W246 B-Class Electric Drive

daveenty

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
3,538
Reaction score
2,623
Location
The Frozen North :(
Your Mercedes
2019 AMG S Class Coupe
I've been looking for an electric car for a while now, mainly just for pootling around town and to the shops and back. I started looking at the obligatory Nissan Leaf and the Renault Zoe, though wasn't totally convinced. I then moved sideways a bit, taking into account Kia and Hyundai along the way amongst several others. I currently have around a dozen various models "saved" on Auto Trader and I was surprised that two of these are Mercedes B Class models. There are also a couple of Golfs in there as well, just to keep the balance I suppose, though they all have one thing in common in that they are all full electric as I want to get away from the hybrid aspect, so the Lexus is reluctantly going this week, mainly due to falling out of love with it.

So far, I've only found limited amounts of info regarding these W246s including a couple of early road tests which, though mainly positive, don't really tell the full story. I know that there aren't a great deal of them around so was wondering if anyone on here had any experience of them, positive or otherwise? I'm not yet convinced about the Mercedes, and the E-Golf is tending to lead the way as it still looks like a normal car, though the B Class could possibly persuade me. I know that they did a couple of different models and that the "Electric Art" is the go-to model, though apart from that I'm still researching and trying not to get distracted by the multitude of Nissan Leafs (leaves?) which keep appearing on my feeds. :)

Any help appreciated though I appreciate that not many will be too familiar with them...
 

Blobcat

Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
38,787
Reaction score
27,420
Location
Grange Moor
Your Mercedes
R171 SLK280, Smart R451, Land Rover 110 County SW, 997 C2S, R1250 GSA TE 40th, CBR600FP
Honda E - because "E's" are good ;)
 

Tony Dyson

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2018
Messages
4,038
Reaction score
2,585
Location
God's Country
Your Mercedes
2014 C 220 CDI W204 OM 651
I can't help with any first hand ownership experience of the W246 or any EV for that matter other than some specialist traction vehicles, but for what it's worth, I do know a little about batteries and ownership of the main battery in any current EV would be my main concern at this moment in time, especially buying second hand as I read in your post is your intention. I would need to satisfy two areas of concern;

The first would be a comprehensive evaluation of the condition of the current battery before final acceptance of the vehicle, I'm sure we're all aware by now of the initially high rate of the diminishing performance slope of EV's and whether it is a low or high mileage, if the battery hasn't been treated as it should have been with recommended charging cycles v usage, it can age a battery considerably. This would provide a better understanding of life expectancy.

Second would be an end-of-life solution, From the OEM specifications and a current evaluation you would be able to extrapolate a realistic timescale of fit-for-purpose use and be in a position to prepare for the eventual replacement of the spent battery and I believe detailed attention would need to be spent here on the specific details of any manufacturers warranties as I firmly believe that hidden amongst their small print will be all their rear door exit and escape routes.

Good luck with your search, I saw what looked like a nice sample here https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104131316045
 
OP
daveenty

daveenty

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
3,538
Reaction score
2,623
Location
The Frozen North :(
Your Mercedes
2019 AMG S Class Coupe
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
I spent most of my working life in machinery/plant, many of which were battery powered so I do have a reasonable understanding though not so much with the modern technology which now bombards us from everywhere. I'm still leaning towards a Golf as I can get a newer model with better warranty for the same price as the Mercedes.

Good luck with your search, I saw what looked like a nice sample here https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104131316045

Just got off the phone with the dealer (Paul) regarding this one. A little movement on price but not enough to tempt me as yet...
 
OP
daveenty

daveenty

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
3,538
Reaction score
2,623
Location
The Frozen North :(
Your Mercedes
2019 AMG S Class Coupe
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
It’ll put the scoop to shame Dave :po_O

Just had a word with James down in Norfolk who I bought the Scoop from. He reckons that they only sold 2 of these electric B Classes when they were new and has no idea where they are now. I think that it's this rarity value which is putting me off them to be honest. I can't really see many dealerships having the knowledge to service/repair them and don't envisage a glut of necessary spares being instantly available.

I'll have another play tomorrow but I'm drifting back to the E-Golfs I think, plenty about and lots of them from main dealerships with full VAG 2 year warranties to make me feel a bit more secure. I've also been offered free delivery from a couple of dealerships, though one down south seemed to think that £1,400+ was a reasonable charge to get it to me. I declined his kind offer.

As I mentioned earlier, the Lexus has now been sold but I've just put the plate back on retention and the new owner wants to wait until I've got the new V5 back from Swansea before he picks it up. I can't blame him really and it gives me a bit more breathing space to decide what I'm going to do, hopefully the rest of this week at least.
 
OP
daveenty

daveenty

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
3,538
Reaction score
2,623
Location
The Frozen North :(
Your Mercedes
2019 AMG S Class Coupe
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Just to put this thread to bed, I decided against the B Class, mainly due to nobody, including my local dealership, knowing anything about them.

Another factor which swayed me was that of the relatively few which are currently for sale, they all seem to be around 5 - 6 years old now. I think at this age battery life/degradation would start to become a concern, even on a relatively low mileage car as it tends to be more of an age thing which gets to them and they're certainly not cheap to replace.

I've just put a deposit down on a 2019 Volkswagen E-Golf, which will hopefully afford me a good few years of cheap motoring, probably a boring car to potter about in but it's only going to be used a couple of times a week for shopping trips etc so shouldn't be too bad really. I also have a less boring car to use if it starts to get to me. :)
 


As a member of ourMercedes Owners' club, you will enjoy numerous savings on an expanding range of services including, Insurance, Parts and Servicing, RAC Membership plus much more.MBOmembers can save around £200.00 a year. You can join from as little as £30.00 and start to enjoy these savings immediately. You receive our monthly magazine and free classified ads when you decide to trade up a model.
Top Bottom