electromobility

It’s still busy under the hood of the new E-Class, with traditional diesels and four-cylinder gasoline engines. Nothing significant has changed even with the designation of motorizations, in which sometimes car companies can create a lot of confusion.

Nevertheless, there will undoubtedly be customers who want to try out the features of an electric car, so to speak. For such, a plug-in hybrid version is prepared, which still uses the internal combustion engine as the main drive unit, but the secondary electric drive comes to the fore more often than before.

The main credit for this goes to the more capacious lithium battery, which holds 19.5 kWh of energy. In theory, it should be enough for 109 kilometers of purely electric driving, in practice it is approximately twenty less. And then there is also significantly faster recharging – it now uses direct current with a power of 55 kW.

The plug-in hybrid Mercedes E is therefore more than ever an electric car, a large part of the daily portion of kilometers can only hum quietly. Those who do not plan longer routes without recharging can also rely on the standard gasoline consumption, which according to the manufacturer is less than 1 liter per 100 kilometers.

However, such optimistic numbers are of no use when “E” is used for what is its greatest strength. That is, for long continental drives, during which there is no time or desire for recharging breaks and when the main priority is time.

Looking at the aerodynamic bodywork of the upcoming generation of the E-class, it can be assumed that even under such circumstances consumption may not be high, the air resistance Cx = 0.23 is unusually low for a five-seater sedan. With a charged battery and a full fifty-liter gas tank, we intend to try it. When we set off on a journey from Prague to Rijeka, Croatia, the computer reports a range of 990 kilometers.

Due to the weather forecast, we avoid a direct route to the south, where the Alps stand in the way. The detour through Vienna is about 100 kilometers longer, but the road does not climb to high altitudes and the time of this route is very similar. Kilometer consumption in a flatter landscape will also undoubtedly be better.

At the beginning of the journey, we manually select the Hybrid mode, because the car always automatically switches to purely electric mode after starting. In theory, the gasoline engine should also participate in the drive, but in practice its involvement in the action is surprisingly sporadic. Only when the traction battery is empty after a hundred kilometers does it finally come into its own.

The moment this happens, the driver experiences a slight disappointment. Up until now, the journey has been in style – the optional air suspension can cope excellently with 20″ low-profile tires, the quiet interior and first-class seats can evoke the atmosphere of a carefree world. In addition, the car offers relaxation programs every now and then – the one called Vitality colors the ambient lighting into red, deep bass music blares from the speakers, and the front seats begin to move in various ways, so that falling asleep at the wheel is out of the question.

And suddenly a four-cylinder engine enters this oasis of calm with chiseled modern technology. Sure, he’s just doing his job and not bad at all, but he can’t pretend. In short, it sounds like a four-cylinder engine, which no one would have expected in a car for 2.7 million even a few years ago.

But that doesn’t mean that Mercedes has withdrawn its last fossil fuel-swallowing model. Traditional customers will once again find the expected qualities in it, from excellent seats to unsurpassably comfortable tuning of the chassis, which must make the competition’s head spin. And the newcomers will discover perfectly functioning infotainment with intuitive controls, so they may not even notice that there is a physical button to quickly mute the audio.

And what was the consumption of a hybrid Mercedes on a long route? The onboard system finally calculated it at 5.6 liters of gasoline and 2.1 kWh of electricity per 100 kilometers. For a car with 381 horses, this is a remarkable performance, but for which the user pays with some compromises.

The most obvious is the luggage space, which has shrunk to just 370 liters in this version. There is no space left in it under the floor, so the charging cable and mandatory equipment cut out additional liters. Moreover, a car with a larger traction battery is not one of the lightest. The curb weight of 2.2 tons is masterfully camouflaged, but narrow switchbacks will never entertain him.

But the new Mercedes E is very good at what customers expect from a plug-in hybrid. So anyone who wants a car that functions as an electric car on shorter journeys and as a remarkably fuel-efficient petrol car on long journeys is at the right address.