pennetta

Good thing BMW raised the power output of their 3.0 to 255 because Mercedes jumped theirs up 51 HP to 272 HP. Autoweek also says they will be offering a real sports package which includes a more direct steering ratio, larger brakes, stiffer springs, firmer dampers, and staggard wheel setup.
BMW has got to go higher in the power department, also to differentiate themselves they should be going much further with weight reduction which also raises performance levels.

soc_fans

How fast can the E350 go from 0-60 ? Hopefully not faster than the new R6 530i.

pennetta

They weigh about the same and the MB has a 7 speed tranny. Doesn't look good for BMW. Its due out in March 2005.

Guest

This is curious -- the E350 would appear to indicate that it is a 3.5l engine, not a 3.0 liter. In fact, it appears to me that MB simply "tuned" the existing 3.5l engine it is using for the ML350 for use in the E-class (the ML350 has a 3.5l engine that develops 268HP and 258 lb-ft of torque).

If you have any further information on this engine, perhaps an "apples to apples" comparison can be made between the 3.0l BMW engine that develops 255 hp versus what appears to be a 3.5l MB engine that develops 272 hp. If so, I would expect the BMW mileage to be significantly better and performance of the 530i to be roughly the same as the new E350. As you know, the measure of a car is not just the hp output of its engine or the number of speeds in its transmission (e.g., Honda has a 300 hp V6 in the new RL and Infiniti has tweaked the 3.5l V6 in its G35 to output 298hp, but both of these cars really aspire to be BMWs....).

Has MB come up with a new V8 engine for the E500?? The current E500 has the same old tired 24 valve 5l engine that develops 302hp mated to the 7 speed tranny with awful mileage. The 545i not only outperforms this engine, but gets seriously better mileage even though it is only mated to a 6 speed (auto or manual) transmission.

pennetta

Torque is the measure for acceleration the new BMW 3.0 will have 221 ft/lbs while the MB will have 258 ft/lbs. Thats why the Japanese cars with 300 HP are not that quick, they still have much lower torque numbers.

The Pentium Guy

221 < 258
In either case, I'll stay away from the MB as far as possible (too boring)

-TPG

alpineweiss

No, the G35 has 270 lb ft, RL has 260lb ft, which beat both the MB and BMW. BMW is always up to par even with 'weaker' engines, good example being 330i vs G35.

Guest

No, the G35 has 270 lb ft, RL has 260lb ft, which beat both the MB and BMW. BMW is always up to par even with 'weaker' engines, good example being 330i vs G35.
[/quote]

Agreed -- even though both the Acura RL and Infiniti G35 have larger engines with greater horsepower and torque output, they do not outperform comparable BMW models. Just like Acura and Infiniti, MB is chasing BMW...

The Pentium Guy

IMO Most German cars are "underpowered" - but you make up for that with:
a) Weight reduction
b) Performance

I'd take performance over horsepower (Unless, of course, the hp was significantly low... like in the 50's!)

subterFUSE

I'll take BMW over the others any day....


but I do wish my 545 had more torque at the low end of the RPM range. It seems that I have to gets the revs up past 4500 before I notice serious acceleration (the kind where I'm glued to the seatback ).