C350e owners club

[350e]

Slight off topic - but a friend of mine i was talking to over the weekend said at his place of work a lot of people have gone for the Outlander PHEV, but now the company have "banned" them as company cars and removed off the list as all the drivers are on fuel cards. (Sale reps)

A lot ordered them for the BIK savings, however in turn this has double the companies fuel bills for the previous car v the Outlander PHEV

A lot of the staff were in VW Golfs and Passat bluemotion oil burners before pulling 60mpg no problem, however now they are all pulling 30mpg max in the outlanders, of which most dont bother charge them via the plug or own any re-charge cards.

So the employee is saving BIK big, but the employer which taking the hit on fuel..... and thats before mentioning the small fuel tank which results in a daily fuel stop.

Seems to be a backward step by the management. They surely could have devised a scheme that reflected the anticipated fuel saving by utilising both fuels and then requiring that those savings be achieved and if not penalise the user.

 

[Driver15]

Seems to be a backward step by the management. They surely could have devised a scheme that reflected the anticipated fuel saving by utilising both fuels and then requiring that those savings be achieved and if not penalise the user.

The term banned I think is more of a on hold, my mate does not have much insight into it but has heard that next year the company are planning to set aside some budget to install chargers in the car park and increase the car admin team to manage the different charge cards etc . however to keep control of costs I guess that's why they have banned them for the moment.

However as they are out on the road a lot the cars are never in the office anyway,

Problem is I think a lot of the drivers don't have off street parking for their own chargers which I guess prevents it.

Him and his work cols do around 30k to 40k a year so it's not the "right" car from a employer point of view

On one hand the company push for lower co2 and then the impact results in extra fuel bills

 

[350e]

The term banned I think is more of a on hold, my mate does not have much insight into it but has heard that next year the company are planning to set aside some budget to install chargers in the car park and increase the car admin team to manage the different charge cards etc . however to keep control of costs I guess that's why they have banned them for the moment /QUOTE]


I think that an efficient and effective management would have thought all of this through.
They wouldn't buy and install a bioenergy heating plant without having a plan to fully utilise the asset, an hybrid or EV asset is just the same

 

[stevehg]

What a ridiculous response.. No ones avoiding tax payments, the government sets the rules and the levels and we make informed decisions.

It's my choice if I plug in and take advantage of better fuel economy, I choose not to as my driving style and typical daily commute does not lend itself to electric only, though I'll obviously make use of the hybrid capability of the car.

Why was my post ridiculous?

The £5K grant and BIK reduction for the plug-in hybrid cars are is there to promote use of these vehicles to reduce emissions.

If people like you, and other people that have posted here saying they chose these type of cars with no intention of plugging them in and that it is just to save tax payments, then that is abusing the system.

You have taken a conscious decision to select a car that by your own admission above doesn't suit your driving profile, and I assume will consume more fuel than your previous diesel, to save money in tax payments.

Now, you are free to make this decision, but equally you must admit that in doing so you are abusing the principles of the grant and BIK reduction.

cheers, Steve

 

[Hatchie]

Slight off topic - but a friend of mine i was talking to over the weekend said at his place of work a lot of people have gone for the Outlander PHEV, but now the company have "banned" them as company cars and removed off the list as all the drivers are on fuel cards. (Sale reps)

A lot ordered them for the BIK savings, however in turn this has double the companies fuel bills for the previous car v the Outlander PHEV

A lot of the staff were in VW Golfs and Passat bluemotion oil burners before pulling 60mpg no problem, however now they are all pulling 30mpg max in the outlanders, of which most dont bother charge them via the plug or own any re-charge cards.

So the employee is saving BIK big, but the employer which taking the hit on fuel..... and thats before mentioning the small fuel tank which results in a daily fuel stop.

I believe this is the reason my company switched to a pence per mile for plugin's, if you need to achieve a set mpg to break even / make a few pence then it encourages you to charge at every opportunity.

Think the outlanders have caught a lot of people / businesses out due to the petrol only MPG being so low.

 

[quonker]

I've just been given the Chassis Number for my vehicle, which is good news and progress.

Couple of questions, is this the same as it's VIN and how can I access the online features Connect me etc?

 

[Joe_SP]

I believe this is the reason my company switched to a pence per mile for plugin's, if you need to achieve a set mpg to break even / make a few pence then it encourages you to charge at every opportunity.

Think the outlanders have caught a lot of people / businesses out due to the petrol only MPG being so low.

I have been tasked with looking at this policy for my company, removing fuel cards would be very unpopular with staff so I am looking at the policy of allowing those with a plug in car and a company fuel card to expense home charging. I need to look at tax implications etc.

The outlander has a display that shows how many KWH has been used from home charging. Drivers can take a photo of this for expense claims. Does anyone know if the C350e has anything like this?

 

[B33fy]

Why was my post ridiculous?

The £5K grant and BIK reduction for the plug-in hybrid cars are is there to promote use of these vehicles to reduce emissions.

If people like you, and other people that have posted here saying they chose these type of cars with no intention of plugging them in and that it is just to save tax payments, then that is abusing the system.

You have taken a conscious decision to select a car that by your own admission above doesn't suit your driving profile, and I assume will consume more fuel than your previous diesel, to save money in tax payments.

Now, you are free to make this decision, but equally you must admit that in doing so you are abusing the principles of the grant and BIK reduction.

cheers, Steve

"Abusing" and avoiding payment are strong words implying unlawful or illegitimate gains. I don't set the rules and if they work for me at whatever level, then so be it, any sensible person would take advantage of that, why wouldn't you??...

You don't have to plug in a hybrid to take advantage of its attributes, if I did, with a less than 20 mile range, it won't last long with a 70 mile motorway commute. That said it'll be a lot greener than most of the choices out there for me and I'll be doing my bit for the greenies. So no issues with my moral compass.

Your assumption on worse consumption than my current daily driver is wrong, I'm lucky to get 40mpg out of it and hope for at least 45mph out of the Merc. Not sure if you've seen the news recently...I'm also hoping for quite a big reduction in emissions also, which will add to my greener profile.

I'm not going to spoil this post by mentioning 155mph and sub 6 seconds to 100kph..

 

[350e]

I've just been given the Chassis Number for my vehicle, which is good news and progress.

Couple of questions, is this the same as it's VIN and how can I access the online features Connect me etc?

Yes, it is your VIN. I was similarly querying when I was given the chassis number.
Now it has manifested in to a registration plate, see other thread

 

[SeanC350e]

Hi all,

The company I work for have just introduced a PHEV policy which does not allow collection of the vehicle until a charger has been installed at your home. They then monitor those with fuel cards to ensure they are being charged at home.

Seems like a reasonable request however they have not released the PHEV mileage rate for fuel claims (I don't have a fuel card), I assume they would be lower to account for the mixed fuel.

 

[350e]

Hi all,

The company I work for have just introduced a PHEV policy which does not allow collection of the vehicle until a charger has been installed at your home. They then monitor those with fuel cards to ensure they are being charged at home.

Seems like a reasonable request however they have not released the PHEV mileage rate for fuel claims (I don't have a fuel card), I assume they would be lower to account for the mixed fuel.

Seems like that they are on the right track and we'll done to the management. However I think that they may have a few disappointed would be owners that, like me, don't have the facility for off street parking

 

[quonker]

I agree with virtually everyone I think on the plug in mpg issue.

I currently drive around 30k miles per year and it does worry me that my company will end up footing the bill as my C350e is never going to achieve what my diesel A4 does on a long run, usually over 55 mpg.

With that in mind I will charge the vehicle as often as possible, having already ordered a home charger myself which I can easily justify from my BiK savings.

Clearly if I have a 200 mile journey to make, like I have tomorrow, then the battery will make not a great deal of difference but even so, and especially with the colder morning arriving for which I'll want to use the remote heating facility, I'll make sure that every little helps.

I'm sure that I'll drive the C350e a lot more frugally than I do my A4 as well.

If drivers who have hybrids don't embrace the philosophy of charging as described above then next time they come to change their vehicle they might have a bitter pill to swallow when they are asked to go back to an oil burner.

 

[MaidenheadMerc]

I chose the C350e mainly as I had a Mercedes SLK before and enjoyed it but needed something bigger, plus my commute to work is 12 miles each way and we have chargers at work and driveway parking at home. I think I'm a rarity as mine is a personal lease so BIK doesn't matter to me.

I'm happy being an early adopter and plugging in wherever I can manage, so the mix of technical elements, gadgets and performance really swung it for me. Plus from order to delivery mine took around 16 weeks so pretty decent all in all.

So far I'm averaging around 16 miles of advertised electric range and probably achieving 12 - 14 if I keep an eye on the electric gauge and brake gently for longer periods rather than heavy and late braking. The biggest problem I've spotted is if the battery is under 20% then the engine seems to charge it no matter which setting you select. With that being the case my lowest mpg so far over a 10 mile journey has been 27mpg. If I'm doing 30 - 40 mile runs and starting with a full charge I'm hitting around 60 - 70mpg, and if I'm doing motorway runs of 100 miles or more I'm seeing 37 - 44mpg.

The car feels quick, but only feels like it has the full horsepower in Sport and Sport+ modes, in comfort and Eco it feels a bit more subdued and I find myself pulling away a lot slower than I would have in the SLK. I guess that's the point though of the Eco modes! It can catch you out though as with the air suspension and general quietness of the engine you could happily be doing 90 odd and not really notice it.

The haptic accelerator feels a bit odd, you only seem to feel it in Eco or Individual if you tweak the settings, but it almost feels like you've got a wet shoe and your foot has slipped a little on the peddle, it's a small but noticeable tap to the foot. I wouldn't say it's changed my driving style though as when I was in Eco mode the engine kept charging the battery so my fuel economy declined vs Hybrid mode and I soon switched back. I definitely need to read the manual more to know what I'm doing!

 

[stevehg]

"Abusing" and avoiding payment are strong words implying unlawful or illegitimate gains.

I don't recall using the word avoiding. As for abuse, I think that a fair description to use, if someone takes advantage of a tax scheme for plug in vehicles with no intention of plugging in.

I don't set the rules and if they work for me at whatever level, then so be it, any sensible person would take advantage of that, why wouldn't you??...

The same excuse is used by people on benefits that their only reason for having multiple children is to get the extra benefit payments. They are technically not doing anything wrong, but you can equally argue that they are abusing the system.

You don't have to plug in a hybrid to take advantage of its attributes, if I did, with a less than 20 mile range, it won't last long with a 70 mile motorway commute. That said it'll be a lot greener than most of the choices out there for me and I'll be doing my bit for the greenies. So no issues with my moral compass.

Your assumption on worse consumption than my current daily driver is wrong, I'm lucky to get 40mpg out of it and hope for at least 45mph out of the Merc. Not sure if you've seen the news recently...I'm also hoping for quite a big reduction in emissions also, which will add to my greener profile.

I'm not going to spoil this post by mentioning 155mph and sub 6 seconds to 100kph..

There is a reason why plug-in vehicles receive extra government incentives over hybrid vehicles. As for your personal use, I have no knowledge of how you use you car. You may in fact have a rare driving profile where a 2 litre petrol engined plug-in that is never plugged in a heavier car beats a Golf GTD.

The aim of my posts was not to descend into a personal attack or fill the thread with counter posts, so I've said all that I needed to. Naturally, you are welcome to respond to this post, but don't expect any further response on this from me. :bannana:

cheers, Steve

 

[lookyhooky]

I agree with virtually everyone I think on the plug in mpg issue.

I currently drive around 30k miles per year and it does worry me that my company will end up footing the bill as my C350e is never going to achieve what my diesel A4 does on a long run, usually over 55 mpg.

With that in mind I will charge the vehicle as often as possible, having already ordered a home charger myself which I can easily justify from my BiK savings.

Clearly if I have a 200 mile journey to make, like I have tomorrow, then the battery will make not a great deal of difference but even so, and especially with the colder morning arriving for which I'll want to use the remote heating facility, I'll make sure that every little helps.

I'm sure that I'll drive the C350e a lot more frugally than I do my A4 as well.

If drivers who have hybrids don't embrace the philosophy of charging as described above then next time they come to change their vehicle they might have a bitter pill to swallow when they are asked to go back to an oil burner.

Just out of interest which home charger have you gone for and how much will it cost you?

 

[Deane x]

What happens when people get a C350e and never charge them and have a problem ..will the warranty cover a battery never charged properly

 

[Deane x]

Just out of interest which home charger have you gone for and how much will it cost you?

You can buy one for about £300 there is a link on the other c350e thread

 

[Eagle]

What happens when people get a C350e and never charge them and have a problem ..will the warranty cover a battery never charged properly

I don't know about the warranty policies but nowadays the Plug In Hybrid Vehicles aim to be care free in terms of battery maintenance. There are hundreds of lines of code written in the format of a very intelligent software to work alongside a the clever hardware to maintain the battery pack. Almost every scenario is envisaged and predicted in the form of abuse, over use and misuse. Leaving your car unattended for a long time during a cold winter or hot summer can be an example of misuse (although I call it cruel= abuse ).
If you don't charge it via the Mains, the engine will to a cost! Nevertheless, it's like every other system: care for it= right input : right output (German engineering have a proven record of this concept).

Battery packs have a funny commonality with the Hard Disk Drives. Statistically there is a high rate for a HDD to develop Bad Sectors even when they are brand new- considering millions of tiny fragments of magnetic patches are compacted in a small area! But when bad sectors happen (to a certain level) the HDD won't announce itself faulty, it rather correct itself by blocking that space, rendering it useless by remembering it's location.
The Battery Packs also have hundreds of individual cells, some of them can develop lower or higher rate of output even after a few days of use. The computer onboard will correct the situation by giving them less or more Voltage in a hope to bring them to the correct level - matching the rest. This is why that it is important to be gentle with the battery in early weeks trying to trickle charge it via Mains.

Correct input hopefully result in correct output! ..... or does it?!

 

[wivenhoe]

I've just been given the Chassis Number for my vehicle, which is good news and progress.

Couple of questions, is this the same as it's VIN and how can I access the online features Connect me etc?

Quonker - if you go to ConnectMe at

https://me.secure.mercedes-benz.com...S6bG-lgWnyB1rO8!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

Register and set up a new car and after that you will need to paste in the VIN - when you do that you'll see the basic spec of your car. When you collect your car, as you have already set up your account the dealer will just have to log on and authenticate - I had most of the 'services' when I drove the car home.

 

[wivenhoe]

I have been tasked with looking at this policy for my company, removing fuel cards would be very unpopular with staff so I am looking at the policy of allowing those with a plug in car and a company fuel card to expense home charging. I need to look at tax implications etc.

The outlander has a display that shows how many KWH has been used from home charging. Drivers can take a photo of this for expense claims. Does anyone know if the C350e has anything like this?

Joe - In order to get the grant towards the charger I had to have a separate meter installed just for the home charger and it sends the data back (via O2) of my usage to the government. The user could provide photos of the meter at month end and use the kw's consumed to claim the costs