Mercedes C350e Estate Buying Advice
Discussion
I am shortly going to be in the market for one of these. I have looked around at the available models from all makes and concluded the the C350e is the best fit for us (but I am open to other suggestions). We currently have a E61 5-series touring. The estate body style is perfect for us. I am not considering SUVs. This, unfortunately, rules out all pure EVs. Looking a the plugin hybrids on the market second hand there only really seem to be the C350e or Passat GTE. There are far fewer Passats and they cost more. So that's how we go to the C-Class decision.
I am looking for a car around 3 years old, less than 70,000 miles. I note that cars registered before March 31 2017 are £0 road tax, cars registered after pay road tax and potentially luxury car punitive road tax. So am now looking for a 2017 car registered in Q1 of that year. This leaves a few cars on the market and available in my price range. So that's good!
Is there anything I need to be looking out for with these cars? Either options that are highly desirable or common issues? I had initially quite likes the look of the panoramic roof but this seems a rare option
I am looking for a car around 3 years old, less than 70,000 miles. I note that cars registered before March 31 2017 are £0 road tax, cars registered after pay road tax and potentially luxury car punitive road tax. So am now looking for a 2017 car registered in Q1 of that year. This leaves a few cars on the market and available in my price range. So that's good!
Is there anything I need to be looking out for with these cars? Either options that are highly desirable or common issues? I had initially quite likes the look of the panoramic roof but this seems a rare option
A friend runs one as a company car. Very pleased with it. It is around a year old now and has had no problems. Nice looking car and very capable. Sorry not sure how many miles to a charge but he says on petrol it is economical as well. My wife has the new BMW X3 Hybrid and that runs around 19 miles to a charge - from memory the 350e is in the 20s. Autotrader has quite a few available.
jaw911 said:
A friend runs one as a company car. Very pleased with it. It is around a year old now and has had no problems. Nice looking car and very capable. Sorry not sure how many miles to a charge but he says on petrol it is economical as well. My wife has the new BMW X3 Hybrid and that runs around 19 miles to a charge - from memory the 350e is in the 20s. Autotrader has quite a few available.
I think it's also about 19-20 miles to a charge. More than enough for most of our trips around town which is a big draw as the BMW is not very fuel efficient in our usage.Loads of info on the C350e here:
https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/c350e-owners-c...
I have an E350e which has the same drivetrain. I've been very happy with it, although I think you'd be lucky to get 19-20 miles on battery alone. Probably nearer 10 in the winter and 12 in the summer.
One other thing to watch out for is how wildly the mpg varies. I had 18 from a 'spirited drive' in Sport+ but 64mpg on my 26mile commute starting with 60% battery the other day. Overall mpg, charging once per day at the office, is 43mpg.
https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/c350e-owners-c...
I have an E350e which has the same drivetrain. I've been very happy with it, although I think you'd be lucky to get 19-20 miles on battery alone. Probably nearer 10 in the winter and 12 in the summer.
One other thing to watch out for is how wildly the mpg varies. I had 18 from a 'spirited drive' in Sport+ but 64mpg on my 26mile commute starting with 60% battery the other day. Overall mpg, charging once per day at the office, is 43mpg.
Edited by Cabbage Patch on Wednesday 11th March 19:35
Cabbage Patch said:
Loads of info on the C350e here:
https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/c350e-owners-c...
I have an E350e which has the same drivetrain. I've been very happy with it, although I think you'd be lucky to get 19-20 miles on battery alone. Probably nearer 10 in the winter and 12 in the summer.
One other thing to watch out for is how wildly the mpg varies. I had 18 from a 'spirited drive' in Sport+ but 64mpg on my 26mpg commute starting with 60% battery the other day. Overall mpg, charging once per day at the office, is 43mpg.
Thanks, I'll have a read of that other thread. Harrogate is not that big! Mostly need 5-6 mile range on batteries.https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/c350e-owners-c...
I have an E350e which has the same drivetrain. I've been very happy with it, although I think you'd be lucky to get 19-20 miles on battery alone. Probably nearer 10 in the winter and 12 in the summer.
One other thing to watch out for is how wildly the mpg varies. I had 18 from a 'spirited drive' in Sport+ but 64mpg on my 26mpg commute starting with 60% battery the other day. Overall mpg, charging once per day at the office, is 43mpg.
I owned one as a company car for 3.5yrs and did about 70k miles. Overall very pleased with it. Averaged about 47mpg real world in that time. Electric range is very dependent on weather and temperature. Mercedes Me was great in the winter allowing to preheat the car remotely so it’s ready to go when you get in. Had a few issues covered under warranty: rear charging socket had some water ingress, needed new discs after 60k miles and air suspension compressor failed. Happy to answer any specific questions you may have.
s111dpc said:
I owned one as a company car for 3.5yrs and did about 70k miles. Overall very pleased with it. Averaged about 47mpg real world in that time. Electric range is very dependent on weather and temperature. Mercedes Me was great in the winter allowing to preheat the car remotely so it’s ready to go when you get in. Had a few issues covered under warranty: rear charging socket had some water ingress, needed new discs after 60k miles and air suspension compressor failed. Happy to answer any specific questions you may have.
MPG sounds good, certainly better than our current car achieves with mostly urban driving. Is Mercedes Me a standard feature? Are there different levels of service with it?Yeah, Mercedes Me is standard. The same sort of functionality that you get from BMW Connected or Jaguar Remote. You can check on charging progress, remotely lock, check your doors are closed etc. Like S111 says, it's great for preheating in the winter but also works well to cool the car down in the summer.
Yes, the OLEV grant is £500 towards the cost of the charger. The installer will apply for it on your behalf.
If you preheat on a 7kWh charger the car will be fully charged when you leave. If you use the Granny Charger, which is 2.3kWh, it doesn't keep up with the draw from the heater, which I guess is around 3kWh.
If you preheat on a 7kWh charger the car will be fully charged when you leave. If you use the Granny Charger, which is 2.3kWh, it doesn't keep up with the draw from the heater, which I guess is around 3kWh.
Had one from new since late 2016. Saloon, though, not estate.
The Mercedes Me services are included for the 1st 3 years but are subscription after that. Like most services, they are carefully packaged to extract as much cash from you as possible. For example, if you want control of pre-entry climate and battery charging, you need two bundles that add up to £100 for 3 years. Live traffic data is expensive and frankly, not sure it’s worth it, the Nav is an idiot!
Never got more than 14 miles from a full charge, winter range can be as low as 6 miles.
Pre-entry climate is a nice feature, as noted, you really want a charger rated at 3.8kW (or more, but the car can only charge at up to 16A) or the demand will far exceed the capacity to keep up. Even with a 16A inout, when heating, it’ll draw more than that so takes some energy from the battery so needs a few minutes after heating ends to top up the battery.
Pre-entry can be controlled from the car or via Mercedes Me (assuming the service is active/paid up).
As noted, mpg varies wildly depending on use. Our useage profile is short trips, usually with a full charge with the odd longer trip, I’ve seen over 1000 miles from a tank more than once...and it’s a small tank.
The Mercedes Me services are included for the 1st 3 years but are subscription after that. Like most services, they are carefully packaged to extract as much cash from you as possible. For example, if you want control of pre-entry climate and battery charging, you need two bundles that add up to £100 for 3 years. Live traffic data is expensive and frankly, not sure it’s worth it, the Nav is an idiot!
Never got more than 14 miles from a full charge, winter range can be as low as 6 miles.
Pre-entry climate is a nice feature, as noted, you really want a charger rated at 3.8kW (or more, but the car can only charge at up to 16A) or the demand will far exceed the capacity to keep up. Even with a 16A inout, when heating, it’ll draw more than that so takes some energy from the battery so needs a few minutes after heating ends to top up the battery.
Pre-entry can be controlled from the car or via Mercedes Me (assuming the service is active/paid up).
As noted, mpg varies wildly depending on use. Our useage profile is short trips, usually with a full charge with the odd longer trip, I’ve seen over 1000 miles from a tank more than once...and it’s a small tank.
Mine is going back shortly, in general it has been a brilliant car.
Ours has had no issues, but I know of a few that have had failures caused by an iffy starter motor - all rectified for free by MB.
If you view it as a performance saloon/estate car then you will probably manage your expectations around running costs - it can be very frugal, but it can also drink furiously when being given the beans in S+!
I would gladly have another
Ours has had no issues, but I know of a few that have had failures caused by an iffy starter motor - all rectified for free by MB.
If you view it as a performance saloon/estate car then you will probably manage your expectations around running costs - it can be very frugal, but it can also drink furiously when being given the beans in S+!
I would gladly have another
I've got a '17 plate car with 24k miles on the clock going back at the end of the month.
Overall, I've been very happy with it. Even with the appalling battery range (best I've ever seen is around 15 miles, on a really cold day with even a gentle uphill slope it can drop as low as 3 miles), I've been averaging around 50mpg.
I would say, though, that it's really only worth it if the majority of your journeys are short, though, as the fuel economy once the battery has run down is utterly appalling!
If it wasn't going back, however, I think I'd be getting it checked into the garage, as it feels like the battery life has dropped even worse than usual recently.
Another plus point for it... I hadn't realised just how comfortable the seats are until I started test driving other manufacturers recently! I discounted the BMW X3 and Peugeot 3008 because they'd got stupidly high side bolsters which dig into my legs, and I didn't even bother driving the Audi Q5!
I did think about buying my current car, and I probably would've done, as it's well specced and comfy, if it wasn't for the fact that the battery range is so poor. Instead, I've just ordered a Volvo XC60 T6 PHEV, which was an interesting experience, as it's not actually live on Volvo's own website yet, but I can live with it "only" doing 0-60 in 5.9 seconds instead of the 5.5 of the T8 to save £40 per month!
Overall, I've been very happy with it. Even with the appalling battery range (best I've ever seen is around 15 miles, on a really cold day with even a gentle uphill slope it can drop as low as 3 miles), I've been averaging around 50mpg.
I would say, though, that it's really only worth it if the majority of your journeys are short, though, as the fuel economy once the battery has run down is utterly appalling!
If it wasn't going back, however, I think I'd be getting it checked into the garage, as it feels like the battery life has dropped even worse than usual recently.
Another plus point for it... I hadn't realised just how comfortable the seats are until I started test driving other manufacturers recently! I discounted the BMW X3 and Peugeot 3008 because they'd got stupidly high side bolsters which dig into my legs, and I didn't even bother driving the Audi Q5!
I did think about buying my current car, and I probably would've done, as it's well specced and comfy, if it wasn't for the fact that the battery range is so poor. Instead, I've just ordered a Volvo XC60 T6 PHEV, which was an interesting experience, as it's not actually live on Volvo's own website yet, but I can live with it "only" doing 0-60 in 5.9 seconds instead of the 5.5 of the T8 to save £40 per month!
Just to add, the reason you're struggling to find one with a sunroof is that for the estates, fitting a sunroof meant you had to also fit the 18" wheels to handle the extra weight, and that in turn increased the official CO2 from 48 to 53 or thereabouts, putting it up a band on BIK. I would've lived without the sunroof if I hadn't also specced it with a towbar, which also required the bigger wheels.
Also, I can't remember if they were a standalone option or part of the Premium Plus pack, but the fancy adaptive headlights are bloody amazing! when you're behind someone on a dark road, you can drive on full beam, and it cuts or a little rectangle of full beam just the right size to avoid hitting said car's mirrors, whilst lighting the whole of the rest of the road for you!
Also, I can't remember if they were a standalone option or part of the Premium Plus pack, but the fancy adaptive headlights are bloody amazing!
when you're behind someone on a dark road, you can drive on full beam, and it cuts or a little rectangle of full beam just the right size to avoid hitting said car's mirrors, whilst lighting the whole of the rest of the road for you!The only thing to be aware of is despite the good off the line performance figures, these are no sports car. The air suspension completely robs the car of any feel from the steering or the road and the weight over the rear axle is really noticeable. There is absolutely no pleasure to be had trying to hustle a C350e along a twisty back road at speed. Sport and Sport+ will allow a surprising amount of yaw, and if you boot it with a full battery it’s quite easy to get the rear wheels to break traction if you’ve got any steering on. Mine was a saloon, the Estate must be even heavier over the rear.
Mine was flawlessly reliable and averaged 46MPG over 30K charging daily at home.
The only thing I really miss about it is the preheating. The E220d that replaced it is much better to drive.
Mine was flawlessly reliable and averaged 46MPG over 30K charging daily at home.
The only thing I really miss about it is the preheating. The E220d that replaced it is much better to drive.
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