The Ultimate Challenge : Single Tank of Fuel From Africa to U.K. Maximum Highlight on Mercedes-Benz E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID Design and Build The compactness of the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRIDs electric motor means theres no real penalty to pay in terms of practicality. Pop the boot of the saloon or the tailgate of the estate version and you get exactly the same amount of carrying capacity as you do in their more conventionally powered siblings. For the record, thats 540 litres of boot space in the saloon and 695 in the estate, expandable to 1,950 litres in the estate should you start folding seats down. Theres also just as much rear legroom on offer. Mercedes claim that their own testing procedures have shown that it takes a relatively short time for genuine fuel savings to be achieved as drivers learn to make increasingly deliberate and effective use of this Hybrid cars efficiency technology. They are supported in their use of the features by the display panel of the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID. The central display provides information on the current energy flow and the charge status of the batteries, as well as a top view of the vehicle, depicting the drivetrain and coloured energy flow. The driver is able to monitor fuel consumption via energy/time graphs. Summary Its been a long time coming, but Mercedes-Benz has clearly demonstrated the practical benefits of a diesel/electric hybrid in the executive saloon and estate class. The E300 BlueTEC HYBRID makes all the right numbers and does so without imposing too big a demand in terms of dynamics and practicality. The one caveat that remains to be answered is whether Mercedes can make this technology sufficiently attractive to buyers such that theyll eschew a cheaper diesel car in its favour. Thats a really tough nut to crack. Get it wrong and this hybrid will remain a niche curiosity; something that Mercedes can use to puff up the corporate ego but of very little benefit to the companys bottom line, in the short term at least. Still, if youd bank on any company to be able to overcome this hurdle, it would be Mercedes. It has an amazing track record of bringing seemingly exotic technology into the mainstream and will continue to do so. This may be its biggest challenge to date but the potential rewards are enormous. Watch this space.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:42:09 +0000
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