1990 Mercedes 190 D upgraded to new BlueEFFICIENCY engine, jumps from 32 to 48 mpg

Thursday, September 3, 2009

1990 Mercedes 190 D upgraded to new BlueEFFICIENCY engine, jumps from 32 to 48 mpg

Posted by SharK at 11:21 AM

Mercedes 190 D BlueEFFICIENCY experimental vehicle (center) - Click above for high-res image gallery

There are a lot of ways to convert an older, dirtier car to something that uses less fuel. Most often, if you're going to start with an old diesel Mercedes, you want to add an SVO system. If you work at Mercedes-Benz, though, a recent experiment was to convert a diesel engine to, well, another diesel engine. The old diesel in question here was a 190 D from 1990. The new diesel powerplant comes from an up-to-date C-Class BlueEFFICIENCY model (above, left). The results, power output was tripled while fuel economy was improved from 32 mpg (U.S) in the original to 48 mpg (U.S.) in the converted vehicle (using the NEDC method in effect when the 190 D was made). Another easy-to-understand improvement: the original 190 D made the 0-62 mph run in a leisurely 18.1 seconds. The converted vehicle can get to that speed in 6.2 seconds.

Gallery: Mercedes 190 D BlueEFFICIENCY experimental vehicle