C350e owners club

[crotach]

Hope you don't mind me asking what is considered poor economy? I'm getting 32mpg with my Audi TT and was hoping the next car would be more fuel efficient.
I would just like to go into this with open eyes

I've had experience with MB dealers here in the past as well, poor service and extortionate prices, so I guess that's universal.

 

[Sraj]

Motorway driving I’m getting 37 mpg driving at 70mph, which I find horrendous.

Town I’m getting 22mpg. These figures are without charging the battery.

With my bmw 320i sport petrol, I was getting 26-30mpg town and 55mpg on the motorway (driving at 75mph on cruise control)

I was talking to another Mercedes owner (E220 diesel) and he said the same as what I said. Performance, comfort and extras are first class but very juicy. His combined MPG was 38-40mpg. He drives at 85mph on the motorway.

QUOTE="crotach, post: 2843349, member: 151379"]Hope you don't mind me asking what is considered poor economy? I'm getting 32mpg with my Audi TT and was hoping the next car would be more fuel efficient.
I would just like to go into this with open eyes

I've had experience with MB dealers here in the past as well, poor service and extortionate prices, so I guess that's universal. [/QUOTE]

 

[Deleted member 126969]

For an alternative view, my average mpg is running at about 75 after about 7500 miles. I did the first 1500 in Sport mode to make sure the engine got some miles in it so that will have hit my average.

In summer, I typically see around 12 miles on a charge, in winter, it can be as low as 7 depending on mainly the use of the heater.

Bear in mind, @Sraj has had (and may still have) a faulty thermostat on his car which will really hurt economy on any car on short trips, and a hybrid is effectively always trying to make short trips by keeping the engine off as much as possible, so good thermal management is very important.

Long run economy I usually find to be high 40s to mid 50s, typically a mix of motorway and rural roads.

 

[Dodgy]

My experience is similar to @Chris-S’s. I only manage 75mpg in the summer. Winter is more like 55mpg.

Economy in the C350e is more dependent on journey profile than any other car I’ve known. In the summer, your 25km might be 100mpg+. In the winter, your 96km might be 45mpg (unless you “drive enthusiastically”).

I’ve had no problems except the charging cable disintegrating. The suspension is excellent. Pre-heating is a joy. I moved from an A3. It’s been a good experience.

 

[crotach]

To be honest I'm fine with 32mpg and more comfort. What I'm really afraid of are the electrical faults, steering failure, air suspension failure etc that people were commenting on at carbuyer. Poor(er) fuel economy I can live with.

 

[Mikep2]

Hi folks,

I hope I found the right thread, I'm considering buying a C350e and I'm looking for some actual feedback from people who've owned the car for more than just a test drive

What I'm looking at is 2017-2018 models with low mileage. Most of my commute is 25km each way, with a charging station at both ends. Once or twice a week I'll need to do 96km each way. The 96km commute each way will not have a charging station at the end, so it's down to the petrol engine most of the way.



I know that a diesel would make more sense, but the parking situation in Luxembourg is really abysmal, but all the garages have a disproportionate amount of chargers and parking reserved for PHEV/EV that having a plug-in basically guarantees me a parking spot. My other reason for C350e is that it offers a lot more for the price compared to the competition. I can basically get a C350e with air suspention, panoramic roof, burmester etc for the same amount of money as I'd have to spend for an Audi A3 e-tron! I'm also sure C350e would be a lot more comfortable to drive in than the A3.

What worries me though are the reviews I've read on sites like carbuyer:
Mercedes C350e hybrid (2017-2018) owner reviews: MPG, problems, reliability, performance | Carbuyer
Basically there's not a single positive review, they all have massive problems with the car, and that might explain why a 72k euro car is being sold for 31k mere 2.5 years later.

Can anyone tell me if these horrible reviews have any truth in them and what the ownership is like?

I know Sraj has had a particularly bad experience with his 350e which as I recall has a thermostat problem.
From my point of view I have had my Nov 18 C350e for two months now and love the car to drive, very comfortable and quick even in ECO where I am mainly at the moment.

I bought the car knowing the limitations of the battery range so my disappointment isn’t so great, the quoted figure is very misleading. Mine charges to 13 or 14 and very quickly drops to 10 or 11.
The good thing is you are in control of when and where to use this electric power.

I make a 17 mile journey three or four times a week, the latest one yesterday I managed 99.9 mpg (see photo) so for your short commutes you will get very high fuel economy especially charging both ends.
I have a round trip of 200 miles coming up in Feb so have no experience of longer trips at the moment but I am expecting something around 40 to 45 mpg on this sort of distance only charging at the start.

My first fill up was Nov30th and have driven 582 miles (381 with engine off) and still have an estimated range of 149 miles left in the tank. Average mpg is 54.3.

 

[Mikep2]

To be honest I'm fine with 32mpg and more comfort. What I'm really afraid of are the electrical faults, steering failure, air suspension failure etc that people were commenting on at carbuyer. Poor(er) fuel economy I can live with.

Don’t think 4 reviews on Carbuyer is very representative in reality. Before I purchased mine I had read all posts on this forum from 2016 and can only recall one suspension issue.
The biggest issue has been reduced battery range but then again you will see the same issue on the BMW 330e and Mitsubishi Outlander forums.
I would certainly not buy any plug in hybrid without at least a one year warranty for piece of mind.

 

[CaptainChaos]

Hi folks,

Most of my commute is 25km each way, with a charging station at both ends. Once or twice a week I'll need to do 96km each way. The 96km commute each way will not have a charging station at the end, so it's down to the petrol engine most of the way.

The C350e will be ideal for this. I don't think you will quite manage the 25km commute all on electric, but you will nearly do it.

96km each was is about 120 miles. Before Christmas I had a very similar run and my engine was off for 40 off those miles, so even on that trip you will be seeing 50mpg.

Remember this is not an economy car. It's a heavy, well equipped car which can go very fast, or very economically for short distances. It's a real mixture and once you get your head round that you will be OK. My average is 46mpg for mixed use. My previous 320d showed 42, so you will definitely see a big improvement over your TT.

Good luck. Let us know what you get.

 

[Dodgy]

This is a massive thread, so I can’t even get close to listing the problems people have reported. From memory there have been more gripes than faults.

The engine sounds rough when idling
The HV warranty isn’t watertight
The infotainment is typically annoying
The dealers are a pain

The early models had some water ingress problems (into the charging system). I’ve not heard about this for ages. Sraj has had the thermostat/economy issues. What else can people remember?

 

[Dodgy]

I’ve just ordered a Tesla Model 3 to replace my MB in the summer. SR+, so similar budget on a company car scheme to the deal I have on the C350e, but WAY better than anything I can find now on a plug in hybrid.

It won’t be as luxurious as the C350e, but it’ll be the next step in learning about EVs. Should be interesting. Fast. Fewer daily range frustrations. No idea how well the longer journeys are going to go, but I’m not expecting too many traumas.

 

[CaptainChaos]

I’ve just ordered a Tesla Model 3 to replace my MB in the summer. SR+, so similar budget on a company car scheme to the deal I have on the C350e, but WAY better than anything I can find now on a plug in hybrid.

It won’t be as luxurious as the C350e, but it’ll be the next step in learning about EVs. Should be interesting. Fast. Fewer daily range frustrations. No idea how well the longer journeys are going to go, but I’m not expecting too many traumas.

Congrats! I think after the BIK changes this April they are going to be very popular. Even better if you can charge at work as there is no BIK on the "fuel".
I might swap mine this year, but I'm undecided which way to go. Part of me thinks if I don't get a giant V8 now, I never will be able to...

 

[Dodgy]

[emoji23]

 

[Herder000]

Part of me thinks if I don't get a giant V8 now, I never will be able to...

I keep looking at the C63 with exactly the same "maybe now or never" thought!

 

[Deleted member 126969]

The only other things I can recall from the problems are the petrol line across the back of the engine bay leaking in some cases leading to the petrol smell in the car and a couple of cases of poor battery capacity.

As you rightly say @Dodgy given the size of this thread, that’s pretty damn good. Compared to the BIG list of issues BMW 330e owners have had, makes ours look good.

Very envious of the Tesla 3 move. Please let us know what you think when it arrives.

 

[CrimsonDiablo11]

The only other things I can recall from the problems are the petrol line across the back of the engine bay leaking in some cases leading to the petrol smell in the car and a couple of cases of poor battery capacity.

As you rightly say @Dodgy given the size of this thread, that’s pretty damn good. Compared to the BIG list of issues BMW 330e owners have had, makes ours look good.

Very envious of the Tesla 3 move. Please let us know what you think when it arrives.

Yep the Tes is a draw for the eco side of things but to be very honest, I do not like, but love to drive the machine that is a Mercedes.. Yes problems are abundant but they are still a pleasure to drive at the best and worst of times.... Tes maybe in the future but im a silly old MB junky for now....[emoji57]

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Dodgy]

Yep the Tes is a draw for the eco side of things but to be very honest, I do not like, but love to drive the machine that is a Mercedes.. Yes problems are abundant but they are still a pleasure to drive at the best and worst of times.... Tes maybe in the future but im a silly old MB junky for now....[emoji57]

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

It’s hard to compare a car from 15 years ago that had no batteries in the boot, no automatic gearbox and no air suspension with the C350e, but I much preferred my old BMW 318i M-Sport. I still have massive regrets having to trade it in for an S-Max to accommodate growing children and clobber.

The 318 suspension was much firmer so speed bumps were a nightmare and it was nowhere near as fast as the C350e. Even with those drawbacks, it was a country mile ahead of anything else I’ve had for driving pleasure. I’m hoping the Tesla will get close. It’ll certainly be a learning experience.

 

[garycat]

I'm also considering a C350e to replace my 2014 C220d, but after these stories I started looking at the Golf GTE, but that seems to be just as unreliable.

 

[Mikep2]

I'm also considering a C350e to replace my 2014 C220d, but after these stories I started looking at the Golf GTE, but that seems to be just as unreliable.

Not sure how much of the forum you have read but over the last few months there has only been one member that has had issues with the car, all other owners posts have been positive.
But before buying a C350e you need to consider your driving style and what you expectations are from the car.
This car can be an eco warrior or a hot rod but drive it hard and you can expect low mpg levels you would get anyway from any performance car.
One member bought a Tesla last year and went back to a C350 due to the comfort levels which tell you something about the car.

 

[wivenhoe]

Congrats! I think after the BIK changes this April they are going to be very popular. Even better if you can charge at work as there is no BIK on the "fuel".
I might swap mine this year, but I'm undecided which way to go. Part of me thinks if I don't get a giant V8 now, I never will be able to...

A half way house may be a BMW 545e - rumoured to be available later this year - V6 petrol plug-in with a real world range of about 40 miles.

 

[Dodgy]

Not sure how much of the forum you have read but over the last few months there has only been one member that has had issues with the car, all other owners posts have been positive.
But before buying a C350e you need to consider your driving style and what you expectations are from the car.
This car can be an eco warrior or a hot rod but drive it hard and you can expect low mpg levels you would get anyway from any performance car.
One member bought a Tesla last year and went back to a C350 due to the comfort levels which tell you something about the car.

Interesting post from @raspy. Either I didn’t see it first time around, or I’ve forgotten it.

I’ve only test-driven a Model 3 for 15 minutes, but I have a very different comparison of the Tesla and the MB than the one @raspy shared.

On comfort, the MB is good except for one thing - the driving position. My left leg is against a hard corner of the centre console and the pedals are offset from the seat. The Tesla is better. The MB driving seat is good, but unexpectedly, I prefer the Tesla.

The MB suspension IS extremely comfortable, but it’s pretty average at dealing with corners.

I’m not clear why you’d need to navigate the screens to go from Eco to Sport+ in the Tesla. It’s eco all the time, then you put your foot to the floor and it delivers acceleration the MB can’t match. Yes - you can set personal preferences for the steering and acceleration settings, but you don’t need to while driving.

It’ll be interesting to see whether these first impressions last when or arrived in June. My main concern is that my sons (currently 6’2” and 5’10”) will be too big for it, but they claim not...