C350e owners club

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Haven’t posted any fuel consumption figures on my car for a while. So an update may be of some interest to someone thinking about a purchase who may have some reservations.
Owned my car for 9 months now and covered 2126 miles. During that time I have generally used the car locally for journeys up to 30 miles.
During this time I have usually driven the car in Eco and changed driving mode during a journey to try and get the best MPG.

Since last November I have filled up the car four times and from the screenshot you can see that I had the understandable learning curve with regards to how to get the best economy out of the car, culminating in my last tank giving me 821 miles with 2 bars remaining on the fuel gauge.
View attachment 100348

My overall average over the 2126 mile was 68.9 mpg with 1468 miles driven in electric.

View attachment 100349

After 9 months of obsessively changing modes during journeys to try and get the best economy I had decided that after this recent refuelling I am going to leave the car in hybrid mode for the next tank and compare results.
Also recently set the steering and suspension to sport along with eco mode in the individual drive mode as I found this gives the car a much tighter feel when driving rather than the more bouncy/floaty feel of the standard air suspension.
I have a journey of Approx 31 miles every couple of weeks and the best economy I have achieved for this is 80 mpg. For the same journey last week I decided to do the whole journey in Hybrid mode with the above settings just to prove that my method of manually managing the use of battery power was the best. How wrong was I, at the end I had 85 mpg showing on the car with 20% battery remaining, which really surprised me.

That’s what prompted me to try the next tank of fuel on hybrid all of the time charging the car 3 or 4 times a week.
Something else that was surprising that after refuelling last week I charged the car (it took 5.26 kWh) and it showed the usual 14 mile range (shown in above screenshot).
I then decided to reset my trip so I could start from scratch. Along with resetting to zero the range figure changed from 14 to 18 again surprising me (see attached screenshot). This I guess is the estimated range based on my recent driving.
View attachment 100350

This was a big surprise even though I have learned to monitor the battery level rather than the range figure.

With regards to the reliability I have had no issues other than an instance a few months back where Emode became unavailable for a couple of journeys even though battery was at 100%, this resolved itself after a day or so. The car has done 13800 miles and I can see that the back tires are approaching the tread limit so will need to be renewed shortly. I am assuming/ hoping these have been on since new.
Would be grateful for any recommendation for tyres when I renew them ?

Hope this has been of interest and will post how my next tank goes purely on hybrid.
Following tank will be on Hybrid with no charging !!!!
Good to see the economy improving, but you’re going to find it hard to separate the economy of the hybrid setting from the influence of the exact journey profile and the average temperature on each tank. Summer battery range should be almost double the winter range...
 
@Mikep2 Good result!

The dashboard display shows 1,468 miles driven with the engine off (which would include coasting for example) - it doesn't necessarily equate to all of the 1,468 miles driven on battery

Regarding tyres, I have gone with Continental ContiSportContact 5. I got almost 20k out of them before I replaced them. I am happy with them.

I was also surprised with fuel economy today in hybrid mode (may be due to the warm weather) but I left home with 25% of battery, did a 40 mile journey (mix of 40, 50 and 70mph zones) - kept it on distronic plus the entire time, and got 40.8mpg (arrived with 23% of battery left) - had the AC on too the entire time
Hi Raspy, thanks for the feedback, take your point regarding the 1468 silent miles. 😂

Also for the tyre recommendation, I’ll take a closer look at those.

That’s what I find with Hybrid is that it does very well maintaining the battery level around 25%.
You probably would have improved your mpg by switching to E mode a couple of miles from home.
 
Good to see the economy improving, but you’re going to find it hard to separate the economy of the hybrid setting from the influence of the exact journey profile and the average temperature on each tank. Summer battery range should be almost double the winter range...
Hi Dodgy, when I picked up the car last November the temperature was 4 degrees and a full battery showed 14 range. This is pretty much what I have always seen even on days of 25 degrees.
Will wait and see if my miles per tank drops back at the end of the year. 🤞
 
Hi Dodgy, when I picked up the car last November the temperature was 4 degrees and a full battery showed 14 range. This is pretty much what I have always seen even on days of 25 degrees.
Will wait and see if my miles per tank drops back at the end of the year. 🤞
The range prediction isn’t that useful. Keep track of the actual range in EV mode.

My battery wasn’t a good one. I could do 12 miles in the summer and 6 in the winter. I know someone who managed 18 in the summer, but struggled to get 10 in the winter.
 
Hi I know this isn’t the right place but as a new member I can’t post in the wanted section but I am looking for a good spec 350e with decent mileage is there any going on the forum at the moment?
 
Hi I know this isn’t the right place but as a new member I can’t post in the wanted section but I am looking for a good spec 350e with decent mileage is there any going on the forum at the moment?
Hi, have you searched the Autotrader app, used it for about six months before I purchase mine from MB Worcester (ad on autotrader).
This one is currently at MB Bolton and is the same colour and spec as mine but I have a 68 plate estate.
I would recommend purchasing form MB dealership, as you will get 1 year warranty and that you should take out MB service plan (£36/mth) so that your annual service is covered.
Good luck searching.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2020061903005991596645874914.png
 
Hi, have you searched the Autotrader app, used it for about six months before I purchase mine from MB Worcester (ad on autotrader).
This one is currently at MB Bolton and is the same colour and spec as mine but I have a 68 plate estate.
I would recommend purchasing form MB dealership, as you will get 1 year warranty and that you should take out MB service plan (£36/mth) so that your annual service is covered.
Good luck searching.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006190300599View attachment 100509
Hi, have you searched the Autotrader app, used it for about six months before I purchase mine from MB Worcester (ad on autotrader).
This one is currently at MB Bolton and is the same colour and spec as mine but I have a 68 plate estate.
I would recommend purchasing form MB dealership, as you will get 1 year warranty and that you should take out MB service plan (£36/mth) so that your annual service is covered.
Good luck searching.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006190300599View attachment 100509
Hi mikep2,

thanks for the advise I will defo look in to this
 
I've switched from Continentals to Goodyear Asymmetric 5 all round and have been very pleased with them. They are much quieter and a decent price. I haven't had them on long enough to report on wear though...
Appreciate the feedback, thanks. 👍
 
Hi all,

New to the forum (although feel like I've been here for years having read all 280 pages of this thread) and had a couple of questions having recently purchased a '16 plate C350e Estate to replace my decidedly creaky old W203 estate, loving it so far and thanks to all those who have posted really helpful advice on these forums - it's a very particular car, but really suits the way we use it so the advice was really helpful in making the decision to buy - my wife can do the school run and errands pretty much all on a charge, and I can have a bit of fun at the weekend and on longer drives, also enjoying playing the mpg game!
First question was around extended warranty, I've gone for the Service Care Plan upfront (there's a 20% off deal at the moment if anyone is looking to renew) as want to keep the dealer history but was wondering whether there are any good alternatives to the Mercedes Extended Warranty anyone would recommend, and even whether this is worthwhile - seen a couple of issues with compressors etc on here which look a bit pricey to fix, without a warranty I'd put money aside for repairs but guess it's always a gamble as to what could or couldn't go wrong! Next was just on dealerships in SE England - Gatwick is my nearest but if anyone has a steer on any good (or bad) local main dealer alternatives I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
 
Warning: off-topic!

I took the Tesla Model 3 for a bit of an adventure last week so I thought I’d report back.

The first thing to say is that the sporty suspension of the Model 3 is nothing like the limousine-style suspension of the C350e for comfortable cruising on the motorways. My family loves the Tesla, but two of them commented on the ride quality.

Another trouble we had on the motorway was Autopilot. Everyone raves about it, and radar-controlled automatic cruise control in general, but we kept getting phantom braking and had to play with switching off settings one after another before I could move left a lane without wondering if the brakes were going to kick in quite hard. We got there in the end, but at one point I was considering switching automatic emergency braking off, which would have been really stupid. We didn’t use automatic lane assist, where the car steers, brakes and accelerates. We’d tried it before and every time you want to change lanes it switches off with quite a loud chime and you have to switch it back on again (which also results in a chime). It’s a bit pointless without the full self driving option which costs a small fortune and not selected on my car.

The final gripe about motorways was that the Supercharger stations we visited at Scotch Corner and Woodall were both quite a long way from the services.

Now onto the good stuff. The economy is amazing. 250Wh/mile pretty much regardless of the road type or weather conditions (not wintery). That’s not far off double what I’d have achieved in the C350e. Charging at home for the 600 miles we did would have cost £12 if we’d been at home. The Superchargers are three times that price, but we only added about 100 miles of range from them. The place we stayed had free charging, so it worked out at just over £6 for 600 miles.

On country roads, the suspension works much better. It holds the road pretty well in corners, accelerates amazingly up steep hills with good traction, even in the RWD version we have. It’s great fun to drive. I guess we’d have dropped down to 30-40mpg in the C350e on the trip over Kirkstone pass, but in the Model 3 we regained on the way down most of the energy we’d used to gain altitude on the way up.

The roads were quite busy, so pulling out of junctions and accelerating rapidly was a regular challenge. The thing shifts. Fast off the line and no gear changes makes this stuff as easy as it can be. Braking is good as well. I’ve heard criticisms of Tesla brakes, but there’s quite significant regeneration when you lift off the accelerator and the brake pedal only works the friction brakes, so the response is smooth and linear - no grabbiness. I didn’t use the brakes very often - it’ll come to a stop under regenerative braking in all but close-to-emergency situations.

The infotainment system is excellent. No problems with the speedometer and battery level display being central rather than behind the steering wheel. We watched Netflix over free mobile data on a 15” screen while stuck in a rainstorm having lunch. The maps and route planning are all from Google and work really well with real-time traffic that I haven’t paid for and satellite imagery that I’ve switched off because the basic maps are clearer.

So it’s a mixture of positives and negatives, but I‘m happy I made the switch and enjoying the adventure.
 
Thanks for reporting in Dodgy. Good to hear you are enjoying it!
 
Anyone else having problems with the Mercedes Me app or is it just me. Mine has not updated in 3 days with issues before that as well.:mad::mad:
 
Currently on v1.3.3 (767) and it’s working as “well” as it normally does. At best I find it unresponsive and slow to update. I have similar apps for the solar PV system and powerwall and they just work. I say similar in that they rely on sending data to remote servers then the apps contact said servers to access that data. I can also send configuration data much as per Mercedes Me. Be nice to think it’s just the slow and flakey mobile data connection from car to back end servers to blame, but I think it’s as much to do with the back end and app TBH.

Given I‘ve had bogus service notifications prompted by the MMe system, I think it’s got some fundamental problems.
 
Have you downloaded the latest version that came out this week?
Hi, My phone was up to the latest version (1.3.4), my iPad was still on 1.3.3, updated the iPad app and still the same. May try and delete the app and reinstall. Thx.
 
Currently on v1.3.3 (767) and it’s working as “well” as it normally does. At best I find it unresponsive and slow to update. I have similar apps for the solar PV system and powerwall and they just work. I say similar in that they rely on sending data to remote servers then the apps contact said servers to access that data. I can also send configuration data much as per Mercedes Me. Be nice to think it’s just the slow and flakey mobile data connection from car to back end servers to blame, but I think it’s as much to do with the back end and app TBH.

Given I‘ve had bogus service notifications prompted by the MMe system, I think it’s got some fundamental problems.
Hi Chris, good to know it probably is just a problem with my app. Will try a delete and reinstall to see if that refreshes the data..
 
Running cost of PHEV compared to petrol.
I'm trying to decide whether to replace my C350e with another PHEV or a conventional petrol-engined car (in my area pure EV is not viable). Clearly the fuel cost is part of this, but it's very complex (impossible?) to do any valid sums on it because, as we all know, it's dependent on the usage profile. It's not possible to just base it on the average fuel consumption and mileage because that would require logging of all charging.

Taking a first, simplistic, look at the easy bits:
  • the battery is 6.2kWh (I think) so, if electricity is 14p/kWh and the pure EV range is 10 miles (optimistic, admittedly), the cost/mile is 8.7p for those 10 miles
  • assuming 40mpg and £1.20/litre gives a pure ICE fuel cost of 13.6p/mile
... based on this the fuel saving for 10 miles of each journey is 49p. For 2 journeys/day, charging at each end, for an average of 5 days/week, this results in an annual saving of about £250 ... but how to take account of the benefit of energy recovery during all those other times when the battery is being charged as the car slows or goes downhill?

I'd appreciate comments and opinions on the above (especially if I've boobed or missed something obvious).
 
For the saving of £250 p.a. I’d suggest there are probably other things that make a bigger impact. RFL for one.

Unless you do big miles, fuel costs are going to be way less significant than depreciation etc I’d imagine.

Our current tank of fuel is showing at 176.6 mpg at the moment, 466 miles on 24% of the tank. Electricity use is going to be a bit less than your calculation, we see around 8 miles from about 4kWh this time of year. Make of that what you will!!
 
I agree, fuel is only part of the equation but on multiple shorter journeys the EV/ICE mix is more relevant than on longer journeys.

You've made me realise that I was considering the entire battery capacity in my sums, rather than the usable bit., but I over-estimated the range so it's roughly in-line with your experience.

FWIW my car is currently showing 54.3 MPG from the last 4000 miles. Most journeys are 15-30 mile round trips in hybrid eco or comfort mode (using sport for overtaking, if needed), starting with a full battery and not charging down route, and switching to EV for the last mile or two to ensure all the available battery charge is used. I wish the car logged electricity input, but without that it would need a dedicated meter in-line with the charger in order to assess the real impact on fuel cost of charging. Annoyingly, I sold an old elec meter a while ago - maybe it's time to buy one.
 

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