Thinking about upgrading from a 4 cyl. manual to a 6 cyl. auto

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That's why they named it E300 and not E320 or even E350.
For that reason it's pretty clear this E300 2.0T actually isn't
even the successor.


It remains to be seen how long they will last. Usually a regular engine you'd think should be good for 200-400k or more

Personally I don't plan on driving any kind of car for 200 or even 400 kmls.
Cars do age and don't comprise of the engine only. They feel old and worn
out even though they still run. Does it matter to me if the car is still running
another 200k in a 3rd world country?


with turbos, death is usually an unknown and instant. Like I had a turbo back in the 80's, the head gasket blew at the end.

If I remember correctly this is not the 1980s. Turbo engine development has
gone a long way. I never experienced a turbo or even a head gasket failing.
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That's why they named it E300 and not E320 or even E350.
For that reason it's pretty clear this E300 2.0T actually isn't
even the successor.

Personally I don't plan on driving any kind of car for 200 or even 400 kmls.
Cars do age and don't comprise of the engine only. They feel old and worn
out even though they still run. Does it matter to me if the car is still running
another 200k in a 3rd world country?

If I remember correctly this is not the 1980s. Turbo engine development has
gone a long way. I never experienced a turbo or even a head gasket failing.
.
Engines have come a long way but you still have problems here and there. I think the turbo 4 cylinder has some issue with a bad cylinder and it ends up needing a new engine. But even the M273 non turbo V8 engine had the same issue, a few years in the GL550 were bad.

As for the naming, I guess they missed the old E350 name and in 2020, they renamed the E300 to E350 even though it only gained 14hp to 255hp, but maybe that's close enough to the old 268hp in the 2006-2011 engines. And here in the US, we do miles not kilometers so 200-400k is a lot of miles. Not too uncommon to find cars that hit 200k miles these days. As the E300 came out in 2017, not too many out there that are hitting that kind of mileage so don't know if they will last that long. The older engines did, but typically the transmission would go before the engine. Engine failure just isn't that uncommon with Mercedes. The early 2006 M272 had bad balance shafts so you had to take the engine out to replace the balance shaft. The M276, their last V6 engine was actually pretty reliable. And I think it's the wrist pins that are bad on some turbo 4 cylinders, not the 80's, but still nothing is perfect.

 
Just test drove another friend's 2006 Audi A4 2.0 TDI, it was either a 140 or 170hp version that has 320nm or 350nm of torque from 1700 rpm but he didn't know. It put the V6 accord to shame in term of usable torque however it didn't have the soundtrack at all and can't roar in the upper rpm range. But for everyday's use the torque feels even better, it was effortless. Highway consumption can be north of 40 MPG.
 
Honda used a longitudinal V6 in the Acura RL/Honda Legend until 2004.

Nissan is one of the better transverse V6 designs, still difficult but not as bad as Toyota and Honda. The Maxima/QX might be of interest to you.

Also, if you're considering an Accord coupe, there's also the Prelude, which has the same 200 hp but with an easier to work on 4-cylinder.

The Lexus IS300/Toyota Altezza has the 2JZ-GE I6 so no scary transverse V6
 
Just on a side note, my friend who has the 6th gen Accord is probably the worst driver i know and has zero mechanical sympathy. It usually takes him a few months to completely destroy a car, the kind to rev it to the redline a few seconds after a cold start and i don't think he even knows how to check any fluid level.

He bought his first 6th gen Accord coupe 2.0 5-speed in july, ran low on oil and blew up the engine in October. Then he bought the same car but with the V6/automatic combo ten days ago and made an encounter with a pole yesterday... said the road was wet... I regret not buying it, there must be 20 of them in France.
SAVE_20220104_230327.jpeg
 
Honda used a longitudinal V6 in the Acura RL/Honda Legend until 2004.

Nissan is one of the better transverse V6 designs, still difficult but not as bad as Toyota and Honda. The Maxima/QX might be of interest to you.

Also, if you're considering an Accord coupe, there's also the Prelude, which has the same 200 hp but with an easier to work on 4-cylinder.

The Lexus IS300/Toyota Altezza has the 2JZ-GE I6 so no scary transverse V6
My son has a 2021 Lexus IS300. Was under it yesterday looking for ATF fill plug. Buried by exhaust system.
Nice car - but not DIY friendly …
 
The thing with luxury German cars as DD’s is that you have to be familiar with weak points. As long as you pay some attention, they are usually more reliable than anything else. If you don’t, $30 part can cost you arm and a leg.
I use my BMW as DD, track car, taking kids to school. More reliable than my Toyota. But, Toyota would be more forgiving if something fails and I neglect it. Also working on transverse V6 is a nightmare.
Engineer at work has a 2008 BMW 7 series - says it has 18 electronic modules and has changed several - some are pricey … After 3 batteries - he finally put in a Perko switch in so the battery would not die in 3 days …
Works great now ! Hey, he lives in New Orleans so that’s probably a good anti theft device.
He loves the car …
 
I've dailed a 4 cylinder manual from 2011 to August of 2021. I liked it. Driving manaul is second nature.

Due to work from home, the '19 Sentra just sat in our driveway. It needed to get driven so I started driving it. Then I was using it on the 200 mile round trip to see my father in the hospital a few times a week.

I really liked driving the CVT more and more. I'm getting tired of driving manual transmissions.

So once I sold the Subaru, I bought an automatic DD. I love it now.
 
Engineer at work has a 2008 BMW 7 series - says it has 18 electronic modules and has changed several - some are pricey … After 3 batteries - he finally put in a Perko switch in so the battery would not die in 3 days …
Works great now ! Hey, he lives in New Orleans so that’s probably a good anti theft device.
He loves the car …
Batteries in BMW's usually last 7-9 years. I never had one fail before that. But, who knows what individual car has issues with that might influence longevity.
One thing with BMW charging system is that a. cars really like long trip driving and b. new battery requires registration with vehicle IBS. Basically you tell the vehicle battery is new (if the same type of battery. If different, coding is necessary, not complicated) and IBS adjusts charging to increase longevity. Many owners do not do that, and many shops actually do not know that as simple change of battery does not affect the daily operation, but does affect longevity.
As for computer modules, they are good. But BMW is like Christmas tree lights. TPMS module failure can create havoc if you don't know what you looking for. Simple OBD readers won't help you. Then owners chase ghosts and end up throwing parts at the problem until they stumble upon it.
 
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