badq45t

Hey Mercedes Benz world, I am a 35 year Nissan/Infiniti Owner and buy cars very infrequently and keep them forever. So my 1997 Q45 Touring is looking old (but it runs great and handles well after much mod). I just don't want another Premium gas dinker that gets low 20's, so I found a 2016 S550 Plug-in Hybrid for a good price out of state. I live in Cali and there are non in the Bay Area where I live.

Anybody have any experience with this, heard anything good or bad? I have to go from SF to PHX to get it and have ability to test drive it. Car has only 19k and I intended to add a bigger warranty as I know the sticker shock for a Nissan owner is going to be brutual for a new Benz owner, but this car is completely loaded 123k new with EVERYTHING.

Help!! I will change my handle I promise, this one just always works And yes I did several searches, I have 3k plu posts in Nissan Infiniti Car owners so total new guy here but not a rookie to forums

Jeff

MBNUT1

The Li Ion battery is $7400. which is an improvement over the $11000 cost of the S400 battery.

badq45t

Thanks, so what do you expect the life would be? I will have 5 years of warranty when I get the car, have there been issues with these?

superpop

I would avoid this model as the MPG is not a ton better than the normal S550 in normal everyday driving. If you keep your cars for a long time you will at some point and probably out of warranty have to replace the Li Ion battery pack. Any savings in MPG will evaporate when you have to pay for the new battery.

tkelley.EClass

I agree. Everything I have read pretty much says you barely save money. You'll be getting high teens gas mileage with an S550. To me, it's worth every penny. I have owned pretty much every luxury car brand to include other Mercedes' and have never in my life loved a car so much. I typically get a new car every 2 years and all my friends have been asking "what's next?". My default answer at this point is "another S Class" (2018+ facelifted).

chuck007

However......if saving on gas is important over a long period of tlime and most driving is just around the neighborhood or around town, then the 20 mile all electric range could really pay off if you charge the car each night between 12 and 6 am. Then on long trips you have a great mpg vehicle. And don't let the fear sayers tell you that you will have to replace the battery that soon.....it will out last the car. My wife drives a B250e and the few years we have had it, the range has not changed one bit with 100% charging each time we do it, which is only once a week. At this rate the battery will last forever, lol.

Mitch Alsup

As a 2015 S-600 owner, I am getting 20.2 MPG over my 30K miles of driving it.
{Yes the V12}

And the reason I bought the S was I had a 95 Q45T that I loved (until my son wrecked it in '04). I wanted another great big luxury car as well built and as smooth as the Q45T.

MBNUT1

If I could become confident in the hybrid system it would be my pick but in the S400 the Li Ion battery was bad news. Basically wiped out the value of the car.

chuck007

Well I drive an S550 (which I love and is spoiling me for any other car ) but you may be right regarding batteries since my wife's B250e has a Tesla battery, which could make the difference. What is Mercedes using for batteries now in there present and future batteries ?? Do they have a battery factory somewhere ?

Mitch Alsup

a) right now, I don't think that information is available.
b) no

Tesla has a long paper out of Li Ion batteries, and which are more suitable for long term use in vehicles.

MBNUT1

To your point they maybe turning to Tesla for their battery source. They obviously have a relationship with Tesla. All you have to do is look at a Tesla S column stalk to see that.

S550e

22k miles later and I couldn't have been happier with my purchase on the Plug-in. I mainly bought it for the carpool lane sticker in SoCal but it is an amazing car. My first MB purchase. I did have the Tesla battery replaced under warranty at about 9k miles. It was faulty. The battery on the warranty I believe is 10 year, 100k miles. I have one of the most heavily loaded S Class Plug-Ins in the country. Haven't seen one with more options than mine since (and I check often).

I do not understand this comment because I am averaging 45-50 MPG. IN A 5200lb SEDAN? Everyone in their regular 550 is averaging about 14-16. I have a daily commute of 22-55 miles (varies) and this is the best car to travel in. Leaves me feeling more awake than I did before getting in. I also came from a Japanese car brand. I had 7 Lexus over 20 years. The only thing MB can't compete with is reliability. But I am never going back. S-Class for life. I am one of the more active 550e members (if not the most) on this site so if you have any questions, you can PM me at any time and I will respond asap. Check out my page as I have started many threads about my experience with this car and I am happy to share more with you. GLWP

T

S550e

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MBNUT1

Hi Can you comment on the "Lumpy throttle response" cited in this review at 4:40? Also how far can you go on EV only? The best quote of the review is "It's a big buttery thing".

Thanks,

S550e

Hard to explain the pedal feel but drive a 550 and 550e back to back and you'll see a difference. I think the main reason why he explains the pedal feel to be "lumpy" is because of the on and off of the hybrid and engine. Usually, electric cars have instant torque but, because of how heavy the S Class is, throttle response when the engine is not on is a bit slow. I have gotten very used to the pedal feel with my daily commute. I know when to get on the gas and etc. When the engine is on, the pedal feels like any normal car. This should not scare any potential buyers by any means. You will get used to the pedal feel, it is just a bit different. The pedal feel will definitely feel different if you are coming from a much lighter car. I think if Brian Cooley got some more time with that press car... maybe a week or so, he would understand how to master the pedal work and feel.

The car will learn how you drive and give you a very accurate reading on how far you will be able to go on EV. I do not have much of a lead foot so my car is able to tell me that I can drive the full 20 miles. If you drive hard, the number will decrease to 18, 17 the next time you plug it in and fully charge. I charge my car every night and I only leave it in hybrid mode. I do not mess with those 4 options that you can switch the car into. The ONLY time I change the mode into recharge is when I am doing a road trip or long drive. Once the battery has fully depleted, I switch the car in to recharge. The gas engine fires up and starts recharging the battery (cool right?). It only takes about 45mins-1hr to fully charge back up. Keep in mind while in recharge mode, the engine will never shut off, even if you are stuck in traffic or at a red light. So I advise only going into this menu when you are driving on a freeway for a good stretch. Then I switch the car back into hybrid mode. For everyday driving, you will never need to mess with those modes.

Feel free to ask me more questions about the S550e Plug-in