Two years ago, or thereabouts, I had the chance to try out
the then newly launched in Malaysia W205 Series Mecedes-Benz C-Class in its
C300 AMG Line and C180 Avantgarde forms. It was a very memorable introduction
to the new C-Class at the time and, to say the least, I was impressed with the
two cars. The W205 C-Class first appeared in 2015 and you could say that things
have moved on since then. With this review of the 2018 W205 Mercedes-Benz C350
e Plug in Hybrid, AND, another article on the 2018 C200 which will be written
after this one gets published, I shall let you folks out there know what I think
of this year’s crop of C-Class.
The Mercedes-Benz C350 e AMG Line is Mercedes-Benz’s highest
specification C-Class that is not a Mercedes-AMG. This would mean that it
should come with the virtues of a Mercedes-Benz and less on the AMG side of
things. It will essentially look very sporty with its sports bodykit, large
alloy wheels, sports seats, steering wheel and other go faster bits but it must
still keep the virtues of an executive luxury automobile. Not something which
is, for lack of a better word, balls out performance but something that just
fondles them a little, keeping the tantalising bits for something higher up the
price range like a C43 AMG.
Of course, for most of us, this is enough. As with
everything, it comes at a price. There is the usual cost to performance as well
as the performance to comfort ratios which usually come into play here. For
something like this C350 e, Mercedes-Benz would like it to be something of an
all-rounder in terms of its abilities. So this car, must look sporty, be priced
reasonable (for a compact premium sedan), have adequate poke and still be
comfortable.
When you look at this w205 C-Class it should be a familiar sight
on Malaysian roads, especially if you are in and around the larger cities in
Peninsular Malaysia. In and around Petaling Jaya, there are so many of them
(and other Mercedes-Benz) around you’d actually start questioning where all the
normal looking cars are. It is a popular car since it was launched and for me,
I personally put it down to the Three Pointed Star being a favourable brand to
own and the important fact that the premium brand actually sells what people
want or aspire to want. The C-Class is a car that represents this reasoning in
spades. The C350 e is the one that has all the style, looks, and prestige as
well as adding technology and equipment into the picture too.
So the C350 e is the top of the line Mercedes-Benz C-Class
here in Malaysia at the moment. It looks like any other C-Class sold by
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia but adds more standard equipment, the AMG Line kit and a
hybrid petrol engine/electric motor combination which is efficient and actually
allows Mercedes-Benz to take advantage of the Malaysian tax breaks so that they
can price it competitively (It is locally assembled to do so by the way).
From the outside, the C-Class has matured well since it was
first launched in 2015. Its lines are sleek and it actually takes after the current
W/V222 Series Mercedes-Benz S-Class in terms of its overall styling cues. This
means that there is still that close similarity between the C-Class and the
flagship S-Class, as well as the E-Class but most would still be able to tell
the difference with close attention. It isn’t as ridiculously close as some of
the Audi cars out there but I do wish the current cars would have a little more
separation of styling. But that being said, the W205 C-Class’ styling is
actually a departure of what we think is the norm for compact premium sedans
which are usually broad shouldered with a squat, sporty stance.
This time, the
designers have gone for a classic, shall I say 1950s aesthetic look to the
sedan, with its long bonnet and short boot design. I personally think that this
adds to a more swooping elegance to the Mercedes-Benz sedans and make it
totally different from what the other premium marques are styling their cars. Now
add that AMG Line body kit to the C350 e and you can see a very sporty, yet
elegantly styled car which is slightly classical in its execution. Heck, the
most iconic designs hark back to an earlier era usually. And the era in
question is usually the 1930s to the1950s (Leica, Rolex, Porsche seems to come
to mind in terms of keeping to this timeless era in terms of design). So with
this, I have to say that I truly adore how the C350 e is styled, even with its
multi-spoke wheel design which is actually sporty yet elegant at the same time.
As for the inside of the C350 e, you get everything...and I
mean everything. Everything you can ask for in a compact sedan is there. You
have that panoramic roof so that you can still have that (semi) limitless
ceiling for airiness. You have comfortable multi-adjustable front seats for
both passenger and driver. You have an incredible multi-function infotainment
system that could overwhelm those that do not like too much technology (I
personally heard of a chap who got a full specced E-Class with the same
Mercedes-Benz COMAND system and was flustered due to the amount of stuff it can
do). The car is actually decked out with everything you need, and don’t need...
The ‘don’t need’ in my case is that Directional pad which
sits above the control knob on the centre armrest. As stated in my earlier
Mercedes-Benz GLC 200 review, it isn’t that intuitive for right hand drive
cars, or right handers. I think if you were left handed or if your writing hand
is your left hand, then the writing recognition function would be able to
decipher what you were trying to scribble. In my case, it couldn’t really read
what alphabet I was trying to type.
But the rest is simply awesome. The C350 e is so well
furnished that it is the most well finished compact premium sedan on sale in
Malaysia today. The dark wood finish is superb with its textured grain. There
are aluminium bits on the air vents which are nice to hold. The leather used is
nice to the touch. The seats are supportive and very adjustable.
The leather steering
wheel is small yet nice to hold. Even the instrument and infotainment screens
have a nice (adjustable) hue to them. If you get out of the C350 e and into
something from the other premium German makes of the same class, it would be
like getting out of the St. Regis and heading over to Sri Malaysia for a stay.
It is, bar none, the best interior of any compact premium sedan on sale in
Malaysia today.
In terms of its performance, the hybrid powertrain is quite
good too. The 2.0liter 4 cylinder M274 engine in this high specced form
combined with the electric motor (211hp +82hp) gives you more than ample oomph needed. If you
want bragging rights, the C350 e is the most powerful hybrid compact premium
hybrid on sale. It is also not bogged down by anything in terms of gearing and
maximum speed, aside from the usual German 250kmh limiter of course. This would
mean that Mercedes-Benz decided to say, “Ze people buying zis car aren’t those
that vant pure efficiency. They vant power because they can afford this car in
ze first place!”
Of course they can. It costs over RM350,000 in the first
place. So Mercedes-Benz made a plug in hybrid that can do 250kmh and also do
0-100kmh in around 5.8 seconds (tested). They did not put in a gearbox which
has gearing which is for fuel efficiency and not for acceleration or top speed.
They just used a proper 9 speed (G-Tronic) automatic transmission unit like
their other cars. So you get the usual acceleration, maximum achievable speed
as well as the usual smoothness like any other Mercedes-Benz which does not have
a hybrid powertrain. Yes, the 9 G-Tronic gearbox behaves well these days and
seems to be suited well to the powertrain. It shifts smoothly in traffic and
does perform adequately well during spirited driving.
Of course, there are still benefits that the hybrid
powertrain holds for those who are interested in the C350 e. One thing is the
silence you get when you are in hybrid or in full electric mode. The car is
silent as any electric car can be these days. You waft along at 40kmh along
busy city streets and the only thing you can hear is the air conditioning fan
whirling in the background and a little bit of road noise. There is nothing
else. But even if you were cruising around at 60-70kmh with the petrol engine
running, the car is still supremely quiet and I still cannot really detect any
additional engine noise at that speed. This is also quite nice as the current
generation of 4 cylinder direct injection engines from Mercedes-Benz are not as
quiet as the one in the previous C-Class 4 cylinder – the M271. This one clatters a little on idle which is seldom as it usually starts off in electric mode by default.
Another thing to note is the fact that whilst specs say the
car can last 30km on a full charge (which I managed to do since I have an
external plug point on the outside of my house), I could only manage about 20km
or so under full electric power. The current leader in terms of battery range
for a hybrid electric car sold here is the ones made by Volvo. I can get
slightly over 30km from what Volvo claim to be a 40km range. 20km is quite
limited actually in real world commutes.
It would be better if Mercedes-Benz
could come up with an extra 10 or so kilometres to make it properly usable or
for a commute which is slightly longer. That being said, it could be down to
the smaller sized battery pack of the C350 e, which in its current form eats up
about three centimetres of boot floor – The battery sits underneath the boot
space which also means run flat tyres and no place for a spare.
Oh, do note that it the claimed fuel consumption would only work if you are extremely light footed. Unlike Yours Truly. On an average, I could get somewhere around the 8 liters per 100km on a mostly urban drive experience, which realistically is very good for a 2.0liter sedan.
Speaking of run flat tyres and the batteries...
The battery packs and the hybrid drivetrain adds a fair bit
of weight compared to the conventional powered cars. As stated above, it
requires run flat tyres and a puncture kit instead of a spare tyre. It also
requires a little bit more suspension than usual to help cope with the extra
load at the rear (mostly). For this, the C350 e has the Mercedes-Benz Airmatic
air suspension setup instead of the usual coil springs and strut setup. It also
requires this for better ride levelling to compensate for this extra weight
too.
In terms of the ride of the C350 e, the car has a very nice
primary ride over most normal roads. It will glide over most large bumps and
road ripples with ease. In terms of secondary ride issues I noticed that the
C350 e does not handle smaller ripples or cobblestone paths at slower speeds.
This is due to the low profile 19 inch wheels and tyres. The unforgiving nature
of big wheels coupled with rubber band-like run flat tyres, which have super
stiff sidewalls, causes this fault in my opinion. At speed, the suspension
makes the C350 e ride well, but when at slow, crawling speeds on bad roads, it
picks up all road nuances easily. It could actually work well with smaller
wheels and thicker tyres I think. But this is the small price to pay for the
styling.
As for the C350 e’s handling, it handles like a Mercedes-Benz.
Initial turn in is sharp but it does not like to be taken by its horns and
manhandled. Understeer sets in right after the initial quickness of the
steering and if you are pushing it on fast, tight corners, the car lets you
know quite early on that it prefers a straighter line. The tyres are high
specced Continentals which I know are very good so it must be down to how the
car is set up and how the extra weight of the hybrid powertrain affects its
handling ultimately. The preferred way of driving this car fast is to brake
hard before the corner turn in slowly and use the might of its 660Nm worth of
torque to fling you forward right after it.
It sounds so much like driving something like a 1974 450SEL
6.9, albeit slightly smaller. Heck, it could actually weigh the same because of
the current safety equipment and batteries. So if you like a challenge or like
manhandling your cars, this could be the car to get.
So it is super fast in a straight line. So close to what a
C43 can offer at a more affordable price. Rear wheel drive and not all-wheel
drive too! It is also supremely luxurious inside. It does have its niggles as
no car is perfect. Yet. And yet, I actually think if I am in need for a compact
premium sedan with all the bells and whistles at around the RM350K price range.
This could be it.
I personally will only use its handling prowess 5% of the
time as the rest of the time the C350 e would be used to take me to meetings
and back. It will be used to pick up the kid from school or to send her over.
The handling, or lack of ultimate handling, will not be an issue 95% of the
time and even if I do take this C350 e for some spirited driving it may be for
some jaunt to Singapore or to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. This, is what I think
an owner of any C350 e thinks like. This isn’t the car for that Sunday drive up
to Bukit Putus or Ulu Yam.
This COULD be the ultimate compact premium car on sale today
(at around RM350,000). So with a cabin space as luxurious as what the C350 e
has to offer, it is just best to sit, press the accelerator and be amazed of
the amount of torque on offer on the straights. This C350 e has a purpose and the purpose is just
to make you feel luxurious and have bragging rights of being the flagship
Mercedes-Benz Class (not Mercedes-AMG mind you).
However, the issue I have is that the next best in the
range, the C250 AMG Line or even the C200 AMG Line variants could do this just
as well. Slightly slower in a straight line, slightly less fuel efficient but
it is offset by the slightly more affordable entry cost. And like the handling,
you only use the all out performance maybe 5% of the time you get in the car.
The rest is the usual traffic crawls.
2018 Mercedes-Benz C350 e Plug-In Hybrid
Pros: The styling, the fabulous interior, the drivetrain,
the powertrain and the refinement. Fuel consumption is good too. The badge these days says alot too. Burmeister sound system very good too.
Cons: The handling – a little bit too heavy to really
handle, the ride could be better – most likely this is because this is the
first ever C-Class to utilise run-flat tyres and air suspension as a necessity
(due to the hybrid powertrain), that D-pad touch controller. The C250 could be just as good in the
long run due to extra equipment servicing costs.
Overall: Still marvelous two years since its Malaysian launch. But the facelift is just around the corner so buy while you are able to.
Price: Without SST OR GST or insurance - RM282,954.57
Specification
Engine:
1991cc 4 cylinder turbocharged M274 petrol hybrid powertrain - 211hp + 82hp / 600Nm torque
Transmission:
9 G-Tronic automatic
Performance :
0-100kmh in 5.8secs (tested)
250kmh
Fuel consumption:
Claimed:
Combined 2.1-2.4l/100km
Actual Tested:
80% urban @ 7.0l/100km est.
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