Texas: From Shale Boom to Water Revolution





The sedan and the wagon model deliver certified fuel consumption of 2.4 - 2.1 liters per 100 kilometres (98 - 112 mpg US), or 55 – 48 g CO2/km) and up to 31 kilometres (19 miles) of all-electric driving. Both models are equipped with air suspension and pre-entry climate control as standard.

From a displacement of just under two litres, the four-cylinder gasoline engine in the C 350 e produces 155 kW (211 hp) and has a maximum torque of 350 N·m (258 lb-ft). The electric motor has an output of up to 60 kW and delivers torque of 340 N·m (251 lb-ft). A total system output of 205 kW (279 hp), as well as system torque of 600 N·m (443 lb-ft), are thus available to be called upon by the standard-fit 7G-TRONIC PLUS 7-speed automatic transmission. The 6.38 kWh Li-ion battery pack can be charged from an external power source.

An intelligent engine management system works in the background to automatically select the ideal combination of combustion engine and electric motor. If a destination is programmed into the navigation system, an intelligent operating strategy controls charge and discharge of the high-voltage battery in the C 350 e to ensure optimal use of energy over the entire route.

Another aim of this route-based operating strategy is to reach urban areas with a fully charged battery if possible, so that the vehicle can be driven efficiently in stop-and-go traffic—and frequently in electric mode.

Resources used. The hybrid-specific components require higher material resources than is the case with the C 250; a total of 1,705 kg for the C 350 e, versus 1,435 kg for the comparably equipped C 250. However, a high recovery quota of 95% ensures that the materials used are not lost.

Analysis of the individual life cycle phases reveals that more energy goes into manufacturing the PHEV. During the operation phase, however, energy input can be significantly reduced thanks to its high efficiency. Overall, the C 350 e shows a significant reduction in energy resources used compared to the C 250, according to the analysis. The ratio further improves by every kilometer driven beyond the 200,000 used in the LCA.

CO2 emissions. Producing the plug-in hybrid generates more CO2 emissions than the production of the C 250: 10.1 tonnes of CO2 versus 7.6 tonnes, or about 33% higher than the C 250 production carbon footprint. However, this is more than compensated for in the operation cycle.

Gauging other environmental effects, such as summer smog potential, acidification potential, and eutrophication potential, the C 350 e powered by hydro power shows significant improvement over the life cycle.



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Problem with PHEVs is that they are not cutting edge anymore and really not that interesting. What would be interesting would be to see Benz do a long-range BEV or several different long-range BEV models. That would cut CO2 and other pollutant by 100% when using renewable energy. Benz could also start selling the home owner solar panels, home smart devises and home chargers that enables this 100% reduction in pollution. That is what I expect Tesla is planning to offer in the near future.


@henrik, I disagree, I think PHEvs are very good solution, if a little complicated. The reason is that you can size your battery to your commute+ a little, and then do any longer trips on petrol.
Thus, you can get away with a 10kwH battery instead of going all the way to 60-85KwH.
In addition, you are not trying to hop from supercharger to supercharger, you can literally drive all night on gas.

I will agree that for certain limited mileage usage (or very wealthy people) EVs can be very good [Leaf, Tesla S].

Another thing I feel could be developed is the "2 car PHEV" where one car is a leaf/MieV and the other is any kind of ICE.

The question is where does the ICE car come from - if you have one already (and have the space to park the two, fine), if you do not have a second car, you need a way to get one easily and inexpensively.

You could do swrental where you drive to a garage and swap your car for an ICE, perhaps allowing the garage to rent your car, perhaps not. Or you could have an informal relationship with a friend and could swap cars with them, OR, you could join an "ICE / EV" swap club where you could swap cars with someone from the club.

The notion that you can only drive the cars you own might need a to be revisited.

[ Obviously, you would need proper insurance and vetting so people do not get ripped off. ]

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