Discussion
It depends very much on how you use the car. PHEVs are excellent if you pay company car tax, and replace every 3 years, but if you regularly drive long distances they are ineffective.
I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
RyanOPlasty said:
It depends very much on how you use the car. PHEVs are excellent if you pay company car tax, and replace every 3 years, but if you regularly drive long distances they are ineffective.
I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
First of all, the 2.0 petrol in the C350e is a relatively inefficient and thirsty engine. Not every PHEV will have an inefficient petrol engine. Lots of C350e owners are managing 80-100mpg, because they are charging it every day. If you want to do regular motorway miles and want low fuel consumption, get a diesel. I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
Regarding the reports of new batteries, those reports are in the minority, rather the majority of cars. The important thing to check for any prospective buyer, is how long the hybrid setup is warranted for (miles/years) and see if that fits in with how long you will own the car for.
I am kind of thinking that PHEV might be a great stepping stone. Watched Harry Metcalfe cover this with the Range Rover Sport and the X5 PHEV models. Rated both, but loved the X5 45e and it seemed that the technology worked well - saw 35mpg over a longer run and over 10k miles, used pure electric for something like 48% of those miles! Has to be good - best of both worlds?
Personally, an EV works for me, just (we have an i3). Shorter distances are where they absolutely are excellent. Virtually cents to run and now my wife is back at work, looking at a weekly charge, and even better when the county brings charging stations to her work! Limited range is the concern, especially with the i3. Just takes planning to manage, but not impossible. A good modern EV is much better with an approx 300 mile range, but most manufacturers tell you to not charge to 100% all of the time anyway, so some zippy driving and not full charge and you are at 150-200 miles range. Thats OK for most things, but what happens if the round trip is 250 miles? Suddenly you have to plan more. Its all good, but a PHEV covers the short range stuff and you can just fill up anywhere you need - maybe even stop for a charge if you feel you want to.
Cant help thinking that its a great compromise. Though the modern PHEV's with 25+ miles are still super expensive at the moment. Like the idea of the X5, but thats $70k here in the US and suddenly its hitting limits of our budget. Was looking over the weekend, an Evoque PHEV would be great, but not coming to the US and still likely to be expensive. What about the middle range stuff? Mmmm
Personally, an EV works for me, just (we have an i3). Shorter distances are where they absolutely are excellent. Virtually cents to run and now my wife is back at work, looking at a weekly charge, and even better when the county brings charging stations to her work! Limited range is the concern, especially with the i3. Just takes planning to manage, but not impossible. A good modern EV is much better with an approx 300 mile range, but most manufacturers tell you to not charge to 100% all of the time anyway, so some zippy driving and not full charge and you are at 150-200 miles range. Thats OK for most things, but what happens if the round trip is 250 miles? Suddenly you have to plan more. Its all good, but a PHEV covers the short range stuff and you can just fill up anywhere you need - maybe even stop for a charge if you feel you want to.
Cant help thinking that its a great compromise. Though the modern PHEV's with 25+ miles are still super expensive at the moment. Like the idea of the X5, but thats $70k here in the US and suddenly its hitting limits of our budget. Was looking over the weekend, an Evoque PHEV would be great, but not coming to the US and still likely to be expensive. What about the middle range stuff? Mmmm
raspy said:
RyanOPlasty said:
It depends very much on how you use the car. PHEVs are excellent if you pay company car tax, and replace every 3 years, but if you regularly drive long distances they are ineffective.
I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
First of all, the 2.0 petrol in the C350e is a relatively inefficient and thirsty engine. Not every PHEV will have an inefficient petrol engine. Lots of C350e owners are managing 80-100mpg, because they are charging it every day. If you want to do regular motorway miles and want low fuel consumption, get a diesel. I had a c350e for a few years, and whilst it was an excellent car, I only managed 35 mpg rather than the headline 135. Carrying an electric motor and a flat battery around for long distances at realistic motorway speeds is not good for fuel consumption. I have also read reports of new batteries being required for Mercedes PHEV after 5 years at a cost of £7K.
On the other hand, if mostly driving short journeys when you can use electric propulsion all the time then a PHEV is ideal.
Regarding the reports of new batteries, those reports are in the minority, rather the majority of cars. The important thing to check for any prospective buyer, is how long the hybrid setup is warranted for (miles/years) and see if that fits in with how long you will own the car for.
I replaced my diesel merc with a bmw phev last year, for my usage it’s saving me about £80 a month. I charge it every night and most of my journeys are to clients and back not much more than the EV range. It’s nice to drive around town too the diesel merc was pretty clunky round town in comparison.
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