Discussion
Leggy said:
Most I'm seeing with a fully charged battery is a range of 14 miles, and generally it lasts about 12 miles. Yesterday only 10 miles. Will this improve? No a/c, but had the lights on, gentle flat roads too!
Sounds about right. Remember the range is based on the last journey you do, so it's the % that is more important. The secret is to use the electric where it is most appropriate. If you have a 20 mile trip with 5 miles of urban driving at either end and a 10 mile fast bit in the middle, only use the electric for the urban bits. Don't get halfway in having used all the electric up. You also need to maximise your charging as you drive. If you can go downhill a lot it helps! 
I can sometimes do my 8 mile trip to work, leaving home with a 12 mile range showing, but arrive with 75% still left. Last thing, pre-heating helps in cold weather. Try as i have i cannot see how plugging in the car saves much money.
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric but that would only cost £1.50 or so in fuel wouldnt it? How much does it cost to charge your car to give you that range? 50p?
So, youre charging it to save a quid.
I just cant see how it saves much money
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric but that would only cost £1.50 or so in fuel wouldnt it? How much does it cost to charge your car to give you that range? 50p?
So, youre charging it to save a quid.
I just cant see how it saves much money
jonah35 said:
Try as i have i cannot see how plugging in the car saves much money.
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric but that would only cost £1.50 or so in fuel wouldnt it? How much does it cost to charge your car to give you that range? 50p?
So, youre charging it to save a quid.
I just cant see how it saves much money
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric but that would only cost £1.50 or so in fuel wouldnt it? How much does it cost to charge your car to give you that range? 50p?
So, youre charging it to save a quid.
I just cant see how it saves much money
That's not the point of them. It's to reduce BIK tax. Many (most?) owners don't bother charging them regularly, if at all, from what I've read.
There is a more complicated formula, but my tariff is 10p / kWh so it costs about 60p to charge the car.
On the days when I get the train to London it' costs me nothing to get to and from the station.
On another note my normal fuel economy seems to have gone off a cliff.
For the first 15k is was averaging 42mpg (I could live with this but would have liked more) more recently I am lucky to see 38mpg. Same roads, same driving style. It's going in for a service soon and they are going to check it out.
It had a minor fuel leak under the bonnet a month ago and had some emergency surgery from the good people at Mercedes Benz Stevenage. The economy issue started not too long before this, butt hasn't improved despite a very high pressure leak being fixed. Something isn't right.
In other news the infotainment system has started to pack have had it crash a few times in the past, but yesterday it crashed 5-6 times in a 10 minute trip. I'm hoping it would have resolved itself overnight, but I'm no thanks confident.
Still happy with the car though overall.
On the days when I get the train to London it' costs me nothing to get to and from the station.
On another note my normal fuel economy seems to have gone off a cliff.
For the first 15k is was averaging 42mpg (I could live with this but would have liked more) more recently I am lucky to see 38mpg. Same roads, same driving style. It's going in for a service soon and they are going to check it out.
It had a minor fuel leak under the bonnet a month ago and had some emergency surgery from the good people at Mercedes Benz Stevenage. The economy issue started not too long before this, butt hasn't improved despite a very high pressure leak being fixed. Something isn't right.
In other news the infotainment system has started to pack have had it crash a few times in the past, but yesterday it crashed 5-6 times in a 10 minute trip. I'm hoping it would have resolved itself overnight, but I'm no thanks confident.
Still happy with the car though overall.
Just done more research.
A fully charged up x5 hybrid did 4 miles on a full charge. If its 60p to charge then effectively that is 15p per mile. On the engine alone if it did 30mpg thats 17ppm. So, plugging in saves 2p per mile. So the faff of plugging in saved 8pence until the next plug in.
A fully charged c350e did 9 miles on full charge so if 60p to charge thats roughly 6 pence per mile. On engine alone at 40mpg thats 13ppm. A little better than the x5 but still, this is pennies of saving.
In electric mode you have to also drive very slow, very carefully and also have the hassle of plugging in.
Granted, many of these are run through the company but the cost of fuel, bik, the cars themselves is, say, £1500pm and plugging in may save twenty quid a month i just cant see why youd plug it in.
I agree theyre good cars, quick ish for an eco car and so on.
Merc - few probs with navigation and electronics. Terrible nav takes AGES to load, at roundabouts car is slow to respond and change from battery to petrol. Quickish. Good standard equipment. Average 37mpg.
X5 - way way better in car tech and system far quicker to use and far more logical. No issue when changing from electric to petrol. Quieter, more comfortable. Hybrid system seems worse though, barely every runs on battery, need to press brakes pretty heavily, can feel weight of car. Much slower real world than c350e. Terrble economy even when driven gently. Average 27mpg.
A fully charged up x5 hybrid did 4 miles on a full charge. If its 60p to charge then effectively that is 15p per mile. On the engine alone if it did 30mpg thats 17ppm. So, plugging in saves 2p per mile. So the faff of plugging in saved 8pence until the next plug in.
A fully charged c350e did 9 miles on full charge so if 60p to charge thats roughly 6 pence per mile. On engine alone at 40mpg thats 13ppm. A little better than the x5 but still, this is pennies of saving.
In electric mode you have to also drive very slow, very carefully and also have the hassle of plugging in.
Granted, many of these are run through the company but the cost of fuel, bik, the cars themselves is, say, £1500pm and plugging in may save twenty quid a month i just cant see why youd plug it in.
I agree theyre good cars, quick ish for an eco car and so on.
Merc - few probs with navigation and electronics. Terrible nav takes AGES to load, at roundabouts car is slow to respond and change from battery to petrol. Quickish. Good standard equipment. Average 37mpg.
X5 - way way better in car tech and system far quicker to use and far more logical. No issue when changing from electric to petrol. Quieter, more comfortable. Hybrid system seems worse though, barely every runs on battery, need to press brakes pretty heavily, can feel weight of car. Much slower real world than c350e. Terrble economy even when driven gently. Average 27mpg.
robemcdonald said:
There is a more complicated formula, but my tariff is 10p / kWh so it costs about 60p to charge the car.
On the days when I get the train to London it' costs me nothing to get to and from the station.
On another note my normal fuel economy seems to have gone off a cliff.
For the first 15k is was averaging 42mpg (I could live with this but would have liked more) more recently I am lucky to see 38mpg. Same roads, same driving style. It's going in for a service soon and they are going to check it out.
It had a minor fuel leak under the bonnet a month ago and had some emergency surgery from the good people at Mercedes Benz Stevenage. The economy issue started not too long before this, butt hasn't improved despite a very high pressure leak being fixed. Something isn't right.
In other news the infotainment system has started to pack have had it crash a few times in the past, but yesterday it crashed 5-6 times in a 10 minute trip. I'm hoping it would have resolved itself overnight, but I'm no thanks confident.
Still happy with the car though overall.
Sorry to hear your woes Rob. How did you notice the fuel leak? On the days when I get the train to London it' costs me nothing to get to and from the station.
On another note my normal fuel economy seems to have gone off a cliff.
For the first 15k is was averaging 42mpg (I could live with this but would have liked more) more recently I am lucky to see 38mpg. Same roads, same driving style. It's going in for a service soon and they are going to check it out.
It had a minor fuel leak under the bonnet a month ago and had some emergency surgery from the good people at Mercedes Benz Stevenage. The economy issue started not too long before this, butt hasn't improved despite a very high pressure leak being fixed. Something isn't right.
In other news the infotainment system has started to pack have had it crash a few times in the past, but yesterday it crashed 5-6 times in a 10 minute trip. I'm hoping it would have resolved itself overnight, but I'm no thanks confident.
Still happy with the car though overall.
My economy has dropped as well. I don't do much mileage, but I was averaging 55, and I'm now at 50. I put it down to the cold weather. I'm still up on my old 320d though. That averaged 44, and was nowhere near as nice a car - or as fast!
RicksAlfas said:
Sorry to hear your woes Rob. How did you notice the fuel leak?
My economy has dropped as well. I don't do much mileage, but I was averaging 55, and I'm now at 50. I put it down to the cold weather. I'm still up on my old 320d though. That averaged 44, and was nowhere near as nice a car - or as fast!
A strong smell of petrol basically. Something's not right with it though. I'm hoping this isn't going to be a lengthy process though.My economy has dropped as well. I don't do much mileage, but I was averaging 55, and I'm now at 50. I put it down to the cold weather. I'm still up on my old 320d though. That averaged 44, and was nowhere near as nice a car - or as fast!
jonah35 said:
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric
Jonah, this might help. You are viewing the 10 mile range as a fixed thing. That's not correct as the car is charging under braking and coasting. This is much more apparent in urban use, than on the open road, so it does depend on where you drive.Here's my trip to work this morning.
Left home with 100% charge, showing 10 miles range.
Got to work. 8 mile journey. 6 miles on electric. 2 miles on petrol.
Range left...9 miles and 75%.
So, don't get fixated on a 10 mile range. It's not as simple as that!
RicksAlfas said:
jonah35 said:
Ok, you get 10 miles per journey on electric
Jonah, this might help. You are viewing the 10 mile range as a fixed thing. That's not correct as the car is charging under braking and coasting. This is much more apparent in urban use, than on the open road, so it does depend on where you drive.Here's my trip to work this morning.
Left home with 100% charge, showing 10 miles range.
Got to work. 8 mile journey. 6 miles on electric. 2 miles on petrol.
Range left...9 miles and 75%.
So, don't get fixated on a 10 mile range. It's not as simple as that!
If i get in a c350e and its showing 16 mile electric range then by the time ive set off its down to 15 and within a mile its down at say 10 and probably all done by the time 4 miles are done. Its in the hybrid mode too i think.
This is without air con, trying to be steady, no heated seats etc etc which is also a bit of a hassle as you have to concentrate more!
Try as i might it just will not work. The x5 is worse! May as well put the plug in the fruit bowl its as much use lol.
Dont get me wrong, it works due to bik but if a private buyer bought one i dont think theyd be doing the right thing.
I think if they got a genuine, real world 40 miles then they would make sense and i bet the next generation ones will do. We will look back on these in 5 years thinking theyre as outdated as a black and white tv!
I think you must be driving it like a Scalextric car.
The BIK advantages are a given.
But there's also the potential balance of performance and economy, plus the fact it's not a diesel which is appealing if you don't do big miles.
You are right though. It's early days for this kind of technology and it will be improving all the time.
The BIK advantages are a given.
But there's also the potential balance of performance and economy, plus the fact it's not a diesel which is appealing if you don't do big miles.
You are right though. It's early days for this kind of technology and it will be improving all the time.
re: the petrol leak. I've had three occasions where I've had a super strong smell of petrol for an entire 10 mile drive on electric only, engine not started at all.
In the service I asked them to look at it and they didn't report back, plus it happened again. But been clear for a couple of months.
Can you elaborate on what your leak was please?
In the service I asked them to look at it and they didn't report back, plus it happened again. But been clear for a couple of months.
Can you elaborate on what your leak was please?
At the back of the engine bay is a very high pressure fuel pump. (I'll try and get a picture later) basically there is a short length of pipe linking the pump to something else and it was the fitting on this pipe that (supposedly) was causing the leak.it was in the garage for a couple of days and I got an SLK for the coldest few days of the year.
Interesting thanks, I'll see if I can take a look. Was your intermittent too? Seems mine leaks nothing for ages and then on three occasions enough to really stink out the cabin. Perhaps it's close to an air intake or something and smells worse than it is.
Also, did yours leak even when the engine wasn't running? Seems odd to maintain a high fuel rail pressure when it's not needed, although it wouldn't be that daft I guess given sometimes it needs to start up with no warning.
Also, did yours leak even when the engine wasn't running? Seems odd to maintain a high fuel rail pressure when it's not needed, although it wouldn't be that daft I guess given sometimes it needs to start up with no warning.
Mine was intermittent as well. Although somewhat more frequent than yours I suspect. Could be a potential common fault then. Definitely worth getting checked out though as high pressure fuel vapour and high voltage doesn't mix too well.
On a different subject is anyone having problem with the inner charging cover sticking?
On a different subject is anyone having problem with the inner charging cover sticking?
RicksAlfas said:
All good in my flap department.
Mine had a factory recall completed in the "flap department" a few weeks back when it was in for a service so could be worth a call to the dealer. On another topic I'm due to replace the C350e later this year do people think this is still one of the best options for company car drivers or has anyone seen anything better on the horizon? Oh, and I get around 39MPG over the last 35K Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff