, we decided to have a go on the Autobahnen. In this swift process, of course respecting the speed limits, the average consumption actually dropped from 8,2 litres to 6,6 litres...  

The results are, in our opinion, even more impressive. Our average consumption was only some… 6,6 litres per 100 km, using the car it is meant to be and for which the German engineers have built it. Needless to say that the car remains perfectly stable, with no perceptible wind noise and without any audible engine roar at these high Autobahnen speeds. Just for your information, we mention that this engine, which has a capacity 2143 cc, has a max. power of  150 kW/204 hp, and an impressive torque of 500 Nm between 1600 and 1800 rpm.

At the evening dinner in Fellbach, Mr. Joachim Lindau, senior manager Overall vehicle testing & design for the E- and CLS Class, exposed the excellent economy of the BlueEFFICIENCY E-Class... 

The E-Class BlueEFFICIENCY proved its point, namely that the combustion engine has not said its last word in terms of economy in combination with the considerable available power.

But besides this impressive car, there was (much) more on this journey. We visited the Mercedes Classic Centre in Fellbach, and the Mercedes Museum the next day. More on this soon…

Hans Knol ten Bensel