I absolutely love my black 14' Mercedes EV. It really fits my lifestyle. I drove it to my high school reunion last year for about 80 miles. And that was the longest distance I'd needed to drive. My typical day only requires about 25 miles of driving: dropping off and picking up kids at schools and running errands. On Saturdays, my husband drives my car and takes our 6 year old to the violin lesson which requires less than 50 miles. Charging is fast with our level 2 charger, and it costs very little because we have solar panels installed on our roof. We take my husband's gas car for any travels that require more than 90 miles. My husband is hoping to get his dream car--Tesla Model S in less than 2 years. I love my electric car!!
+Karen Williams Excellent, Karen! I'm trying to convince my wife about one of these. I've heard that in 'range' mode, you can easily get over 100 miles of range. Not that it would matter much since ~85 miles is more than enough. My wife used my Leaf the other day. She dropped the kids at school, went to her office, ran errands, picked up the kids in the afternoon and came back home. She drove for 3 hours total but less than 40 miles at an average speed of 17 mph :-) EVs are great for heavy city traffic.
I wonder if Canada will get the B-Class Electric Drive because we already get the gas version of the B-Class since 2006. It would make sense for Mercedes-Benz Canada to bring the Electric Drive here since BMW is going to sell the i3 world-wide and it is typical for a rival company to do the same thing.
A compliance car that could have been _great_ if it had fast charging capability. The comparatively low-range could have been overcome with fast-charging.
I just test drove a used one and am seriously thinking of it for an around town car for a retired parent. The turning circle is absolutely unbelievably small!
Pity that the US don't get the B250 like Canada. You can get a pretty well loaded model here for slightly over $40k CDN, a near ~$5k cheaper alternative to the smaller & less practical CLA250.
VW E-GOLF has more regen modes including a full coast mode, plus CCS fast charge as standard. And IMO the best looking of the 3 German EVs. As well as good driving dynamics and all the practicality of a normal Golf!
I saw one of these for the first time today. The wheels look like plastic wheel covers and make it look like a cheap econobox. Otherwise I wouldn't mind having a B-Class... if only I could get it here in the USA with a gas or diesel engine and manual transmission!
Maybe the Tesla model III, unless you actually dont want an EV. the model III is projected to have a ~200 mi range and cost 35K before incentives. I was planing on getting an '09 Jetta TDI with 6 speed manual until recent events. kinda sucks.
No Fast-Charging? This car is going nowhere. Several studies have been published relating the presence of a fast-charging network and the usage of EV's.
Bradley Price I seen and touched the guts of the BMW i3 a few weeks ago at the Canadian launch, and what BMW did and how they invented this special blend of many materials to build this thing is amazing. I have never seen anything like it at any press launch.
I am gonna stick with a conventional petrol engine or maybe a diesel engine. Despite what people think, electric is not the solution. But until oil reserves start drying out, the oil companies are never let anything replace conventional oil cars.
Why is it that all electric cars, except Tesla, look so crappy compared to the rest of each manufacturers' line up! It seems as if they're actively sabotaging their own progress.
Which electric cars in particular? This just looks like a regular B-class, which isn't saying much because the B-class has always looked goofy as hell, but it's just a B-class aesthetically. I recall most of the recent electric cars just looking like cars really.
I've considered a Tesla and I only wish that Mercedes and others would offer a 'sportier' model. Also I wish there was a 100~150 mile version because for 'me' there are those times in need more than a 80 mile range ... running out of juice on the highway doesn't seem like 'fun.'
Shahul Usman First it's (SLS) $500K+ USD, requires 20 hours to fully recharge, and the production is so limited that you can't get one if you tried. Mercedes offers nothing comparable to the cost, recharge, speed, and range to the Tesla. I'm by no means poor but by no means am I stupid rich either... Thanks for the info.
Just making a point. Tesla helps Mercedes make the b electric. Also if you look at the steering wheel and gear selector on a model S, you will see it is a Mercedes part. I do wish the B electric went over 100 miles. I also wish more people had plug in electric with a gas generator to quell range anxiety. Buy the nicer Vokt, Cadillac ELR
Why not use a swap & go battery pack. Swapping a flat battery pack for a fully charged one for some cash & no waiting around for batteries to recharge!
*You would have to virtually strip the car down to chassis as Batteries are under rear seats and sealed. Plus high voltage would not pass **_Health & Safety_** Laws. The Batteries themselves weigh in at around 350 kg*
Great video and thumbs up, but! I don't think the 'Battle of Electric Cars' will begin until these car manufacturers remove! these extortionate "paid memberships".
28KW/hr battery pack? That seems rather low. Couldn't they recycle the 40KW battery from the Model S like they did with the other non-Tesla cars with a Tesla powertrain; the Toyota RAV4 EV, which has a longer range that's just north of 100 miles and cost an extra $10k. However, if I was in the market for a pure battery electric SUV, I would wait untill later in the year to see what Telsa is doing with their Model X car, which has a expected release dateof that 2014, early 2015 with a projected base price of $50-$60k
+LPyourplay Ha! good one. You forgot to mentioned the uncivilized used of 60 Hz as well. But true, 120V is not practical for everyday charging. 240V is already in all North American homes and either plugging into an existing outlet or installing one is no big deal. At 240V/30A, the typical time to recharge - which will not be from dead flat batteries - will be 2.5 hours or less.
I have to say... Nope! It's not a very interesting car yet quite expensive. $42k puts it far beyond the competitors while not really delivering anything special. I suppose it's attractive to Mercedes fanboys but probably not many else.
This thing looks like a van and is not good looking, who the hell would want to drive a van? Waste of money. Better off getting a nice looking Volt. Its either Tesla or a Volt. Everything else sucks, although the smart electric and fiat 500e are pretty quick and fun little commuter cars
BMW and Mercedes put out ugly electric cars which is hysterical and sad. They both have nice sporty sedans but chose to make these ugly non aerodynamic looking ev's which just makes no sense.
*The W246 Mercedes is extremely aerodynamic, and very practical all round SUV - try getting 2 adult Mountain Bikes in rear of Tesla !* *_Note Quote :- An outstanding drag coefficient of cd = 0.26 places the new B-Class at the forefront of its market segment. With the optional ECO Technology package, which will be available at a later date, the five-door B-Class even achieves the world-class aerodynamic credentials of the E-Class Coupé, attaining a drag coefficient of cd = 0.24 which is nothing short of sensational for a vehicle with a station wagon rear end. In practical driving, aerodynamics have a crucial influence on fuel consumption: an improvement in the cd value of just 0.01 results in fuel savings of up to 0.4 litres per 100 kilometres at a speed of 130 km/h._*
