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Mercedes-Benz E 350 CDI vs BMW 530d xDrive Acceleration Battle

For what appear to be aeons now, BMW has been making cars that are universally known as being slightly sportier and quite a bit faster than their neighbors from Stuttgart who operate under the three-pointed star.
Mercedes-Benz E 350 CDI vs BMW 530d xDrive Acceleration Battle 1 photo
Photo: TopSpeed Automobil/YouTube
Without taking the AMG and Motorsport Technik companies into the equation, Mercedes-Benz cars are usually more about comfort and safety while the Bavarians are all about driving pleasure and performance, right?

Well, in recent years the tables have slightly turned when it comes to certain models from the two companies, and the following speedometer comparison video is a pretty good - though inconclusive - proof of that.

On top of the screen, BMW aficionados might recognize the dashboard of the current 5 Series F10, while on the bottom half we see the dashboard of a Mercedes-Benz E 350 CDI W212, which may or may not actually be the E 350 BlueTec W212 facelift.

On paper, the official numbers for the two cars are pretty different, with the Mercedes-Benz having less power but more torque, while the BMW posts better acceleration numbers.

Both cars are using three-liter diesel six-cylinder powerplants with a single turbocharger and both have the exact same weight, with each engine having to carry 1885 kg (4156 pounds).

The engine from the E-Class is good for 252 hp and 620 Nm (457 lb ft) of torque, while the inline six from the BMW develops 258 hp and 560 Nm (413 lb ft) of torque.

Officially, the E 350 CDI (or BlueTec) with rear wheel drive gets from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.6 seconds, while the 530d xDrive with all-wheel drive should do the same feat in just 5.7 seconds.

Well, if we are to believe the following video, in the real world the Mercedes-Benz is actually slightly faster than the BMW when it comes to acceleration, despite the Bimmer getting the jump for the first few yards thanks to its all-wheel drive system.

Obviously, we only have some footage of the speedometers and we don't know if both cars were filmed in similar conditions or if the video uploader is correct when saying that both cars are stock. Either way, these diesels are pretty fast and they're not even top of the range, don't you think?

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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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