Mercedes A250e

BKtje

Hello all,

So with things opening back up (in Switzerland) to more or less "normal" I am continuing to search for my next car. As some of you may know from previous posts/threads I would really like a Tesla model 3 however as I only have on street parking I'm a little hesitant considering that if i change jobs I will have nowhere to charge without resorting to the public infrastructure network (which in fairness isn't bad here). Thus I am considering a hybrid.

Long story short I am currently looking at the Mercedes A250e as a stop gap for a few years. It's got a decent sized battery allowing 70km of WLTP range and can be run as electric only at motorway speeds. I have a 55km one way commute with 50km of that on motorway. I am under no illusion that the battery will take me all the way on the motorway but should get me a decent chunk of the way at least on the return. It also has DC charging for when I want to do a quick top up of range (available from a local service station) so it seems to be a decent compromise for a few years.

My question is has anyone driven one or owns one? It seems like it's got a fair amount of tech in it though somewhat pricey. However I get 25% off (including options) through work so it becomes quite an affordable option for a few years till I see where I am with regards to a fully electric car.

Anyone got any horror stories or wish to sing its praises? Reviews seem generally favourable but first hand accounts are always appreciated.

Thanks!

kanuseeme

Never knew they existed, I would buy one 2nd hand in 2 or 3 years, clicks a lot of boxes for me, 7.6 kw and dc charging, nice range, engine is 1.3 l, only thing is size

2 questions, how are you going to charge this car?

Can you get that 25 % discount every 6 months/year?

BKtje

I think it was released late last year.

Charging can be done in work no problem and can be charged in my local petrol station which should only take 20 minutes. I can run a cable as well if I get the right parking spot

Yes we can get the discount every 6 months so in theory I could buy the car and sell it on after 6 months. I think I'd keep it 1-2 years and sell it on without making much of a loss ...as long as there is demand for the car!

Have an appointment next wednesday for a test drive and to get the fine print.

kanuseeme

https://www.amazon.com/Hueter-Toledo-Lifesize-Replica-Plastic/dp/B00BIO6TQG and some yellow lines right where you want to park. should do the trick.

I would try to break even at very least, you would need to keep an eye on the 2nd hand market.

Good luck.

BKtje

Good idea

BKtje

For those who this may interest.

I had a "commute test drive" of this last week. Basically they let me drive home with it and then back in the morning. The electric motor is fantastic (as I guess most are!). Silent and responsive and doesn't feel at all as only 106hp but I guess this is the beauty of instant torque.

Interior:

Nothing to say here. Pretty well specced version with 2x 10 inch digital screens, comfortable seats, ambient lighting control (party piece for passengers who loved playing with it but don't see it's use much beyond that really). Comfortable, luxurious and nice to look at. Typical Mercedes really.

Battery Drive train:
This was my first electric only drive and I can see what the fuss is all about. Instant torque and whisper quiet! The battery was full when I picked it up and I did about 4km of 50kph roads followed by 35km of full battery motorway speeds before it was pretty much empty. This was pretty much all uphill motorway (including a section of a 6% gradient for 5 km) as well so range took a big hit. Motorway speeds on generally flat road I'm told you can do around 50ish km on a full charge. I had no problem accelerating up to 135kph on battery alone. I had the car set to electric only (was testing the return commute range). The electric motor does give the slightest satisfying hum but I don't know if this is from the engine or speakers.

ICE:
When the ICE does kick it it sounds very noisy after the quiet of the electric motor. I don't know if this is because of how quiet the electric motor is or because it's a 1.3 with 168hp but it was noticeablly louder than my 1.4 golf. If im not mistaken its a Renault engine and it does sound out of place at slower speeds but fine on the motorway. Power wise it's fine as well and similar to the 1.4 148hp golf I have.

"Hybrid" mode. I used this mode on my return the next morning not having charged it. The battery is really used until there is nothing less and only then the ICE kicks in. On the motorway after a regen (eg braking) it will use the tiny amount of stored energy before switching to ICE so it's been setup to use electric as much as possible. I don't know what its performance is like when both engines are combined to the claimed 216HP.

Steering:
Hard to say, it feels much lighter than the golf which is great around town but maybe less so for spirited driving. I'm guessing this is changeable in the settings. All i can say is that you don't feel the extra 200kg around town. In the mountains I'll have to see.

Charging:
I didnt do any charging so can't really say. The car i had only had the 7.2kw charger installed and the salesman wasn't aware that it could get DC. When we checked the configurator we couldnt find it but later on it was back on the configurator so it's a bit weird. According to websites it will do 10-80 in about 25 minutes on DC so fairly standard I guess.

Overall I loved the interior, the electric motor and good range. Not so much the ICE but as I said its only a 1.3l Turbo.

This morning I decided to order a fully equipped model (as long as he can configure the DC!). It's fairly pricey though and I doubt I would have without the massive reduction I get. Current waiting time is 4-5 months..
Worst case i don't like it after 6 months I sell it on for a small profit

kanuseeme

Well any update?

BigAl81

I haven't heard much about the Mercedes A250e, but the Mercedes AA Class looks great...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEjTwsfqHOY

kanuseeme

The replace battery system was very clever.

I wonder how many people know that Tesla cars are powered by 1000's of batteries not much bigger than a AA battery.

BKtje

kanuseeme wrote: »

Well any update?

I picked it up this afternoon and absolutely love it. Haven't spent enough time in it yet to give much more information but what I do know is that the ride is lovely (coming from a MK7 golf) even though its quite a porky car and the infotainment system blows me away.

I'll give a proper update in a week or so but feel free to ask any questions that you may have

Kramer

Well wear .

BKtje wrote: »

F
Charging:
I didnt do any charging so can't really say. The car i had only had the 7.2kw charger installed and the salesman wasn't aware that it could get DC. When we checked the configurator we couldnt find it but later on it was back on the configurator so it's a bit weird. According to websites it will do 10-80 in about 25 minutes on DC so fairly standard I guess.

DC charging wouldn't really be of much use imo in a phev like this, especially with 7.2kW AC charging. 2 hours AC vs 30 mins DC.
With a 60km EV range, you'd spend 30 minutes DC charging to drive 30 minutes on battery.

PHEVs usually are charged overnight/at work etc. so I'd forego DC charging unless in a large battery PHEV, like the BMW X5 (24kWh) etc.

BKtje

I actually plan to charge it every morning on my way to work when I stop for a coffee and to read boards for 25 minutes and then again in work for the return trip.

You may be right and that it ends up being more of a pain than it's worth but will see. In any case I can sell it on for what I paid in 6 months thanks to the huge discount I got through work if it really doesn't suit me.

Kramer

BKtje wrote: »

I actually plan to charge it every morning on my way to work when I stop for a coffee and to read boards for 25 minutes and then again in work for the return trip.

You may be right and that it ends up being more of a pain than it's worth but will see.

I forgot you're in Switzerland? In that case, I assume you don't have home charging.
It sounds like you have it worked out & PHEVs can be great for people like you who can maximise their utilisation of the electric range.

Is DC charging expensive & plentiful there? I.e are you guaranteed your chosen DC charger will be free each morning? If it costs more than running on petrol, would you really want to stop every morning?

A 100km return commute each day with home & work charging, would be ideal for your new Merc.

.....tip.....work in Switzerland but live across the border......it's fierce expensive there as we revisited last year in my PHEV, to visit CERN, to see the collider - which was cool, in fairness :P.

BKtje

Kramer wrote: »

I forgot you're in Switzerland? In that case, I assume you don't have home charging.
It sounds like you have it worked out & PHEVs can be great for people like you who can maximise their utilisation of the electric range.

I should do about 75% of my commutes via electric (130km per day) and the rest through petrol. Bit of a pain not to have a home charger, as you surmised, but the deal I made with myself to allow myself to buy the car was to use electric mode as much as possible.

Is DC charging expensive & plentiful there? I.e are you guaranteed your chosen DC charger will be free each morning? If it costs more than running on petrol, would you really want to stop every morning?

I don't know to be fair if it is always available but normally when I drive past my chosen spot in the morning it's empty. if not around the corner are two more 22KW chargers (top charging rate of the car). Cost wise I think it's generally about .45c (Swiss) per KW or .15c per minute depending on the spot. One provider has an all you can eat for 120 per month on their sockets(or 90 during the day and 50 at night). I'll probably take the nightly one (7pm to 8am) for the morning and then will have to see how it works in work.

I'd love to visit CERN someday but will have to wait post Covid as it's hitting the fan here a bit at the moment.