[korbenz]

114K on the 98' 4matic wagon, ski rack with ski's catching bugs all the way, full load, 4 people + all the luggage, stock tires and wheels so I'm assuming the odometer and speedo are correct.

going from sea level in So Cal 300+ miles gradual climb to about 4100 feet to Bishop 24MPG

mostly city at 7500 foot elevation same load of people etc. 16MPG

Bishop to So Cal same gradual decline 33MPG!

I wonder sometimes how much the awd penalty really is, can't be too much.

 

[oneforall]

I have the same car, same year, mileage is very close to what you have posted save for one, that 33MPG, must be some downhill. In flate land, on inter-state speed of about 70mph, i get 28mpg. what i can't figure out is that is this car has a 18 gallon tank or 21 gallon? i get two different figures from different sources. Anyway, my old( sold) 1995 BMW 525it wagon gets one mpg better than this E320 wagon at highway speeds, but in city driving the BMW gets one mpg less than the Benz, these two cars weight almost the same. the difference is in the 2.5l inline 6 to the 3.2l V6.

 

[Kajtek1]

You are not paying penalty for AWD, but for living in California. Fill up in Arizona (NV is selling CA formula) and you see your mileage skyrocketing. My estimate is about 15% difference. Kind of hard to estimate when driving with 90 mph traffic in AZ.

 

[korbenz]

tank capacity says 21.1 in the manual

but they say the tank has a 21.1 capacity with 2.6 gal reserve.
I've always taken that to mean aprox 18.5 gallons removed is when the the light comes on.

The 33 MPG run is the second time I've gotten that high. 300+ miles mostly uninterrupted going from 4100 feet to close to sea level.

next time we go to Tucson and back I'll be curious to see what what happens to the MPG

 

[E-Class Owner]

The California Formula...

You are not paying penalty for AWD, but for living in California. Fill up in Arizona (NV is selling CA formula) and you see your mileage skyrocketing. My estimate is about 15% difference. Kind of hard to estimate when driving with 90 mph traffic in AZ.

A local "old school" import car mechanic acquaintance once lamented the change in quality of gasoline since the 1960s when he was an apprentice. His comment on contemporary California formulated gasoline was "sh*t, that stuff is lucky to burn if ya throw a match on it..."


Kajtek is correct, the best mileage I have gotten with my car has been in Idaho and Montana... a substantial improvement.

JR

 

[TNTRower]

Spark Plug Gap

How much would a difference of .07 (.39 gapped down to .32) make? I know when I changed my plugs I put in the NGKs. They came pre-gapped at .39. The specs on these beauties say .32 so I gapped them all down. I notice that I only get low to mid 20's for MPG.

Does that .07 make a big difference? I know our ignition systems are pretty stout for the size engine we have, I do not see why .39 should cause a problem. Any body have some experience or actual knowledge as compared to my fuzzy logic?

Drew