Crocket

Hi all,
Looking for some mileage advice please.

Am looking at ordering the C350e as the low tax implications make it a good fit for me, but I'm more than a little concerned about the MPG I should expect.

My driving is mixed - I work in the field, some motorway, some minor roads, some local - probably longer distance journeys than shorter distance overall (20k per year).

Currently drive a BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics (economical driver/economical setting), and get 59mpg.

I dont expect to get anywhere close to 100+mpg like advertised, but wonder what realistic estimates might be?

Thanks all!

mgfan

I would say that will depend 100% on the type of driving you do. If most of your runs are less then 20 miles and you can plug in at each end then the economy will be awesome however as soon as the petrol engine has to get involved it will deteriorate pretty quickly. A good example of that was the i8 tested by top gear which only managed something like 35mpg during their road test of it.

I've got the C300 hybrid which doesn't have quite the same headline figure as the 350e however it does still achieve very reasonable economy on a long run and tax wise it isn't too bad either.

joshg1001

recent US reviews are saying that in hybrid mode (that is the battery is depleted), they were getting between 35-40mpg. Of course, when the first 18 miles are gas free, that inflates your mpg numbers greatly and depending on your commute, you might not even use any gas

Crocket

Thanks.

Although there will be LOTS of 3 - 4 mileage journeys in a week, all of my 'work' journeys throughout the week will generally be a minimum of 40 miles each way, and I'm not sure how good I will be at plugging it in.
Does the battery not assist in some way on motorway driving to help mileage, or is that quite a small benefit?

mihaelb

It will. See the comment right before yours.

Alexmac10

I wish they'd bring this car out in the AMG trim and then I'd be all in. Would be ideal for my daily work commute.

joshg1001

Alex, same problem. If there was amg trim, I would have no doubt it is my next car. Even if I can live without the AMG exterior trim, in the US, it also bundles in the MB stitching on the dash and doors which I can't live without.

joshg1001

If you are driving along with the battery depleted, you can switch to a mode where the car is charging the battery for you by using gasoline. I suspect in this mode, MPG suffers. However, you will then have a full battery when you get to your destination

Alexmac10

Pretty sure it does that. would be a big hit on MPG though so not sure that would be worth it. Also when you brake it takes the energy from that and tops up the battery a bit.

mgfan

That was the deal breaker for me as well. The 350e was announced before my 300 bluetec order was into production so I asked the dealer about changing, when he pointed out that it wasn't available in the AMG line I decided to stick with what I've now got. The other problem I have is not having a garage means having to plug it in outside. Not a problem when it's nice and sunny but when you get home on a cold rainy day the last thing I would want to do would be to start messing with leads. At least with mine I just put diesel in and go!

hummerhealey

Over here in NL you can have the "Exclusive" interior. That has te stitching on the dash and doors.

Crocket

Thanks for all the responses, this is becoming a bit of a dilemma!
It's not so much about performance for me, more about styling, cost and economy.
C350e fits my budget, but I have real concerns about the MPG I can achieve.
C220 looks like it can give me the MPG I want, but with Mercedes only giving the upgrades on autos, the cost for this just get a bit too high (I only really want the keyless start!)

Alexmac10

I'm in the same position, i asked mercedes about the AMG trim and they said there is no plans for it in the UK. Also said no plans for c450 this year either which was another model i was looking at. I love the new C class looks and interior but want a bit more performance than the current UK line up. Wish we could get the c400 here.

simon.willis27

The C220 lacks power and the mpg real world is at best 55 ....
The c350e is an unknown mpg ... Seems a lot of hassle ... And I couldn't get in amg line
The C300 hybrid got over 60mpg when I tested it (mainly motorway) and you can get in amg line .... The battery gives a much welcome boost when you floor it .... And I decided on the airmatic suspension given the additional weight of the c300 and the lowered amg pack (although I wanted the amg styling).

In summary I went for the c300 hybrid in amg line with airmatic .... Hoping to cover all bases ..

Amg styling (tick)
Good mpg on long journeys (tick)
Good power and good acceleration (tick)
Both comfort and sport suspension \ airmatic (tick)

Good luck whatever you choose - if anyone has got a c350e I too would be interested in the real world mpg!

Crocket

Our fleet guy has told me dealerships are only taking intital limited orders for the C350e, so if I don't get in quick it, it won't be until next year.
Don't really want to be the guineapig getting 45mpg

hummerhealey

And when you do that a couple of times it is just a C250 (211HP) with an additional 660 pounds (300 kg). And all of a sudden 0 to 60 is not 6s but 7,5 or 8.

simon.willis27

In the uk The extra kerb weight is 145kg (+9%), but you get +20% torque and +36% bhp over the C220 .... Or you can drive it frugally you can enjoy the extra mpg.

I drove all three (c220, c250 & c300hybrid) the c220 lacked power the c250 was a step-up and the extra power and refinement was very noticeable (a bit surprising given its the same engine!). The c300 felt a little heavier than c250, but the electric motor seemed to take some of the harshness away. (Still the same engine!). I might regret paying the extra for the heavier c300 but only time will tell on the mpg, especially if I do use the electric motor for extra performance rather than to try and increase mpg.

Tash1977

I ordered my c350e sports premier plus in tenorite grey last month. I have got a delivery date of mid September. I have done a lot of research myself in the mpg it will give. It totally depends on ur journey n driving. For me I will be driving to work each way 16 miles. I will be recharging at work so basically I will not be using no fuel to commute. I have a garage so will be always on charge when in garage. I work central London so again no congestion charge n free parking in Westminster and hoping for increase charge points soon. We work car park with plugin charging. Basically I m planing to hardly use any fuel unless travelling long distance maybe once in 6 months. Remember this is a very intelligent car and in all forms of driving will give u more mpg than any other c class model. U will have to get use to with the driving habbits that's suits ur kind of driving and use right modes n u can achieve more than 100 mpg and in my case i plan to use 5 gallons for a 1000 miles as plan to use e mode with 2 full charges a day giving me 38 miles of gas free driving daily.

Tash1977

I ordered my c350e sports premier plus in tenorite grey last month. I have got a delivery date of mid September. I have done a lot of research myself in the mpg it will give. It totally depends on ur journey n driving. For me I will be driving to work each way 16 miles. I will be recharging at work so basically I will not be using no fuel to commute. I have a garage so will be always on charge when in garage. I work central London so again no congestion charge n free parking in Westminster and hoping for increase charge points soon. We work car park with plugin charging. Basically I m planing to hardly use any fuel unless travelling long distance maybe once in 6 months. Remember this is a very intelligent car and in all forms of driving will give u more mpg than any other c class model. U will have to get use to with the driving habbits that's suits ur kind of driving and use right modes n u can achieve more than 100 mpg and in my case i plan to use 5 gallons for a 1000 miles as plan to use e mode with 2 full charges a day giving me 38 miles of gas free driving daily.

Quonker

I'm very curious about mpg as well.


I do regular longer journeys and I'm hoping that the mpg using the petrol engine will be quite reasonable, not as good as the standard non-hybrid version but reasonable especially given that the battery charges via brake regeneration as well.


I love the look of the C350e and it's reasonably priced given the government contribution but one of it's main plus points is the huge BiK tax savings, I've worked this out to save me £180 a month which is staggering.

Tash1977

I know how u feel. It is a very amazing car. Like I said it is very intelligent car so will give u best possible mpg even on a long route. I think in ur case u will be using more hybrid mode or the e save mode which will save electric for for stop n go traffic. U need to plan ur journeys to get the best out of it. Like I said before if u can get 2 charges out of it more economical the car will be. Best of luck. Give feed backs once u start driving. U will figure out the best modes for ur style of driving.

ben1980

Im interested in what you guys managed to get on long runs in the 300h and 350e, i currently have the cla 220d and its pretty good in AMG spec and it looked the nuts. But its company car and like most im driven by the BIK, tax and what i can make a month on the fuel. Currently im averaging i would say about 55mpg in the CLA which is pretty good it means i make about 4p per mile as its over a 2 litre.

Doing the comparison work the c300h looks like it would be the better fit as its a diesel its over a 2 litre and its a hybrid. I do about 45,000 miles a year so most of my journeys are up a motorway cruising at about 78-80 mph this is where i think the diesel will come into its own,

But of course i was pulled to the 100+ MPG of the c350e but reading it sounds like once that 19 miles has gone the rest of my journey is being completed by the 2 litre petrol but im carrying alot more weight. But i have to question it my friend has a lexus is300h and thats a 2.4 petrol but he is getting up to 60mpg on runs around 60-100 miles. ( ok its not a plug in )

Just want to get it right before spending close to £40k on a motor

Tash1977

Had my 350e premium plus for 4 months now. Amazing car. Having lot of fun. Your question regarding mpg is a trickery one. First of all you don't get 19 miles on full charge. In realistic driving u will only get maximum 10 to 11 miles. Secondly like you said u have lot of motor way driving then you are looking at 35 to 45 miles a gallon. It is a very good car if your commute is 15 miles each way. In my case I charge full and drive to work 15 miles and then charge Ful at work drive back home. Then charge at home for local driving and I get over 100 miles a gallon. To get any where near 100 miles gallon you will need to full charge car 3 times a day which gives u 33 miles of electric drive plus few more miles on petrol. I have developed the habit of charging 3 or 4 times a day. I have located charging points at places where I usually go such as supermarkets and shopping centres. In short it can be very efficient in short bursts of 10 to 15 miles at one charge but anything longer without a charge will bring mpg down to 40 or 45 and incase of motor way 35 mpg. But like I said amazing car for me and due to my style of use 100 mpg is just amazing. I work in central London and no congestion charge is awesome plus I save 190 pounds on travel pass which I use to get but now I drive to work almost on electric charge.

xgman

There is always a lot of if and and buts when discussing this car and real mpg estimates. I guess in the end I am hoping for close to 40mpg overall (mixed long and short trip driving) without much attention to obsessive plugging in, except for maybe at night. The plugin part of this model seems to be an afterthought. Severely limited. I still think they should have just made this a regular hybrid. All of it's competition has larger capacity. The BMW 330e has 7,6 kWh. The Audi etron has 8.8kWh. This compared to the wimpy Mercedes 6.38kWh size. They could have easily upped that a bit. It would have helped.

mgfan

If most of your driving is long motorways then I would say the 300h will be the way to go. In mine I get 50+mpg on a motorway without trying. As you pointed out when the hybrid power pack is depleted with the 350e you have no real advantage over a petrol.

For my driving (around 50 miles on mixed roads a day) I was torn between the 2 however in the end it was not being able to get the AMG pack on the 350e which made me chose the 300h.