C350e anyone considering one?

[sxileander]

Yes. I don't know what effect it has on mpg but you can definitely charge to 100% in charge mode.


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[sxileander]

When I say I don't know, I mean it isn't a discernible difference but of course there must be some effect otherwise it would be free energy!


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[derekthetree]

I see a big difference in mpg when it's charging in E mode. Motorway running what would be 40-45 drops to 30-35.

 

[sxileander]

Wow - I get that variation on hills etc. but I've not seen that difference in charge mode even when I've tried on the level at constant speed. Maybe I need to concentrate more! [emoji57]


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[ryeltep]

With the hybrid operating mode set to "charge" will the engine charge the battery fully?

Yes it will - you will pay for it in low (sub 30) mpg.


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[DamianH]

I've never put it deliberately into charge mode, although it has gone into it on account of the satnav (ie I started a journey back to London with 10% battery and it charged it up automatically so that I could do the last 10 miles on electric). I can't recall if this only happens in Hybrid/Eco mode, which is what I had it in.

It doesn't (or at least I didn't notice it) tell you you're in charge mode. But I certainly did notice the mpg drop to very low 40's - don't think it ever quite got into the 30's, which gave me a bit of a shock, until I worked out the battery was charging up.

It fully charged the battery up in about 100 or so miles, and the overall mpg for the trip was very high 40's.

 

[ryeltep]

I've never put it deliberately into charge mode, although it has gone into it on account of the satnav (ie I started a journey back to London with 10% battery and it charged it up automatically so that I could do the last 10 miles on electric). I can't recall if this only happens in Hybrid/Eco mode, which is what I had it in.



It doesn't (or at least I didn't notice it) tell you you're in charge mode. But I certainly did notice the mpg drop to very low 40's - don't think it ever quite got into the 30's, which gave me a bit of a shock, until I worked out the battery was charging up.



It fully charged the battery up in about 100 or so miles, and the overall mpg for the trip was very high 40's.

You can see what it is doing in the energy flow screen on Comand and in the trip computer. The 30s are what I see when it is charging round town it is a bit better when at a faster cruise.


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[Road-Man]

Thanks that's a relief, my wife was ordering a c350e last week as a company car. The dealer couldn't or wouldn't say for sure and I had to wait until my registration on the forum was complete in order to ask the question She has a fuel card so don't what to charge it at home, will probably rely on charging from engine as consumption is not an issue. I know this is probably not the eco friendly route but that's the reality for some unless there is free charge points.
For some reason a BMW330e will only charge battery 50% from engine.

 

[Weller]

I see a big difference in mpg when it's charging in E mode. Motorway running what would be 40-45 drops to 30-35.

Same here... and using the fully charged battery on a motorway run of 70-80 miles gets me 50-55.

 

[derekthetree]

Thanks that's a relief, my wife was ordering a c350e last week as a company car. The dealer couldn't or wouldn't say for sure and I had to wait until my registration on the forum was complete in order to ask the question She has a fuel card so don't what to charge it at home, will probably rely on charging from engine as consumption is not an issue. I know this is probably not the eco friendly route but that's the reality for some unless there is free charge points.
For some reason a BMW330e will only charge battery 50% from engine.

Anyone ordering soon will want to watch out for the new 2017 VED regs. They seriously hit hybrids, especially those above £40k list.

 

[wivenhoe]

Anyone ordering soon will want to watch out for the new 2017 VED regs. They seriously hit hybrids, especially those above £40k list.

Let's hope that MB see sense and reduces the list prices to somewhat nearer the actual selling price. They won't of course, as this gives the salesman a theoretical discount to offer. I always ask them to just provide the cost to change and most salesman don't know how to deal with this as they are used to offering 'generous discounts' and crap residuals or if they think your ego needs massaging a 'generous px' and little discount. All the sites such as Drive The Deal confirm what the real list prices should be and they are up to 20% less than list.

 

[TheCorm]

Let's hope that MB see sense and reduces the list prices to somewhat nearer the actual selling price. They won't of course, as this gives the salesman a theoretical discount to offer. I always ask them to just provide the cost to change and most salesman don't know how to deal with this as they are used to offering 'generous discounts' and crap residuals or if they think your ego needs massaging a 'generous px' and little discount. All the sites such as Drive The Deal confirm what the real list prices should be and they are up to 20% less than list.

So a c350e Sport saloon would be £10 for the first year and then £140 subsequent years but an estate would be £320 for the first year and then £450 each subsequent year for first five years.

Total being £570 over 5 years for the saloon and £2120 for the estate!!

 

[derekthetree]

So a c350e Sport saloon would be £10 for the first year and then £140 subsequent years but an estate would be £320 for the first year and then £450 each subsequent year for first five years.

Total being £570 over 5 years for the saloon and £2120 for the estate!!

Indeed versus about £0 now! I wonder what the changes will do to company car market and methods of calculating rates??

 

[wivenhoe]

So a c350e Sport saloon would be £10 for the first year and then £140 subsequent years but an estate would be £320 for the first year and then £450 each subsequent year for first five years.

Total being £570 over 5 years for the saloon and £2120 for the estate!!

As the basic list price for a saloon Sport is £38k+ the £40k band will be hit with minor options and then the tax becomes £ 450 / yr in years 2 to 6. MB earn a fortune out of options so their dilemma will be - reduce the hyped list and lose the illusion of discounts but encourage lucrative options or keep the inflated list and watch most buyers shy away from options.

 

[DamianH]

They will have many factors to consider on pricing: (i) managing the waiting list (ii) the sharp depreciation in sterling (iii) the crackdown on salary sacrifice schemes (iv) VED brackets.

(i) and (ii) say keep the price the same or higher; (iii) and (iv) say reduce.

 

[Maq1]

Didn't think I'd been too heavy too often with the right foot, but just noticed my Conti Contact Sport 5s on the rear are almost down to the wear bars after only 8500 miles...

That's on the estate, premium, pano sun roof etc.

Is it just me?

My rear tyres had to be changed at 7500 miles which was a bit of a shock

 

[Dodgy]

Thought I would post an explanation of how the different drive modes work as they're not quite as well explained as the dynamic modes.

HYBRID - Medium use electric, higher requirements switch to engine, lighter use to the accelerator will also charge batteries.

E-MODE - high use electric, very high requirements switch to engine.

E-SAVE - low use electric, mostly engine used, lighter engine use also charges batteries

CHARGE - no electric (I think that's right but never used this mode), engine charges batteries, increased fuel use.

In low use electric you cannot hold the speed uphill but can just about on a flat without the engine kicking in, if going downhill you can accelerate.

In medium use electric you can accelerate but not very fast, you're into average car 0-60 here.

In high use electric you essentially have an EV and you can make reasonable acceleration but nothing compared to Sport+ of course!

I think this is about right and hope it helps.

Howdy!

You're making me think I have more testing to do here. I drive pretty gently most of the time in E-MODE on short journeys and HYBRID on longer journeys. When I do give it some welly, I find the operating modes are pretty similar.

E-MODE gives up as soon as the electric motor hits the red line, so you're temporarily in HYBRID.

E-SAVE is the same as HYBRID unless you have a full battery when it's less economical because it maintains battery levels instead of draining to 20%

HYBRID can even be like CHARGE if you have the satnav on and are approaching an urban area.

Four operating modes almost seems like overkill. Having said that, the satnav is a bit of a pain to set up so its easier to just pick E-MODE or HYBIRD manually. And I do occasionally overrule HYBRID by picking E-MODE or CHARGE, but not very often.

Anyone out there who uses CHARGE to fill the battery - why? It costs more than electric (apart from economy 7 daytime), it isn't more fuel-efficient to use CHARGE then E-MODE than to use HYBRID. Have I missed something?

Cheers

 

[TheCorm]

I think some people who don't charge at home use the charge function to build a little power to do pre entry climate control.

You are correct, using charge is not a very efficient way of charging those batteries and apart from the use mentioned above, doesn't really make sense.

If you have the engine in eco (either using eco dynamic or by programming the individual mode as such) it tries to charge the batteries more either from some of the engine power or by more regenation, it brakes for you too in that mode, I now have my Individual programmed as:

Engine = Eco
Suspension = Comfort
Steering = Comfort
Climate = Eco
Haptic = Off

Makes for an efficient commute, I turned Haptic off as although I thought it was useful, it tells you to stop accelerating when you actually want to go faster.

 

[N_Jepson]

Anyone considering a E350e ?

Just been looking at one and I do like the additional boot space on the saloon

And still below the magic 50 gr/co2 figure ...


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[mhaldron]

Hi. I am collecting my C350e next friday and today have started looking at the public charge points. The rep ate Merc suggested Chargemaster (Polar) which seem pretty good around town, but I will be up and down the motorway so was looking at the motorway services, which all seem to be Ecotricity. So I called Ecotricity to ask a few questions and was advised that their stations arent compatible with the Merc as at £6 for 30 mins will only charge about 5 miles worth??!!! anyone else heard this or have any history of using ecotricity? What charging services do you guys use??