CONSUMER REPORTS: The clean diesel-powered car

DENVER - Consumer Reports finds the Mercedes-Benz E320 an impressive performer. The $55,000 vehicle is among the first designed to take advantage of cleaner diesel fuel that became available last year.

Although it's a little bit noisy from the outside, once you're driving, this car is exceptionally quiet even though it's a diesel. The E320 BlueTec also gets very good mileage. This car got 35 mpg on the highway, and an excellent 29 mpg overall. That's far better than the E320's gas-powered twin, the Mercedes E350. It gets 21 mpg overall, eight miles less.

However, there are some drawbacks with the new E320. Stopping distances are considerably longer than they are with the gas-powered version. And, unfortunately, Consumer Reports can't recommend the E320 because Mercedes-Benz vehicles have had so many problems in the last five years. Nevertheless, this cleaner diesel-powered vehicle has broken new ground.

Consumer Reports says that unlike other diesel vehicles, the Mercedes E320 will be allowed to be sold in all 50 states due to the fact it has lower emissions than other diesels. And there are other clean diesel-powered vehicles in the pipeline. So it's a new technology worth watching.

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