Hybrid estate boot space

[kotecki]

For those that are interested, this is the space taken up by the battery. I have not been able to find anywhere that supplies a decent rubber mat for this hybrid but in the meantime, we have butchered our old 211 rubber mat and it seems to fulfil the role. We have cut the old mat to fit the main floor and the remaining part fits the upper floor all but perfectly

 

[Blobcat]

There really is something wrong with the world when we have to carry batteries around to meet some arbitrary ecomentalist law…

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Look forward to more of your observations and experiences of living with a hybrid - MB have certainly put the batteries in the right place regarding weight distribution

 

[kotecki]

There really is something wrong with the world when we have to carry batteries around to meet some arbitrary ecomentalist law…

Not sure how to answer your post but trust me, I might be described as being slightly to the right of Atilla the Hun

I have bought this car for my wife. We have always had large estate cars, but she who must be obeyed now usually only travels short distances. We wanted a large vehicle and short journies in a large engined vehicle would drink fuel and is that good for the engine? I will throw my toys out of the proverbial pram if this new car uses one drop of fuel on these commute-type journies. Respect to those that have AMG powered E-class estate cars but sadly my wife does sometimes manage to rarely overtake folks riding pushbikes, but anything faster.....

We could argue that this battery takes up valuable space and yes, if you have items that need to lay flat on the floor then the battery might get in the way but for us, it is not a problem.

Malcolm
We only received the registration document for the car yesterday so it has not been on the road yet but..... When reversing there is an inoffensive beep, beep. My thoughts are this needs to be louder. When driving forward, zilch, nothing, it is spooky quiet. Is this going to be a problem when navigating around the supermarket car park? Should pedestrians look before walking into lanes designated for motor vehicles? Should I consider mounting bull-bars to protect the front of the vehicle?

 

[Blobcat]

Not sure how to answer your post but trust me, I might be described as being slightly to the right of Atilla the Hun

I have bought this car for my wife. We have always had large estate cars, but she who must be obeyed now usually only travels short distances. We wanted a large vehicle and short journies in a large engined vehicle would drink fuel and is that good for the engine? I will throw my toys out of the proverbial pram if this new car uses one drop of fuel on these commute-type journies. Respect to those that have AMG powered E-class estate cars but sadly my wife does sometimes manage to rarely overtake folks riding pushbikes, but anything faster.....

We could argue that this battery takes up valuable space and yes, if you have items that need to lay flat on the floor then the battery might get in the way but for us, it is not a problem.

Malcolm
We only received the registration document for the car yesterday so it has not been on the road yet but..... When reversing there is an inoffensive beep, beep. My thoughts are this needs to be louder. When driving forward, zilch, nothing, it is spooky quiet. Is this going to be a problem when navigating around the supermarket car park? Should pedestrians look before walking into lanes designated for motor vehicles? Should I consider mounting bull-bars to protect the front of the vehicle?

Most of the Mercedes hybrids (represented on the forum threads) have ~zero range… my neighbour in his C350e can reverse off his drive and then the engine has to start so he can go to work…
He has it because of the BIK, so he’s carrying around heavy batteries and has reduced load space because of the ecomentalist rules…

Your S213 looks very nice, and I’m happy that you’ve managed to get leather and a light interior . Like you I only have leather and non-black (I’ve also not had issues with 5 kids in them and 100k miles) you just need to clean it occasionally.

 

[kotecki]

So far so good said the man jumping out of an aircraft without a parachute ........

Or, I love it when a plan comes together.

Just looking at the figures and the car is managing a modest 104.6 mpg (UK)

Bobcat No, my wife is not just driving the length of the driveway and then recharging the battery

I am still hoping the fuel consumption will improve but time will tell. The numbers also tell me the car has a petrol range of 419 miles. That figure seems a trifle optimistic but the tank is 91% full. Should we go to the petrol station and top it up? (joke)

So far the boss is very pleased with the car. I purchased a steering wheel cover for this sized steering wheel but the cover is wayyyy too small. (Too well padded) I was worried that a very light Nappa leather coloured wheel might quickly get dirty. When the car was delivered on the back of a car transporter the steering wheel protection had fallen off and the truck driver did not have the cleanest of hands. Thankfully there were just a couple of dirty marks which quickly and easily wiped off. For now I intend not to get another cover and just see how it fairs.

The two annoying things are......

One is the Mercedes Dash Camera. My son has programmed this feature so it comes up as the first item on the favourites screen which is great but.... She who must be obeyed keeps forgetting to activate it before the start of every journey. I can relate to that and I guess I would be as forgetful. This is an issue Mercedes-Benz UK needs to sort out!

Second observation
Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing. My wife does not have a smartphone and more to the point, she does not want one. My son has given us his old Samsung S6 which is now left in the car with a dedicated phone number £3.50p per month with unlimited calls and text which will never be used plus 3gb of data which gets rolled over each month, bargain line rental and hopefully that level of data will allow the car to carry out any updates etc. But here's the gripe. When we purchased our 211 in 2004, I purchased a Nokia, which was the phone needed by the car for a dedicated phone. That phone was placed in the car in February 2004 and taken out in June, 2021. The phone battery never went flat, was never replaced and the phone worked perfectly during our ownership of the 211. With this new car, if it is not used for 2 - 3 days, the phone battery goes flat and the phone switches off. Now the gripe...

When the car next gets used, the phone automatically starts to charge but remains switched off. Is it the fault of the phone, the fault of the car, or just tough mammary glands It's two minor issues with an otherwise very nice car.

Hybrid battery in the back has so far not been an issue, but it was a challenge to locate the car's main battery!

 

[JBell]

For those that are interested, this is the space taken up by the battery. I have not been able to find anywhere that supplies a decent rubber mat for this hybrid but in the meantime, we have butchered our old 211 rubber mat and it seems to fulfil the role. We have cut the old mat to fit the main floor and the remaining part fits the upper floor all but perfectly

That is not bad, the GLE500e looses half it's boot space to the batteries

 

[kotecki]

That is not bad, the GLE500e looses half it's boot space to the batteries

Ouch!! That was one of the cars the boss was looking at.

The car is now returning 108.6mpg (UK) At this rate I reckon in maybe 100yrs I will recoup the outlay for this car. No idea if that estimate is accurate and to be honest, I do not care. We purchased the car purely because we like the E-class and the specification we have ticks all the boxes. My thoughts are that at our stage in the cycle of life, money is secondary to quality of life

 

[JBell]

Ouch!! That was one of the cars the boss was looking at.

 

[Blobcat]

Ouch!! That was one of the cars the boss was looking at.

The car is now returning 108.6mpg (UK) At this rate I reckon in maybe 100yrs I will recoup the outlay for this car. No idea if that estimate is accurate and to be honest, I do not care. We purchased the car purely because we like the E-class and the specification we have ticks all the boxes. My thoughts are that at our stage in the cycle of life, money is secondary to quality of life

Where are you getting the figures from?

(and what's the MPC? (Miles per tonne of coal...)

 

[Woodleigh]

"The term "shooting brake" comes from turn-of-the-century England, where it referred to a car used to transport a hunting party and its gear. "Brake" referred to a chassis that was used to break in horses. It eventually just came to refer to early wagons in general"

Found this definition on the web....Looking at your picture @kotecki your loadspace would be useless (no offense intended) for transporting my GSP working dogs.

 

[kotecki]

Where are you getting the figures from?

(and what's the MPC? (Miles per tonne of coal...)

In answer to your query about the figures. mercedesMe the software yoou deem a waste of space is for me a quite convienant way of monitoring a very limited number of facts and figures.

Checking as we type and the car is now back in the garage being re-charged. 113.0mpg (UK) Tyre pressures show 36psi except rear off-side which is 37psi The battery is being re-charged from the mains as it had just 2% left. It is now at 8% and will be fully charged by 2-15pm

As someone that is practically bed-bound, I love this gizzmo. It also shows what door is locked\unlocked, plus of course bonnet and tailgate. I know I can lock, or unlocks the doors but the tailgate?? No idea. Vehicle Search is good, but the tracker is as good. All this is free for the three years but what ones will we keep?

Woodliegh
I used to have a large German Shepherd as my police dog. That pooch travelled in the rear of a van that was divided down the middle to cater for two dogs.

I can assure you that rear of our estate car has more than enough room to cater for even the largest of dog. Not sure about two large dogs but no doubt the second one could very comfortably make itself at home.

There have been a number of theories about the term 'shooting brake' and as an Englishman I go along with what you say but don't forget the Americans call an estate car a 'brake' or shooting brake. I wonder if estate car comes from the term 'estate' and we English use the car to carry round our estate?

I was also told a coupe was a two door vehicle and I had the cheek to suggest ther are 4 door versions of this model?? Trust me to stir the pot

 

[Blobcat]

In answer to your query about the figures. mercedesMe the software yoou deem a waste of space is for me a quite convienant way of monitoring a very limited number of facts and figures.

Checking as we type and the car is now back in the garage being re-charged. 113.0mpg (UK) Tyre pressures show 36psi except rear off-side which is 37psi The battery is being re-charged from the mains as it had just 2% left. It is now at 8% and will be fully charged by 2-15pm

As someone that is practically bed-bound, I love this gizzmo. It also shows what door is locked\unlocked, plus of course bonnet and tailgate. I know I can lock, or unlocks the doors but the tailgate?? No idea. Vehicle Search is good, but the tracker is as good. All this is free for the three years but what ones will we keep?

Woodliegh
I used to have a large German Shepherd as my police dog. That pooch travelled in the rear of a van that was divided down the middle to cater for two dogs.

I can assure you that rear of our estate car has more than enough room to cater for even the largest of dog. Not sure about two large dogs but no doubt the second one could very comfortably make itself at home.

There have been a number of theories about the term 'shooting brake' and as an Englishman I go along with what you say but don't forget the Americans call an estate car a 'brake' or shooting brake. I wonder if estate car comes from the term 'estate' and we English use the car to carry round our estate?

I was also told a coupe was a two door vehicle and I had the cheek to suggest ther are 4 door versions of this model?? Trust me to stir the pot

So the numbers are from the software then rather than actuals.

The software is useless on older Mercedes - it's fitted to the newer ones so Mercedes Finance can track and recover the vehicle if the payments stop...

 

[JBell]

The software is useless on older Mercedes

I will agree with that, My dongle is currently residing in it's box in the boot, all it did was drain the battery on my phone

 

[kotecki]

I hear what you say and has this software that gives identical readings to MBUX improved?

You have me over a barrel as surely the new Mercedes has all the information based on software? MercedesMe gives identical readings to MBUX which is surely software based and MBUX is what configures all the information available to the driver?? Speed, fuel levels, rpm, charge rate etc etc are asll figures based on software programs.

I have no idea how else I can see how well, or how badly the hybrid system is working.

Ah, hang on. This MercedesMe tells me to the minute when the charging cycle is complete. Yup I suppose it is software related but when it says 100% fully charged, then to me its 100% fully charged.

I hear what JB says about a drain on my phone and that is something I cannot comment on. My phone does not appear to drain any quicker BUT..... I have never really measured how long it held its charge prior to it running MercedesMe.. You have got me thinking now about the apps my son has installed on this phone for me

Would I use MercedesMe if I was the driver of this car? I very much doubt it but who knows.. Pre-heating the car on a cold winter morning, is that a gimmick or something I might use? Never had it before so would I miss it.

 

[Blobcat]

I'd measure fuel added to the tank and miles driven and compare against the numbers on the system.

I'd do the same for the charging, how many KW used.

 

[kotecki]

Okay, I hear what you are saying but are we hearing what I am saying?

Hopefully we will NOT be adding any petrol to the tank for the foreseeable future and I'm talking months, not weeks.

The software knows how often the petrol engine kicks in and that software tells me how far the vehicle has traveled on that fuel, but you doubt the accuracy of that technology.

Now I am confused, you do not trust the technology but you look at KW used? I am most definitely NOT trying to catch you out, I am simply just happy with our choice of vehicle and dare I naively suggest we are happy with the software?

If I look at the house domestic electricity meter then using the slow speed charge, there is hardly any drain. I say this because we have very efficient solar panels, the charge is not really costing us a penny. We do have the high speed charger, but that does get the attention of the dials and wheels on our meter and we will try not to use that option.

I am NOT recommending this type of vehicle, our circumstances bare no relation to perhaps the great majority of folk. This vehicle is the ideal choice to match our VERY specific needs and we are both impressed with its amazing economy for our very specific needs.

 

[Blobcat]

Okay, I hear what you are saying but are we hearing what I am saying?

Hopefully we will NOT be adding any petrol to the tank for the foreseeable future and I'm talking months, not weeks.

The software knows how often the petrol engine kicks in and that software tells me how far the vehicle has traveled on that fuel, but you doubt the accuracy of that technology.

Now I am confused, you do not trust the technology but you look at KW used? I am most definitely NOT trying to catch you out, I am simply just happy with our choice of vehicle and dare I naively suggest we are happy with the software?

If I look at the house domestic electricity meter then using the slow speed charge, there is hardly any drain. I say this because we have very efficient solar panels, the charge is not really costing us a penny. We do have the high speed charger, but that does get the attention of the dials and wheels on our meter and we will try not to use that option.

I am NOT recommending this type of vehicle, our circumstances bare no relation to perhaps the great majority of folk. This vehicle is the ideal choice to match our VERY specific needs and we are both impressed with its amazing economy for our very specific needs.

I would look at KW used - but I'd look at it from the supplying side, as well as the receiving side

доверяй, но проверяй

 

[kotecki]

Hi Bob
I don't see how I could possibly look from the domestic house supply to see how much electricity the charger is using but that is my problem, well done to you.

PLEASE do not think for one milli-second that I am recommending the hybrid to anyone. My gut feeling now is that this could soon be 'dead' technology. For our very personal, very specific needs this car is perfect. It is amazing and the chances of the vehicle using a gallon of petrol per month are extremely low and I mean that. A concern I have is when the vehicle goes in for service. How often should the spark plugs be changed, the engine oil, the oil filter? In 12 month use, that petrol engine is most definitely not going to be overworked. To make sure I do not make a daft claim, there is no way that petrol engine will do 100 miles per month!! In the three weeks of usage it has done just 13.9 miles under petrol power, which included a journey to Exeter via Teignmouth and returning via Newton Abbot without a recharge enroute.

No one should be misled by this, and I repeat it is the perfect car for us but if we were a medium to high mileage user, having now used the hybrid we would have the big straight six diesel!! In a heartbeat (or less) Rule out the AMG as I do not like the styling of the front end

доверяй, но проверяй sage advice