C350e anyone considering one?

[Deane x]

Yes my interior is the beige leather and I know it is old fashioned today, a world of black everything, I love the classic dark on light finish of my car.

As for the Mitsubishi Outlander, without wanting to drag us all off topic after nearly 100 page of 350e comment I can only say that MB would be pleased if they can top Mitsubishi''s success with the outlander. Driver, I think it was, told us the other day that the Outlander was removed from a company's approved list because of BIK abuse, I suppose it could be said.
In the words of Mitsubishi, from a recent press release :

thought so as that wood is not available on black or gray shame ...hay if you can live with beige that's fine , it's not my cup of tea but I was not putting it down m8 ..as for Mitsubishi I think Mercedes will out do them if they ever get people's cars delivered ..Mitsubishi does not have a very good sales record in uk plus its dog ugly IMO

 

[Deane x]

RDT123, Photos of our grey interior with dark wood and pano roof. Quality and finish is excellent.

Looks great so glad that's what I have gone for ..I so want my car now ..what colour is your car ?

 

[MaidenheadMerc]

I guess it might all be a race until the Tesla Model 3 comes out which should be around the same price as the C350e. My plan is to switch over to that once my lease is up, I've driven the Model S and it was amazing but the lease deals were 3x the price of the C350e!

A colleague has the Outlander and enjoys it, but the performance and interior quality leave a lot to be desired.

My C350e has been with me for 7 days now - I'm doing another 200 - 300 mile run this weekend to Wales and back so I'll test out the difference between Economy and Comfort modes to see how much difference they make. If anyone wants to take a look you might find me at the dealership near Bristol trying to get carpet mats at some point!

 

[350e]

Apologies to those that haven't specified Distronic Plus - but I am just amazed at what this does and on my crawl around the M25 I now wouldn't be without it. The only downside I have found is that sometimes my nerve gives and I 'intervene' - has anyone else noticed that if you 'intervene' the braking is not so effective as when you leave it to the system ? Do you find that following drivers tend to leave more distance as the car brakes later and more firmly than you would normally - and yes, I have adjusted the 'effective distance'.

Thanks for the post because I scared my wife yesterday with the distronic system.
At first I thought that it was cruise control operating as on my XF . We were following traffic on a busy road just outside St.Albans and approaching a roundabout. Earlier I had fiddled with the control stork not realising that it was there. I did notice the word distronic appear in the message centre but didn't think that I actually triggered it, even now I wonder if I should have done more than just move the control stork, need to read the manual. Point is as we got nearer the car in front I judged that I was going too fast and braked but as you say the braking seemed to fight with the system and in the end I really pushed hard on the pedal.
It was scary ! Are you saying that if I had not intervened the car would have eventually slowed or stopped ?
.

 

[wivenhoe]

Thanks for the post because I scared my wife yesterday with the distronic system.
At first I thought that it was cruise control operating as on my XF . We were following traffic on a busy road just outside St.Albans and approaching a roundabout. Earlier I had fiddled with the control stork not realising that it was there. I did notice the word distronic appear in the message centre but didn't think that I actually triggered it, even now I wonder if I should have done more than just move the control stork, need to read the manual. Point is as we got nearer the car in front I judged that I was going too fast and braked but as you say the braking seemed to fight with the system and in the end I really pushed hard on the pedal.
It was scary ! Are you saying that if I had not intervened the car would have eventually slowed or stopped ?
.

To engage it all you need to do is pull the small stalk towards you (the speed limiter should be off - if the light is lit then it is on and you need to press the button on the stalk). In the message centre the Distronic graphic will show the distance set from the car in front - if you have that the car will break and accelerate to follow the car in front at the set distance. If you come to a complete stop for more than about 5 seconds you need to pull the stalk to take off again.

At the end of the stalk is a switch which you turn to change the distance - I didn't do that for the first week and as it was set to the closest range it scared the hell out of me because when distant traffic came to an abrupt halt I charged towards it at the set speed and the car didn't break until fairly late to say the least - increase the distance and it comes to a much more sedate halt. Once in heavy traffic you can reduce the distance so that you don't leave a gap that lane changers can hop in.

Your experience confirms mine - either fully rely on the system or break normally to 'intervene' but don't do both !

Had a 150 mile return journey including over 1 hour each way in solid crawling traffic - full charge out 45 mpg, no charge coming back (but I got the car to charge in advance of the crawl) 41 mpg

 

[lookyhooky]

Just had the Rolec 16a charging pod installed.
Great value at £185 installed.
After much research this seemed to be the tidiest and most compact option out there.

What's the length of the tethered cable please, Saxon6?

 

[Nath101]

Just had the Rolec 16a charging pod installed.
Great value at £185 installed.
After much research this seemed to be the tidiest and most compact option out there.

That's the charger I'm considering. Looks tidy. Was the 32amp option non compatible?

 

[Rdt123]

Hi

What's the charging time with one of those?

 

[wivenhoe]

That's the charger I'm considering. Looks tidy. Was the 32amp option non compatible?

I have a Rolec and think they are excellent except for the way in which the cable sticks out when you 'park' it - the 32amp is an option - I didn't take it up as the C350e doesn't use the extra capacity and it was about £ 100 more - I'm not convinced that by the time I get my next car they wouldn't have changed the battery technology making the current chargers redundant

 

[Saxon6]

Looks great so glad that's what I have gone for ..I so want my car now ..what colour is your car ?

Palladium grey, with 18inch wheels and intelligent lights

 

[Saxon6]

What's the length of the tethered cable please, Saxon6?

I haven't measured it, but I'd say about 4m.
Having the charge point in the rear bumper makes much more sense than the BMW approach of putting in the side which requires a longer lead as most charging points are to the rear of a parking space, not the side.

 

[Saxon6]

That's the charger I'm considering. Looks tidy. Was the 32amp option non compatible?

32amp was an option but it required further upgrades to my electrics.
I believe the car only charges at 16amp max, so I saved the cost.
I would suggest that most drivers will charge the car overnight, so again 32amp at home wasnt a big factor for me as its fully charged by the time I leave the next day.

 

[Rapidfire]

Are there any dealers on this forum who can explain the lack of answers from MB with regard to delivery or are you being kept in the dark too.
RF

 

[350e]

Are there any dealers on this forum who can explain the lack of answers from MB with regard to delivery or are you being kept in the dark too.
RF

Dealer Principal told me that he didn't know the reason for delay, thought it may have been that demand has taken MB by surprise.

 

[quonker]

My dealer isn't happy as he says that production in Bremen, the only place the C350e is built, has been mainly converted over to production of the GLC, mostly for stock.

My vehicle, now built fortunately, was delayed because of this as well as many other vehicles that my dealer had on order.

He was rightly annoyed that customer orders were and are being delayed purely to produce stock for the launch of the GLC.

 

[lookyhooky]

My dealer isn't happy as he says that production in Bremen, the only place the C350e is built, has been mainly converted over to production of the GLC, mostly for stock.

My vehicle, now built fortunately, was delayed because of this as well as many other vehicles that my dealer had on order.

He was rightly annoyed that customer orders were and are being delayed purely to produce stock for the launch of the GLC.

Do you think MB have learnt their lesson with the C350e?

Not great for those of us still waiting on orders, but good news if you want a GLC!

 

[350e]

Well if the new GL is being produced on the same line as the 350e expect even longer delays
I watched Mercedes H.Q staff set up a GL display in Milton Keynes on Tuesday in anticipation of some good sales figures. Recent research discovered the SUV is really popular with the younger buyer and if that is so and an Hybrid version is available from the outset I think the delays for the 350e could get even longer.

 

[Uuu]

Estate pickup Friday

Hi All, new here.

I see a few folks asking if any C350e estates have arrived yet?
I got a call that mine is at the dealer and ready for pickup Friday 16th.

Spec: C350e Estate, Black Metallic, Privacy Glass, P+, Real Beige Leather, Burr Walnut, Towbar.

My story if you are interested:

Originally tested a C300 in 2014 - it arrived in early 2015 - same time I saw C350e launched at Detroit Show. Spoke to MB Corporate (our lease company) and they let me switch order to a C350 - no penalty 'we'll shift the C300 no problem'.

I spotted very early (before MB I think) that there was a BIK penalty for the packs that needed 18" wheels on estate - so I carefully ordered individual options like Burmeister. I got a July delivery date if I recall correctly - I was told I was one of the first orders. I then got a call that all the options had been rebundled or removed and had to reconfigure - perhaps this was the 16MY change?

I ended up biting the bullet and loading the car up with P+ and Towbar - it took me to the 9% band, but this is still saving a lot compared to my current car.. MB also told me the car was so popular that they had to confirm with the government how many 5k grants were available/left for them. Mine was honoured - bringing lease well under my budget. I then got told that towbars were not yet available - so date slipped to 1st October. I then got a 15th Oct date - which they have met.

A colleague got an A3etron a few months ago - it's a bundle of torquey fun, so can't wait for the Merc. I just hope it remembers what mode you like to drive in (like Sport+ or Individual) as its a pain to switch every trip..

 

[hybridlover]

Hi All, new here.

I see a few folks asking if any C350e estates have arrived yet?
I got a call that mine is at the dealer and ready for pickup Friday 16th.

Spec: C350e Estate, Black Metallic, Privacy Glass, P+, Real Beige Leather, Burr Walnut, Towbar.

My story if you are interested:

Originally tested a C300 in 2014 - it arrived in early 2015 - same time I saw C350e launched at Detroit Show. Spoke to MB Corporate (our lease company) and they let me switch order to a C350 - no penalty 'we'll shift the C300 no problem'.

I spotted very early (before MB I think) that there was a BIK penalty for the packs that needed 18" wheels on estate - so I carefully ordered individual options like Burmeister. I got a July delivery date if I recall correctly - I was told I was one of the first orders. I then got a call that all the options had been rebundled or removed and had to reconfigure - perhaps this was the 16MY change?

I ended up biting the bullet and loading the car up with P+ and Towbar - it took me to the 9% band, but this is still saving a lot compared to my current car.. MB also told me the car was so popular that they had to confirm with the government how many 5k grants were available/left for them. Mine was honoured - bringing lease well under my budget. I then got told that towbars were not yet available - so date slipped to 1st October. I then got a 15th Oct date - which they have met.

A colleague got an A3etron a few months ago - it's a bundle of torquey fun, so can't wait for the Merc. I just hope it remembers what mode you like to drive in (like Sport+ or Individual) as its a pain to switch every trip..

Welcome and thanks for sharing your experience. Your last question is a good one which I don't recall having been asked before? At over 90 pages so far that's impressive.

 

[Hatchie]

Uuu welcome and please keep us posted. Really interested to hear your experience's with the estate.

Oh and lots of photos please.