IT’S fair to say that I never drove a Mercedes until I started writing about cars.
However, I was often a front seat passenger in a Merc and was often worried that my work colleague might crash as the bonnet seemed so broad and long as he negotiated the narrow city streets.
But my driver said not to worry as he was guided by the pointed star every time he squeezed through the streets of the capital. So now every time I test a new Mercedes the first thing I check is to see if it has the famous pointed star to show me the way or if the Mercedes logo is embedded in the bonnet, as happens in some of the recent models.
This time round the bonnet in the E300 BlueTec Hybrid was huge, but I was able to relax a little as the star guided me through the traffic, which is you may have noticed, is definitely getting much busier once again in our capital city. Another sign that the recession may be over?
This is not a new car, but with a few tweaks and adjustments plus the most modern fuel-efficient hybrid technology. Mercedes claim this new hybrid technology will get you fuel consumption of close to 70 miles per gallon. It was frugal, but as most of my driving was in heavy city traffic I don’t think I achieved results as good as were predicted.
Positioned between the internal combustion engine and the 7-speed automatic transmission, the lithium-ion battery-powered electric motor gives a
‘boost effect’ to the diesel engine when accelerating whilst increasing braking energy when in alternator mode. And with the batteries located under the bonnet none of the boot-space is used up.
Available in saloon and estate, the E300 Hybrid combines the power of a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine developing 204 brake horse power with the energy of a 20 kw electric motor.
It’s powered and charged by its own motion and there is no need for external charging points. The stop-start technology was definitely the smoothest I have ever encountered.
When you sit it you should have no difficulty finding a comfortable driving position as the front seats are very easily adjusted. And there is ample leg and headroom for the back seat passengers also.
Mercedes are struggling to keep up with old rivals BMW and Audi and they are now trying to make their cars more attractive for young people. But with prices starting at
?¬56,325 they are unlikely to find many young customers for this hybrid. But I’m sure this new hybrid technology will be extended to smaller Mercs in the coming years.
Still you get a lot of extras for that price and the Iridium Silver coloured model I drove certainly looked attractive. The E-Class range accounts for approximately 50 per cent of all Mercedes cars sold in Ireland. This new technology should make the range even more popular.