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That's sad but guess it's my sign, so I'll just bide my time.
Originally Posted by DarrenK
The 550e does not have a spare. This is due to the size of the hybrid battery. They do have the extended mobility tires which are a type of run flat. I know Mercedes sells compact inflatable spares for other vehicles. I suppose you could use one for the 550e if the wheel size was correct when inflated. I never go anywhere isolated and I have AAA so not a huge concern for me...
Not too impressed with the fuel economy. With over 2000 miles on the vehicle, it is showing around 25 mpg. My wife drives it 13 miles to work and back every day. It will go the 13 miles and the charge is done about a mile away from home (big hill). With the majority of the miles put on this vehicle in e-mode, I would expect higher values.
Recently, I did 2 test runs of 110 miles each in different modes.
In the first test, I drove in e-mode and when that ran out, charge mode. I switched back and forth between the two for the 110 miles. It takes double the miles (roughly 34 miles) to get a full charge back (17 miles showing is full). This was on the freeway going between 60 and 70 mph. No hot rodding. I got ~ 23 mpg. The charge mode would not drop the mpg during the test below 21 mpg. I think this is the best economy that can be achieved in the most stressful mode of the vehicle. It would hit 21 then climb a little, never going below 21 mpg in charge mode.
On the second test, I drove in hybrid mode. Same speed. I got ~27 mpg, until I hit the hill in the last mile. By the time I got home, it was 25 mpg.
Don't know how they came up with 39 mpg city and 50 mpg hwy.
The window sticker says 43 mpg in combo gas/electric and says 21 mpg gas only.
I guess this is better than the GLE 350 4matic with 18 city and 22 hwy.
I think someone needs to offer a larger battery for this vehicle. Period.
The MB parts guy sent me a link to a buggy the carries a battery so the vehicle can travel 400 miles on a charge, but who wants to tow a buggy around?
Not too impressed with the fuel economy. With over 2000 miles on the vehicle, it is showing around 25 mpg. My wife drives it 13 miles to work and back every day. It will go the 13 miles and the charge is done about a mile away from home (big hill). With the majority of the miles put on this vehicle in e-mode, I would expect higher values.
Recently, I did 2 test runs of 110 miles each in different modes.
In the first test, I drove in e-mode and when that ran out, charge mode. I switched back and forth between the two for the 110 miles. It takes double the miles (roughly 34 miles) to get a full charge back (17 miles showing is full). This was on the freeway going between 60 and 70 mph. No hot rodding. I got ~ 23 mpg. The charge mode would not drop the mpg during the test below 21 mpg. I think this is the best economy that can be achieved in the most stressful mode of the vehicle. It would hit 21 then climb a little, never going below 21 mpg in charge mode.
On the second test, I drove in hybrid mode. Same speed. I got ~27 mpg, until I hit the hill in the last mile. By the time I got home, it was 25 mpg.
Don't know how they came up with 39 mpg city and 50 mpg hwy.
The window sticker says 43 mpg in combo gas/electric and says 21 mpg gas only.
I guess this is better than the GLE 350 4matic with 18 city and 22 hwy.
I think someone needs to offer a larger battery for this vehicle. Period.
The MB parts guy sent me a link to a buggy the carries a battery so the vehicle can travel 400 miles on a charge, but who wants to tow a buggy around?
It is however, an enjoyable car to drive...
Thanks for the update NorCal. Does your wife get to charge at work? I was a little confused about whether she was making it 13 miles to work, and then 12 miles back on the original charge, or if she was re-charging and only getting 12 miles on the way home. Is her commute all hgihway, or does she get some regen from stop and go traffic?
You're figures are pretty shocking to me. I follow a BMW X5 40e forum, and owners there are going 700-1600 miles between fill-ups when they have short commutes, and/or can charge at work. Since the e-miles on the two vehicles appear to be similar, I thought the GLE 550e would do as well.
Thanks for the update NorCal. Does your wife get to charge at work? I was a little confused about whether she was making it 13 miles to work, and then 12 miles back on the original charge, or if she was re-charging and only getting 12 miles on the way home. Is her commute all hgihway, or does she get some regen from stop and go traffic?
You're figures are pretty shocking to me. I follow a BMW X5 40e forum, and owners there are going 700-1600 miles between fill-ups when they have short commutes, and/or can charge at work. Since the e-miles on the two vehicles appear to be similar, I thought the GLE 550e would do as well.
She Drives 6.5 miles to work and 6.5 miles home. The only charge of the battery occurs overnight when the vehicle is at home. So with this overnight charge, the vehicle gets her to work and almost all the way back home.
It is in town driving, no freeway, but there are some changes in elevation - not a completely flat road traversed,
When she leaves, there is a good downhill for the first mile, but the battery is fully charged in the beginning so the regen is not of much help. On the way home, once back to this hill, the battery is drained.
She Drives 6.5 miles to work and 6.5 miles home. The only charge of the battery occurs overnight when the vehicle is at home. So with this overnight charge, the vehicle gets her to work and almost all the way back home.
It is in town driving, no freeway, but there are some changes in elevation - not a completely flat road traversed,
When she leaves, there is a good downhill for the first mile, but the battery is fully charged in the beginning so the regen is not of much help. On the way home, once back to this hill, the battery is drained.
I did forget to ask about the buggy carrier with a battery. Can you PM me the link.
One of the true successes of the electric car is the ability to have solar panels on your house to benefit the cost of the electricity for the vehicle.
However, in my PG&E locale, we have different tiers with different rate costs, so the power made by the solar panels is ultimately used in a "time of day" scenario. My thought to control this time frame would be to put a timer in-line when the charge starts so that it will come on when the electricity cost is the least expensive (.11 cents/kwh compared to .24 cent/kwh for tier two and .44 cent/kwh for tier three). MB disallows any adapters be installed between the outlet and the charging cable, so a standard time clock could be problematic. For me, the max. electricity benefit occurs at 11:00 pm until 7:00 am in the morning. Not wanting to get up out of bed and plug in my car at 11:00 pm (early riser, early to bed), there are chargers available that can program the start times of the device. This would allow for more electricity cost savings.
The ability to control start times are available with certain chargers. I have not purchased one yet, but if I do, it will be one that I can control the start times with.
Last edited by Nor Cal SL55; Nov 6, 2016 at 02:23 PM.
One of the true successes of the electric car is the ability to have solar panels on your house to benefit the cost of the electricity for the vehicle.
However, in my PG&E locale, we have different tiers with different rate costs, so the power made by the solar panels is ultimately used in a "time of day" scenario. My thought to control this time frame would be to put a timer in-line when the charge starts so that it will come on when the electricity cost is the least expensive (.11 cents/kwh compared to .24 cent/kwh for tier two and .44 cent/kwh for tier three). MB disallows any adapters be installed between the outlet and the charging cable, so a standard time clock could be problematic. For me, the max. electricity benefit occurs at 11:00 pm until 7:00 am in the morning. Not wanting to get up out of bed and plug in my car at 11:00 pm (early riser, early to bed), there are chargers available that can program the start times of the device. This would allow for more electricity cost savings.
The ability to control start times are available with certain chargers. I have not purchased one yet, but if I do, it will be one that I can control the start times with.
I am surprised there is not anything built into the e-mobility app, mBrace app or Command system that would allow you to set the time to start charging. I know the BMW X5 40e can do this, as can the Tesla.
Given MB lackadaisical approach to everything electric vehicle related, I truly think their production of these cars is a have to, not want to situation.
Still waiting on mine to be released from the Vance VPC. Built last week. Wondering if it will come anyt time soon. I may have to find something else.
Filled up New Year's Day for the second time. Just under 1000 miles total. I think the engine is still breaking in. Had done a lot of non-electric driving over the holiday weekend. Overall mileage per my calculation was 29 mpg. That includes all the electric driving I did. The wife was off work all last week, so I did not have to detour to the train station and barely used any gas, and then only by accident when I forgot to put the car in e-mode (it always starts up in hybrid.) Before all the extended driving over the weekend, the dash display was saying over 30 mpg since inception. This is actually low, because even when in electric the readout says 99.9 when actually 0 gas is being used, so the overall number may be low.
Also figured out how to get the eco feature working. The individualized setting on the suspension/engine/steering switch has an "eco" setting. When combined with the "eco route" in the Nav system it is supposed to improve mileage if you leave it in hybrid. But I drive to work and back in e-mode and don't worry about it. I do take the flattest route possible.
I also had a level 2 charger installed and what a world of difference in how fast it charges! It no longer takes over night. Today I went to work, came home for lunch and the car was fully charged again when the wife and I left for honeydo errands.
Now if I could only find the time to take it to the dealer for that incredibly loud creaking/squeaking!
Filled up New Year's Day for the second time. Just under 1000 miles total. I think the engine is still breaking in. Had done a lot of non-electric driving over the holiday weekend. Overall mileage per my calculation was 29 mpg. That includes all the electric driving I did. The wife was off work all last week, so I did not have to detour to the train station and barely used any gas, and then only by accident when I forgot to put the car in e-mode (it always starts up in hybrid.) Before all the extended driving over the weekend, the dash display was saying over 30 mpg since inception. This is actually low, because even when in electric the readout says 99.9 when actually 0 gas is being used, so the overall number may be low.
Just wait until you spend some time on the highway. The balance of city (electric) and highway (gas) ultimately determines the overall fuel economy. If you spent most of your time in electric and don't put miles on the highway, your mpg results will be great. If you drive mainly highway miles, the mpg rate will decline down into the low 20's.
Do a tripometer reset when you take a 300, 400, or 500 mile highway trip and you will see what I mean.
The battery is small and does work well on around town excursions under 20 miles in the electric and/or hybrid mode. On the highway, the electricity (hybrid) doesn't last too long and the vehicle will drive almost completely on gas. Remember the gas motor is a twin turbo V-6 and is no slouch. Even when pampered, gas mode only gets around +-21 mpg.
Just wait until you spend some time on the highway. The balance of city (electric) and highway (gas) ultimately determines the overall fuel economy. If you spent most of your time in electric and don't put miles on the highway, your mpg results will be great. If you drive mainly highway miles, the mpg rate will decline down into the low 20's.
Do a tripometer reset when you take a 300, 400, or 500 mile highway trip and you will see what I mean.
The battery is small and does work well on around town excursions under 20 miles in the electric and/or hybrid mode. On the highway, the electricity (hybrid) doesn't last too long and the vehicle will drive almost completely on gas. Remember the gas motor is a twin turbo V-6 and is no slouch. Even when pampered, gas mode only gets around +-21 mpg.
I have noticed that Hybrid mode on the highway uses the battery pretty quickly. My new method is to use quite a bit of the electric, then switch to e-save on the highway to allow me to save enough electricity get to my destination once I am off the highway. The interesting thing I have noticed about esave mode is it works somewhat like hybrid mode. Once you generate (either by engine charging or coasting regen) is that it will begin using electric again as you drive. I can maintain (on the short highway trips I have done) mid-twenties or better mpg this way. Charging mode is just terrible for mpg. I also noticed that esave mode will slowly fill up the battery. So that sometimes if I turn it on with 3 miles of power left, I can often wind up with 5-7 miles on the display if I am driving for a period of time.
The worst mpg offender is stop and go city driving. Using electric on around town really causes the overall mileage to improve. The "From Reset" indicator (which I have not reset since I do so after 18 miles when new) is usually between 29.4 mpg and 29.7 mpg. If I do mostly electric driving around town with no highway for a week, it can get up to 30 mpg or so. That is not as great as one would think, because i am using electricity at home every night to charge it, and that 29.4 mpg does not calculate my electric costs. However, I am happy to be using less gas.
LOL I'll prolly be a guy putting a loud aftermarket exhaust on his Hybrid
Well I don't have to worry about a GLE performance exhaust now.
I purchased a new 2016 GLE550e MSRP $84,095. Diamond White, Sport Package, Night Package, AirMatic, Designo Espresso Brown leather, Driver Assistance Package.
I drove 1k mile round trip to pick it up, got hotel overnight and then I changed my mind - I left it. 3 weeks later I drove back to same dealership and ended up with this instead:
2016 GLE63 S-Model. Steel Grey Metallic. Espresso Brown leather. Carbon Fiber Interior Trim. Night Package.
Well I don't have to worry about a GLE performance exhaust now.
I purchased a new 2016 GLE550e MSRP $84,095. Diamond White, Sport Package, Night Package, AirMatic, Designo Espresso Brown leather, Driver Assistance Package.
I drove 1k mile round trip to pick it up, got hotel overnight and then I changed my mind - I left it. 3 weeks later I drove back to same dealership and ended up with this instead:
2016 GLE63 S-Model. Steel Grey Metallic. Espresso Brown leather. Carbon Fiber Interior Trim. Night Package.
I have noticed that Hybrid mode on the highway uses the battery pretty quickly. My new method is to use quite a bit of the electric, then switch to e-save on the highway to allow me to save enough electricity get to my destination once I am off the highway. The interesting thing I have noticed about esave mode is it works somewhat like hybrid mode. Once you generate (either by engine charging or coasting regen) is that it will begin using electric again as you drive. I can maintain (on the short highway trips I have done) mid-twenties or better mpg this way. Charging mode is just terrible for mpg. I also noticed that esave mode will slowly fill up the battery. So that sometimes if I turn it on with 3 miles of power left, I can often wind up with 5-7 miles on the display if I am driving for a period of time.
The worst mpg offender is stop and go city driving. Using electric on around town really causes the overall mileage to improve. The "From Reset" indicator (which I have not reset since I do so after 18 miles when new) is usually between 29.4 mpg and 29.7 mpg. If I do mostly electric driving around town with no highway for a week, it can get up to 30 mpg or so. That is not as great as one would think, because i am using electricity at home every night to charge it, and that 29.4 mpg does not calculate my electric costs. However, I am happy to be using less gas.
You guys keep talking about the gas mileage like you were driving a Prius! I look at the GLE550e as a GLE400 with better gas mileage and more power. How do the 436 hp feel, is it fun to push it??
You guys keep talking about the gas mileage like you were driving a Prius! I look at the GLE550e as a GLE400 with better gas mileage and more power. How do the 436 hp feel, is it fun to push it??
It's good - I like the 3.0 TT motor. Plenty of motor for this vehicle.
I think you get the best of both worlds with the GLE 550e. You get MPG around town on short distances and you can tow a boat just as good as any truck (unlike a Prius!).
E55 KEV - I really like your GLE63 - that is a beautiful car! Completely different beast from the GLE 550e...
E55 KEV - I really like your GLE63 - that is a beautiful car! Completely different beast from the GLE 550e...
Thanks Guys, I had been searching for Diamond White but I love this rare combo. MBZ should not have discontinued the Steel Grey. It changes colors in various light and sometimes looks bluish.
You guys keep talking about the gas mileage like you were driving a Prius! I look at the GLE550e as a GLE400 with better gas mileage and more power. How do the 436 hp feel, is it fun to push it??
I just passed the break in period (1,000 miles) because even though the odometer says 2,000, 1,000 of those were in electric. And the manual says not to use high RPMs until it is broken in.
That being said, I did have a couple of occasions to push it. It moves quite nicely
I think this weekend if I get the chance I may "punch it" when getting on the highway.
Did a fair amount of mixed driving today, city, highway and suburban. I am currently only using two modes, electric and e-save. I try to use electric around town, and e-save on the highway. However when I am on my way home I do try and get into e-mode far enough out that I get home with zero electric remaining, but using only electric from that point. Hard to gauge some times because highway speed sucks the energy out of the battery, even if the ICE already got you to highway speed...even just maintaining 55-65 mph drains the battery very quickly.
Today's mpg with this method yielded 28+ mpg for the day. Overall mpg holding steady at 30.1 mpg. I should see that go up some with electric only commuting this week.
Noticed car sometimes stays in fuel mode and doesn't switch to battery when in hybrid ready mode.
if you shut the car off and restart, the hybrid function will work.
Any one else have this problem?
Started 7 months after purchase.
I wanted to see if anybody is able to get 19 miles on battery on the GLE550e? I was told when purchasing the SUV that it can drive 19 miles on battery only. This is not true at all. After 1 or 2 miles, the battery range reduces to around 13 miles. And say you have a 2 mile range left, the battery, on E mode, will run out after a few hundred meters. I see this as false advertising from Mercedes Benz and of course the sales team. Currently I get 21 MPG on gas, and 24-25MPG when on hybrid mode and I'm charging my battery almost everyday.
I also wanted to know if anybody has noticed that the Bluetooth audio sounds better than Car Play (using USB cable) on this car? It should be the other way around! Anybody knows what im doing wrong or this is simply what Im going to get? Looks like no option to adjust equalizers when using car play? Music sounds flat and low.
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Car Play on GLE550e
