Follow-Up Test: 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec
Sure, the word alone still conjures up visions of smoke bellowing from a tailpipe, an engine chattering like Eskimo teeth and a blackened rear bumper. But with the introduction of its 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec, Americans will no longer think dirty when they think diesel. The days of squinting eyes, pinching nostrils and the inevitable headache are over. The main ingredients to clean emissions for the '07 Bluetec are a combination of specialized catalysts and a particulate filter in the exhaust system. Although its name is derived from a system called AdBlue, which further cleans the car's emissions, the system won't be part of the package until the 2009 model year. Until then the E320 is only up to EPA diesel emission standards for 45 states. That makes the eco-stingy states of California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont off-limits. Ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is another component in the low-emission equation. ULSD is clean-burning and as EPA restrictions increase, more and more will be available at U.S. fuel pumps. Current mandates require it at 80 percent of U.S. retail locations. Pumps at the locations we visited wore clearly marked stickers designating the diesel as 15-ppm emissions-friendly. During our time with the car, only one of the six stations we visited did not carry the proper grade of fuel. Surprisingly enough it was located in Fontana, California, a mini-mecca of diesel trucks. Climbing into the driver seat of the E320 Bluetec is just the same as climbing aboard an E550, which is to say sublime. Although thoroughly modern, the ambience is more old-world than high-tech, the experience always warm and inviting. The E320 receives the same minor interior and exterior cosmetic upgrades as other '07 E-Class sedans. These include new front and rear bumper designs, a more laidback grille, more heavily splayed headlamps and a shifter and steering wheel lifted from the interior of the SL550 roadster . With the windows down at idle there is a faint...
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