Latest 2020 August\September E-class Petrol Hybrid

[glojo]

I am really interested to hear the views of anyone who owns the very latest August\September E-class version Hybrid,

I was assured this latest model is an improvement on earlier hybrids but is this just advertising hype or is it true?

Did you chose the petrol or the diesel version and why?

What type of range can we expect from the battery, I am hoping for 25 miles and anything above that will be a bonus, anything below might be a disappointment depending on how much lower.

In real-life situations, what is the acceleration like and is it comparable to the bigger diesel options? I was tempted to buy my wife the 350 but settled on this hybrid.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

While you are waiting for someone who has one to reply....in case it helps, the newer E300e vs the older E350e has about 30bhp more electric power, a tad more ICE power and twice the HV battery capacity, so you’d see 20 to maybe 30 miles on battery alone, driving gently. Main thing to note about the performance is that the ICE torque stays pretty much flat almost all the way to the redline, but the EV torque drops off quite a bit, so it feels like it runs out of puff quite quickly once the revs get up there. Certainly does pull well lower down though. If the newer ICE engine is anything like the C/E350e it sounds like a bag of spanners It staggers me that some of the diesels sound nicer than a 2l petrol!

Expanding a bit on EV range, winter really nails it due to how much is used for heating, mostly, although ambient temps do reduce battery capacity anyway. Our C350e is lucky to do 8 miles on a charge in winter. Summer and it’ll do 12-14. Been this way from new.

...and finally, fwiw, I wouldn’t buy another hybrid, especially not from MB

 

[glojo]

Thank you very much for that very helpful reply. We are going for the 300e estate and are you saying the petrol engine sound quite rough?

and in the reviews they are claiming more bhp from the electric motor and a better battery.

There was a face-lift January of this year but this is a new model and I am wondering if I am right to believe this new E-class might be the W or S 214?

 

[C240Sport97]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

I suspect it won’t be easy, but I’d very strongly recommend you to get a decent test drive or at the very least, a chance to look around and start the ICE on the model you are looking at.

When I was looking back in 2016 I didn’t get a look at a C350e until the day I collected my new one. I’d had a test drive in a C300h (the diesel version with the much smaller battery) and was suitably impressed, stupidly thinking that the petrol version with bigger battery would just be the same...but better. In many ways it is....but that M274 engine? Good grief it’s rough.

Probably the main reason I have never really learned to like this car is that I feel so damned stupid! It was ‘sold’ to me by a very good salesman. By ‘good’ I mean he extracted the absolute maximum out of me and it wasn’t until it was too late that I realised just how stupid and naive I’d been. Left a bad taste that will never go away, and that gets refreshed every now and then by things like MB corporate attitude to customers.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

Yes, as someone who has owned an hybrid for almost 4 years now, I absolutely concur.

 

[HB]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

So do I buy an E53 ? Is the hybrid reliable enough yet ? I’m holding off yet....

 

[Deleted member 126969]

So do I buy an E53 ? Is the hybrid reliable enough yet ? I’m holding off yet....

Depends on whether you are buying it or leasing I suppose. If it is under warranty while you have it and goes back at 3 or 4 years, then go for it. They do have a 6 year/63000 mile “hv battery warranty” that covers battery, motor and power electronics, so there’s that.

 

[glojo]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

I think that if we all purchased a car that made the most sense.... Life would be extremely dull.

Why produce a car where there is a choice of colour or interior?

Why not just manufacture silver coloured cars with black interior?

Why choose a car that exceeds our national speed limit?

It makes no sense but who am I kidding.

Ooops, apologies for getting a bee in my bonnet, I guess I am simply saying, buy what you like, and like what you buy

My wife likes a car with some degree of acceleration and wants something that compares to our straight-six Cdi and yes she has had a test drive of the 220Cdi and I accept owners of that model love it. she doesn't,

The petrol hybrid is much cheaper than the big diesel, sadly the media are killing diesel powered vehicles so, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Having a battery in the back of the vehicle would not be a problem

 

[C240Sport97]

So do I buy an E53 ? Is the hybrid reliable enough yet ? I’m holding off yet....

E53 is clearly the answer

 

[Smiley]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

I agree I have never understood the attraction; apart from the complexity there is also the added weight - when running on electric it is pulling around the dead weight of the ICE power plant and vice versa. I guess the attraction is the very low emissions in the controlled test environment.
Maybe the solution is an EV for local journeys and an ICE car for longer journeys.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

The benefits depend a lot on how you use them and what your useage profile is. My C350e is showing 176.6mpg on the current tank of petrol after 609 miles on it (yes, one tank, and I still have 66% left). Most of my miles are on EV power and yes, of course, a pure EV would suit me just fine...but, at the time I purchased, the only choice that appealed to me was a Tesla S which was about twice the price. If I was buying now, I’d go for the Tesla 3.

I like the interior of the C and the Tesla S but the Tesla 3 is a bit bare by comparison. That said, I’d happily forgo the MB interior to have the pure EV now.

Can’t argue that a hybrid is complex, but the dead weight argument is a bit simplistic. You only need a few bhp to cruise along the motorway, so consider all the dead weight of that V6 diesel you are dragging around.....and having a battery means you can recover some of the energy used to accelerate, and that makes a difference. Even starting with no charge other than the minimal 10% minimum it allows, I can get high 40s mpg and the performance boost of the EV torque.

All that to say, hybrids aren’t utterly pointless at all, but there are factors to consider of course. Hard to argue against the simplicity of a pure EV and if your usage allows it, it’s getting to be a good choice now. But, as we all know, good and sensible doesn’t always cut it!

 

[markjay]

Hybrids make no sense to me. So much more to go wrong.

if your journeys are primarily local and shortish, get an electric car and hire a ICE car when you do long journeys

if your journeys are primarily long, get ICE car as they are pretty efficient these days

also, on a hybrid E estate, you have a big hump in the boot behind the seats. No more flat load bay.

In the UK (and particularly in London) Hybrids were very popular due to the low BIK and other tax benefits.

This year the focus has shifted to pure-EVs, after the tax regulations have changed and the Hybrids no longer benefit from generous exemptions.

Personally, I don't see the point of a Hybrid. Enormously complicated for little actual benefit.

Logic says that you should either buy an EV if you can benefit from the tax exemptions, or just keep-on buying petrol cars until they are outlawed or just generally not available.

BTW, the Diesel Hybrids got some very bad reviews from members on this forum.

 

[glojo]

n the UK (and particularly in London) Hybrids were very popular due to the low BIK and other tax benefits.

This year the focus has shifted to pure-EVs, after the tax regulations have changed and the Hybrids no longer benefit from generous exemptions.

Personally, I don't see the point of a Hybrid. Enormously complicated for little actual benefit.

Logic says that you should either buy an EV if you can benefit from the tax exemptions, or just keep-on buying petrol cars until they are outlawed or just generally not available.

BTW, the Diesel Hybrids got some very bad reviews from members on this forum.

Hi Mark
I certainly value your opinion and my fingers are crossed regarding reliability. I am led to believe the new shape E-class hybrid has had improvements to this hybrid system including a larger battery with better range.

France is nearer to us than London although it definitely takes longer to get to that country. I only say this as there is little to no chance of us ever driving to our capital. We are also not interested in any type of tax saving and the only choice we had regarding performance along with economy in this country is either the 400Cdi or the hybrid. The AMG is a dream car but it is way, way to OTT for us. I don't believe there is a fully electric E-class estate, so there is no point even talking about this non-option. The 400D is way more expensive than the hybrid, and diesels are sadly getting far too much bad press which basically has little or no relevance to fact.. Our hybrid will hopefully NOT be using any fuel, but yes, once evry month orr so we will run the petrol engine. To me, our personal situation made it a no brainer to go for the vehicle we have now ordered, BUT....... I accept it will not be everyone's choice, each to their own and only time will tell if we were right or wrong.

As an aside we were amongst the first to buy the 320Cdi engine when we bought our S210 and some folks were saying how this new direct-injection engine would never last because of the high pressures within the fuel system. We were also among the first owners of the S211, my wife is still unsure about selling this vehicle. Folks always say to give a new model a wide berth, we have been lucky and I forgot to mention the three new Sprinters I bought when we wanted an updated model.

I am waiting to hear from anyone with the very latest hybrid to submit a post but I accept we usually get the moans and groans far more than the likes.