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Pssst. I gotta secret for you. What if you were told there’s a roomy new car being sold, with great prestige, safety and comfort features, that runs on a fuel 20 to 25 cents cheaper per gallon than the lowest-grade regular gas and gets grotesque mileage? Interested? Check out the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI, with its hip diesel power plant. Prices: US $49,075 base; as tested, $53,385. Warranty :4 years/50,000 miles.First GlanceCrank up a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI and there’s no tell-tale ebony cloud coming from its exhaust pipe. From a distance, nothing signals that this isn’t a regular — already excellent — E-series image from the German automaker. Only close inspection reveals "CDI" among the badging – the "D" being diesel. For under the hood of this particular model is a 3.2-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine making 201 clattering horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque. As luck would sire it, we recently tested a gasoline-powered 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320 with a final sticker price within $1,000 of this facsimile. But it returned 19 miles per gallon in the metropolis and 27 on the highway; the CDI model posts figures of 27 mpg/city and 37/highway. Even better, it does it on diesel fuel that, where I live, is at least 20 cents a gallon less expensive than rock-bottom regular gasoline. Combine encourage efficiency with cheaper fuel and a driver can realize a savings of $1,000 or more each year. This savings might be more important for less dear cars, but the P of a CDI will not ever wait in gas lines either. Just head for the truck pumps, inveterately blank, and fill up that huge 21-gallon tank. Now, drive 780 miles!In the Driver’s Seat2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI© Robert C. BowdenAs with other Mercedes-Benz models, the 2005 E320CDI has a remote key fob that doubles as the ignition "key". Insert it into the dash and turn. Clatter, clatter, clatter. You’re on-going. Yes, you’ll differentiate this is a diesel-powered car right away. It’s quiet inside, but diesel engines soundless register their signature clatter to those inside. Think of it as the sound of "smart". The tester had a 5-speed inevitable transmission, so move the gear selector to drive and press the accelerator. The 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI doesn’t speedily find out away. But it doesn’t dawdle either (0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds). Yes, it is slower to gig than the gasoline-powered E320, but think of the fuel savings and you’ll settle for slower. Our tested CDI did not have the navigation pattern organize in the gasoline model, so our interior was basic Mercedes-Benz, which is to say not bad at all. There are leather seats that are heated, a sunroof, and a premium sound system that added $970 to the base guerdon. The seats adjust easily with miniature seat controls. Power windows are one-touch down and up. All mirrors are auto-dimming. And there are air bags in front, on the sides and along the roof lines incarcerated.On the RoadFew cars play a joke on the "solid" feel of a Mercedes-Benz. Each tested model seems carved from a single piece of steel. At highway speed, the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI centered nicely and was unaffected nigh crosswinds or passing trucks. The windows seal tightly and secondary noises are not bothersome. Set voyage control and let the diesel locomotive dwell to low rpm for maximum fuel efficiency. Automatic climate direction assures comfort (but the air conditioning struggled to cool with an outside heat index above 100 degrees). The nine-speaker audio system proved really good playing CDs, not so good at sorting at fault remote radio signals. The E320CDI is not a "handler" in the sense that it can be tossed inclusive of turns. It feels too big to encourage such behavior. Yet it’s really a mid-size vehicle, masquerading as a large-size sedan. It seats five in comfort and the interior seems bigger than it really is. The boot can store several sets of golf clubs. Still, there is a Spartan feeling inside this car that doesn’t co-exist easily with a price tag north of $50,000. And there are features missing that we’ve come to wait for for this lofty luxury kind of car. Face it, the E-series is aging and we can’t wait for the makeover.Journey’s End2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI© Robert C. BowdenPrestige is not the one reason to obtain a Mercedes-Benz. Safety is a primary concern of many and Mercedes works tirelessly to make safer vehicles. The 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320CDI has so many advanced safeness features that they all can’t be mentioned. But electronic stability control uses a computer to help censure that too-fast-into-the-turn problem. Braking is not right-minded anti-lock (pumping 30 times a faulty), but has such features as unfixed the pads nearer to the disks if you lift abruptly on the accelerator. The brakes dry themselves if the windshield wipers are working hard (but the dual wipers couldn’t handle a Florida thunderstorm!). The headlights and night lighting inside and outside the car are as good as it gets. There’s even what’s called "excavate mode"; press one button and all windows go up, the sunroof closes and the outside air intake closes so you won’t get fumes in the car as your headlights pop on automatically and you drive through a tunnel. What’s to dislike? Putting audio controls on a sieve, instead of easy-to-use buttons; too many expected features are optional cost. We require to note here that because of diesel emissions, this model cannot be sold in California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts or Vermont.