Jonttt

Hi, I'm a pretty regular forum poster for my hobby cars but have never bothered with my daily drivers before but...... this hybrid really does seem cutting edge so thought I would join the club to share experiences.

A little background, I'm UK based, I've "downsized" over the past few years from an S500 to E350 to the C300 I picked up last week. As this is a company car I am saving over £1,000 per month in tax compared to the S500 which at my age I would rather have in my pocket more than the tax mans.

I do have regular access to some very nice cars and so the daily acts really as my "official" car for tax purposes so I have the luxury of not having to drive it much if I don't want to but so far I've been more than happy to jump in the drivers seat.

In the first week I've done a tour of the Scottish highlands for work so covered c£800 miles of really mixed driving so am getting to grips with it.

What really appealed to me, apart from the obvious tax savings over the E350, was that it feels S class quality. I looked at new E classes but mine was a very high spec and apart from a slight facelift it would have been identical inside and the C class actually has a higher class, more modern feel albeit obviously smaller.

I don't pay for fuel so MPG is not really an issue for me but on mostly comfort setting I got c50MPG. If I had bought this purely for MPG against the claimed 80MPG I would be disappointed. I have friends who run eco versions of the 3 series returning genuine c70MPG.

The real revelation to me has been the hybrid integration that mercedes have put together. My only real experience of hybrids before has been a little time behind the wheel of a Lexus but that was older technology and the heavy long wheelbase limo version.

The boost function in sport + mode really does make the car a jackel and hyde proposition, its like driving two completely different cars when in comfort mode.

I love the way the electric and diesel blends, having true stop and go etc... other cars I have driven don't actually work as the engine has to power the air con compressor when stopped.

Seeing the rev counter constantly drop to 0 when no load on the engine is weird at first especially when you are doing 70MPH + but I'm starting to ignore it.

The real fun is in sport + mode and watching the KERS under heavy braking recharge the batteries, it almost encourages you to drive faster lol. The brakes almost seem over specced as they really do stop on a sixpence.

I bought this on an impulse as I jsut fancied a change ie I walked into my local dealer a week last tuesday, they had just taken delivery of it as a demo for the Sales Manager and I visited to sit in some new E Classes. I preferred the look / interior of the new C class but at first dismissed them as they don't do a 3 litre plus motor unless I went AMG variant of which I did not want to pay the company car tax. But when I saw this car being prepped I persuaded them to sell it to me ;-)

Spec is AMG Premium with Airmatic and privacy glass. They also had a premium plus but on testing I much preferred the airmatic which really tightens the car up in Sport+ mode (I used to have it on my S class).

some pics of the car...




I am really enjoying the car and to put it in perspective some of its competition that I can choose from which I think says how good I think it is ;-)

Jonttt

Couple of updates....

The silver trim around the centre coin tray cup holder flaked off about 3mm It was where the drinks holder lid lifts so could have been construed that I had trapped something against it closing the lid. To be fair nipped into my local dealer, they took some pics and booked it in for a warranty repair. It needs a whole new centre as the silver edging is not a seperately part so they need it for a few hours.

I finally figured out how to update the map pilot SD card maps. The merc website kept on looping to install some Adobe software but I discovered this was a chrome issue, when I used explorer it worked. Once the download manager is installed you have to insert the SD card before running the software. Run the software, it asks for a username and password and you just make anything up, it then looks for the SD card, tells you what maps are on it and what updates are available. Mine was on 2014 v2.4 and updated to 2014 v4.0. All very easy once you figure out the chrome issue and sequence of inserting the card.
Ps when installed in the car the system says v2.4 maps still but that does not mean the maps have not updated, it's reading the original SD card hex header which is not changed (I'm used to hacking becker maps ;-)

I was told my car could use the remote connect me apps when I bought it. The handover specialist even put the app on my phone but mercedes support confirmed my car does not have this feature as its a £150 option not fitted (standard on a premium plus pack). Not a deal breaker for me but I don't like being mis sold or giving someone access to my phone who not doing their job properly so formal complaint raised. Let's see what they come back with, not expecting much but if the sales staff get taught properly that's something

smudge

Thanks for your amazing feedback Jonttt.

I'm waiting mine for several months now :S

I saw all youtube videos about this model, but found almost nothing related with the Hybrid function.
Most of european guys don't bother sharing information/experience.

Cheers

Jonttt

No problem.

I'm not sure how different the overall package would be without the air suspension option but my favourite "normal" driving setting is now the customisable :

Suspension - Sport +
Steering - Sport +
Engine - comfort
air con - comfort

I can easily "flick" down to Sport + setting instantly if / when I want the "go - cart" feel / quick getaways / joining motorways and then flick back up to custom settings straight after.

Real world, mixed use driving over the first 2,000 miles now has returned an average of c44MPG. I would class my driving style as relaxed sport ie I'll floor it when it takes my fancy and motorway cruise above the speed limit but am happy to follow the flow of traffic most of the time.

I'm still enjoying driving the car compared to my E350 (which was also full AMG sport trim but without air suspension). It feels faster in real world driving and the interior cabin is superior IMHO. The E class really needs the cabin updating now which I believe is due at the end of this year.

ps the dealer has contacted me about the connect me "misinformation" to apologise. They are filling the tank for me when I take it to get the trim replaced at the end of this week as a goodwill gesture (worth c£50). I have told them I'm happy with this as it probably wasted 2 hours of my time, my main issue is it gives Mercedes the chance to recognise / improve the apparently woefull training they are giving their sales teams on new technology installed in the cars.

pps mentioning the fuel has reminded me I have a slight concern over the tank capacity. It is definately reduced due to the hybrid batteries. I ran it empty and it took c£50 to fill. My E class would take £90 of fuel. That would give me c550 miles on a tank, the C class is showing less than 400 miles estimated. I average c500 miles per week so in the E class I could often get away with filling it only once a week. However I think the C class is going to be at least twice a week despite the 33% increase in MPG (E350 averaged c33MPG, C300 is averaging c44MPG). That will be an annoyance I never thought about as I hate queuing at petrol stations.

simon.willis27

Got a call today from my dealer today moving back delivery yet another month !!!!!

This time I'm told .... Technical build changes are delaying production and delivery of all c300 hybrids

Does anybody know anything about this? And what is the average wait time for a c300 hybrid .... I've now been waiting 16 weeks and been told not to now expect before September. Anybody hearing anything similar?

smudge

No way!? I'll contact my dealer tomorrow to clarify the situation.
I'm supposed to receive my car next two weeks or so...

If they come with another delay I'll cancel my order. That's insane wait this times for a car.

smudge

Hi Simon,

Can't confirm your "rumor" about global delays for C300h, accordingly my local dealership.

My order is on track with expected delivery date.

I had already a delay from 1 June to mid August and is enough for me... fingers crossed this time :P

Cheers

simon.willis27

Thanks Smudge, If you hear anything please let me know and I'll do the same ....

If anyone else hears anything on delays I'd be grateful of a heads up as I'm very close to giving up and buying something from a showroom (probably not a mercedes!)

simon.willis27

So I've received an explanation for the delay tonight ..... Cupholders

Apparently my car is built .... But awaiting cupholders .... Does anyone think that this could be a legitimate reason?

simon.willis27

I've been given a tracking number to prove the car has been built .... Is there a website\ portal I can put this number and into to check?

smudge

That's crazy!

If that really matters, mine comes without cup holders

Shakespeare

2 weeks ago I got delivery of my MY16 C300h as they now call it - much less of a mouthful than C300 Bluetech Hybrid and less lettering on the boot! I ordered it in last week of Feb and had an initial delivery date of 23rd July - so actually got 3 weeks early. Maybe I was lucky or my chosen spec was not plagued by delays. The apparent delay due to cup holders seems bizarre.

Only done 1,500 miles so far - but thoroughly pleased. I have had other hybrids before (Prius & Lexus) which enabled more electric only drive (up to 30mph), but we're much less refined. I'm averaging 61mpg - which isn't bad, but less than I got in Lexus hybrid. However, this is a much quicker car and encourages you to drive a bit quicker.

Really glad I got the airmatic - ride is great; although can still be unsettled by potholes. I haven't had a chance to use ILS yet - not driven in the dark. I wish I'd ordered HUD - had it on my Prius and Lexus so takes time to adjust to looking at the dash again! Burmeister sound system is very good- although must admit I'm no audiophile. The wind noise levels can reach audible levels when traveling at motorway speeds in crosswinds - but has not reached a level to bother me or be worse than other cars I have recently had. One thing I have found strange is that there is no outside temperature reading on the C300h - it is disabled so that the display can show the battery charge level and speed in kph.

Fingers crossed for quick delivery of your C300h.

smudge

Thanks for your nice contribution in this thread.

Mine will have the new lettering too: C300h
But this was was recent change.

What about the general behavior of car by merging the diesel and the electric motors?
I'm very excited to check it out, because start stop alone is a little frustrating (test drive a C220), always turning on and off when you just need to go forward 2 or 3 meters in a traffic jam.

Another curiosity is sportiness of this car, power and speed, what can you share about this? :P

Cheers

Jonttt

There is An outside temp display on one of the digital display options in the binnacle ;-)

I think the diesel hybrid integration is great. I've driven start stop cars before and either they never work (as the engine has to run the air con compressor) or they are annoying if you want a quick getaway. On comfort mode the start stop works all of the time and the electric motor torque can really launch you away before the diesel takes over, the faster you take off the more seem less the change, at slower speeds you can feel the diesel kick in as it's not the most refined diesel out there.

Same on motorways which was my biggest concern coming from an E350 daily driver but floor it and the electric kicks in for a few seconds to support the initial diesel turbo lag. It works really well, you really feel like a formula one driver using a KERS system to boost performance lol.

Put it in sport + mode and it all feels hectic (I have air suspension) like your driving a totally different car. The ride is notably harder but handling so much better. I'm used to much stiffer suspension in my sports cars though so my configurable setting is comfort engine mode (which is fast enough for 95% of driving) and sport + for steering and suspension.

You'll have great fun in it, really gives an insight to the future of high performance sports cars IMHO. I still can't get my head around it will only cost my £200 per month in company car tax

wolvmerc

Hi
I've now got 6000+ miles on the car I get about 50-55 mpg.

Interesting thing I've noticed though,
The electric motor doesn't kick in as often as it used to. Also while I'm stood in traffic I notice that the combustion engine kicks in for no reason while I'm stationary, this I comfort or eco mode. I'm starting to wonder if something isn't working right. This never used to happen before.

Jonttt

I'm guessing a little here but the car may "adapt" once it learns your driving habits, I think mine is doing that ?

Also I think mine has kicked in Whilst stationary when the battery level was under c50% and the air con compressor was working hard to cool the cabin. Mine 95% of the time allows me to reverse out of the drive in electric mode from first startup but occasionally the diesel kicks as soon as I move. I've not 100% identified why but I think it's probably to do with air con workload

neil.pass

Mine delivered this morning, so far no issues and very impressed overall

smudge

Congrats and good luck with your new car!

Mine has already a VIN number, the car is being assembled in Bremen.

Anyone knows how much it takes to complete?

simon.willis27

Depends if you're fussy and want it to come with cupholders .....

My dealer is sticking with the cupholder excuse .... Do you know if all c300 UK bound hybrids are made in Germany?

smudge

No cup holders for me

The information I've from my dealer is that all C300 Hybrids are made in Germany plant, others comes from South Africa.

neil.pass

Mine was built in Bremen and was delayed, the dealer reported a combination of black ash wood and pano roof causing the delay

genevaman

I have a C300 hybrid Estate - the hybrid functionality does not seem to work. The diesel engine always starts up even at 85%+ charge - so from a start it never runs on the electric motor alone. Anybody experienced this ?

smudge

This is not normal in 'Confort' or 'Eco' mode.
Only 'Sport' and 'Sport+' bypass the electric engine.
Can you confirm what mode is active when you start the car?

genevaman

Yes - it is Eco or Comfort

smudge

Humm, very weird.
My car does not start the diesel engine unless I pull the trigger past 30km/h.
My recommendation is to check any messages in car onboard diagnostics and ask some support from MB.