Company Phev suggestions
Discussion
Hi All
I'm after a bit of advice. I currently drive a 2016 320d estate business edition with a fair amount of bells and whistles (sports leather, radar cruise, dark windows, auto paddle shift, proper nav etc).
My mileage has gone overboard, so we need to send it back and pay the penalty and move on pretty swiftly. My colleagues who both drove 320d's have gone down the merc c350 hybrid estates, and I think they are quite nice, offer a good level of spec (not quite up to what mine was) and importantly the car tax is significantly reduced by having one.
Their gripes with it though are poor range and poor sat nav. I think the nav in the BMW is fantasic, but they constantly complain that it mis-guides you, is slow to load routes and frequently gets confused as to where you are.
with that in mind, can anyone suggest any other estatey phev's for me to look at? - comfort is a fair priority - need to be c class 3 series type, as opposed to E class, 5 series.
Finally, am I barking up the wrong tree specifying phev now, or should I be considering something else to minimse tax? I spent a lot of time in the car on business, so need to make the right decision.
cheers in advance
Neil.
I'm after a bit of advice. I currently drive a 2016 320d estate business edition with a fair amount of bells and whistles (sports leather, radar cruise, dark windows, auto paddle shift, proper nav etc).
My mileage has gone overboard, so we need to send it back and pay the penalty and move on pretty swiftly. My colleagues who both drove 320d's have gone down the merc c350 hybrid estates, and I think they are quite nice, offer a good level of spec (not quite up to what mine was) and importantly the car tax is significantly reduced by having one.
Their gripes with it though are poor range and poor sat nav. I think the nav in the BMW is fantasic, but they constantly complain that it mis-guides you, is slow to load routes and frequently gets confused as to where you are.
with that in mind, can anyone suggest any other estatey phev's for me to look at? - comfort is a fair priority - need to be c class 3 series type, as opposed to E class, 5 series.
Finally, am I barking up the wrong tree specifying phev now, or should I be considering something else to minimse tax? I spent a lot of time in the car on business, so need to make the right decision.
cheers in advance
Neil.
EVLATECOMER said:
You're going to struggle to order any of the cars mentioned as they have all stopped taking orders over the past 3 or 4 months due to the changes to emissions testing with WLTP.
There are some pipeline orders and used examples at dealers, but many lease companies have taken them off their ordering systems; hopefully you'll get something sorted if not wait until September for the WLTP mess to clear up.
thanks for the info - I hadn't read up on that until now.There are some pipeline orders and used examples at dealers, but many lease companies have taken them off their ordering systems; hopefully you'll get something sorted if not wait until September for the WLTP mess to clear up.
This was also backed up by the Merc dealer who basically said forget it until September. My only concern is that if I wait until then I my tax implications might be more than they are now for a hybrid, so I wonder if it is worthwhile trying to hunt something down.
Volvo called and said they might be able to get me a v90 hybrid if I acted quickly.
oop north said:
If they get reassessed as being over 50g/km (I think that has happened with the xc90 T8 for example) then you are out of the ultra low emissions tax banding (haven’t looked to see what the effect is though)
exactly, which is why its important to sort it now before the re-assessment.Been offered a merc c350e estate and Volvo v90 r-design pro hybrid, both stock cars so could have them now. both give me great BIK savings. quite fancy the Volvo now given the spec, but it is a fair bit more expensive (57k)
RicksAlfas said:
The basic Merc sat nav (Garmin) is poor as your colleagues have found. The optional COMAND system is completely different and uses TomTom software. I won't say it's perfect, but it's much better than the standard setup.
Do you know if it is upgradable to the TomTom software?RicksAlfas said:
No. It's a completely different media system unfortunately.
It's called "COMAND ONLINE" and comes with the (expensive) Premium or (very expensive) Premium Plus pack.
Hmm. The model I have on order as of yesterday is an obsidian black over black c350e sport premium estate. It's called "COMAND ONLINE" and comes with the (expensive) Premium or (very expensive) Premium Plus pack.
RicksAlfas said:
24valve said:
Hmm. The model I have on order as of yesterday is an obsidian black over black c350e sport premium estate.
That should be the better nav system then.Are you going for fastest hearse in the west?
I would have preferred a dysentery beige interior, but I didn't get much choice.
Well, my new c350e arrived last friday and I love it.
Its well built, fast but at the same time is nice and serene to cruise around in. I dont feel like it needs driving like I stole it like the BMW is. I like some of the features - the panoramic roof, ambient lighting, touch sensitive doors etc.
I've had a good quality tint put on the rear windows (needed because of the kit I end up carrying around), and has added to the looks I think.
Not so good points - at the moment, the average economy is dire. its very sensitive to the way I drive (and since I am in the playing stages it looks bad), however if I drive it sensibly utilising a full charge and in eco mode/driving on electric in towns) I can get about 41mpg. still not great, but hey ho.
More annoying is the sat nav which seems like its got a 486 processor on board and the woeful hifi. Plymouth car audio are sorting the sounds out on Tuesday with a sub and some focals, so hopefully it should sound much better.
Its well built, fast but at the same time is nice and serene to cruise around in. I dont feel like it needs driving like I stole it like the BMW is. I like some of the features - the panoramic roof, ambient lighting, touch sensitive doors etc.
I've had a good quality tint put on the rear windows (needed because of the kit I end up carrying around), and has added to the looks I think.
Not so good points - at the moment, the average economy is dire. its very sensitive to the way I drive (and since I am in the playing stages it looks bad), however if I drive it sensibly utilising a full charge and in eco mode/driving on electric in towns) I can get about 41mpg. still not great, but hey ho.
More annoying is the sat nav which seems like its got a 486 processor on board and the woeful hifi. Plymouth car audio are sorting the sounds out on Tuesday with a sub and some focals, so hopefully it should sound much better.
24valve said:
Well, my new c350e arrived last friday and I love it.
Its well built, fast but at the same time is nice and serene to cruise around in. I dont feel like it needs driving like I stole it like the BMW is. I like some of the features - the panoramic roof, ambient lighting, touch sensitive doors etc.
I've had a good quality tint put on the rear windows (needed because of the kit I end up carrying around), and has added to the looks I think.
Not so good points - at the moment, the average economy is dire. its very sensitive to the way I drive (and since I am in the playing stages it looks bad), however if I drive it sensibly utilising a full charge and in eco mode/driving on electric in towns) I can get about 41mpg. still not great, but hey ho.
More annoying is the sat nav which seems like its got a 486 processor on board and the woeful hifi. Plymouth car audio are sorting the sounds out on Tuesday with a sub and some focals, so hopefully it should sound much better.
Its well built, fast but at the same time is nice and serene to cruise around in. I dont feel like it needs driving like I stole it like the BMW is. I like some of the features - the panoramic roof, ambient lighting, touch sensitive doors etc.
I've had a good quality tint put on the rear windows (needed because of the kit I end up carrying around), and has added to the looks I think.
Not so good points - at the moment, the average economy is dire. its very sensitive to the way I drive (and since I am in the playing stages it looks bad), however if I drive it sensibly utilising a full charge and in eco mode/driving on electric in towns) I can get about 41mpg. still not great, but hey ho.
More annoying is the sat nav which seems like its got a 486 processor on board and the woeful hifi. Plymouth car audio are sorting the sounds out on Tuesday with a sub and some focals, so hopefully it should sound much better.
Just to add to this - still loving the car. Plymouth Audio did a great job of upgrading the woeful hifi and I now have Android Auto/Apple Carplay integration courtesy of Braybooks. This alone has benefited me so much as having full spotify availability has been a massive improvement, as is the better satnav/use of google maps and waze etc. absolutely brilliant.
Mpg is getting better - I managed 46mpg on a run from home in Cornwall to Poole, then onto Oxford and back down to Andover. I was driving like a nun though.
jonwm said:
How does your company look at things like upgrading audio? dies the aftermarket system just come straight out? reason i ask is i paid for the HK system in the BMW but would have preferred if i could have done something myself afterwards to save on the lease costs
Fortunately, I work for a fairly small company who bought the car outright (I was an exception to the rule this time though), so no lease problems to worry about.The audio upgrades can be easily removed and put back to standard, and the android auto thing was a simple merc approved upgrade anyway, so just plugs in and recoded the car to accommodate it.
I suppose some might say its stupid to spend a few quid on what isn't technically "my" car, however I spend a lot of time in it and having a good hifi and decent comms/navigation is pretty essential.
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