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Mercedes Benz B-Class Electric Drive
- Thread starter Adm
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- Electric Vehicles
Not according to their dealer's site
2014 B-Class Electric Drive
Key Features
Bold, compact four-door design with seating for five
Estimated range of 115 miles
Advanced electric motor delivering 135 horsepower and 228 lb-ft of torque
28 kWh lithium-ion battery stored safely and unobtrusively in rear floor "Energy Space"
Easily charged at any standard outlet
With 240 Volt/40 Amp power source: range of about 60 miles achieved in less than two hours, full charge in less than four
Advanced drive system converts kinetic energy into electric current while coasting or braking
Intuitive in-dash power display
Connected vehicle technology with remote monitoring and charging features
Becker® MAP PILOT® navigation standard
Available pre-entry climate control
0-60 mph in less than 10 seconds
COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST® w/ Adaptive Brake Assist
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As FYI, I called the Palm Springs MB dealership up. The salesman I spoke with didn't have too much info on the car. He didn't even have official pricing (which was announced earlier). He thinks it'll be 2-4 months before they get any. He said they are writing orders on it now if I wanted, and it would take a $1000 deposit. And he didn't think my being in AZ would be an issue if I wanted to buy one. (Though I wonder how I would get it serviced in AZ if it needed it. Supposedly, according to article, it will only require the annual maintenance too like the MS, but it being so new, I wonder about other possible problems.)
As for another nugget in the whole "conventional dealerships can't sell EVs" debate. The sales guy closed the conversation with this comment: "It should be a fun, interesting car." But he didn't exactly say it in an enthusiastic tone, but rather a skeptical one.
TonyWilliams
Active Member
Yes, I aware what their website says. My estimates stand, however I offer the very real caveat that they will only offer the "15% more" (according the Mercedes) above 28kWh when you pay extra for it. Sound familiar Model S-40 buyers?
Mercedes B-Class ED battery
36.0kWh total – 100% SOC
33.2kWh usable- 95.0% SOC
28.0kWh usable- 80.0% SOC
1.0kWh unusable- 2.7% SOC
So will it be a software unlock that you can purchase after buying the car? Or will there be two battery sizes?
Unless an EV has access to the supercharger network (or equivalent) and the range to use it, it's basically a nicer Leaf. Which is to say, a toy car tied its home town. If you're a car salesman, you're not going to be able to make a living trying to sell that kind of product.
I just did a >1000 mile road trip in the S from San Jose to San Diego and back. It was fine although LA and San Diego could use more destination charging. And 240V outlets in new houses shouldn't be option! They should be standard! Ahem.
Imagine buying a Leaf-class EV in San Jose and then moving to LA - a six hour drive away. How are you going to get it there? I know, I'll hop in the car and drive it ... 80 miles then stop and charge for hours. It'd take a good part of a week to drive the car there. Ship it? #facepalm
A 200+ mile EV paired with a good supercharger network is an incredibly practical car and will sell like hotcakes if it's price-competitive. May I present the Model S?
A 200-300 mile EV without the supercharger network is a fine "drive around town" and day-tripping car but it's painful for road-tripping unless you plan on making your way across the country slowly. People who really want EVs will buy them and it's fine second car but not a practical first car for most people. Unless maybe you live in Norway.
A <100 mile EV with no supercharger network is a joke. I take my hat off to the folks who believe so strongly in helping the environment that they buy these things. Although the subsidized leases help a lot. And I still might get a Leaf if the lease is subsidized enough - as a 3rd car. Which would sadly defeat the whole "lower material footprint" idea so maybe I won't
.
ZBB
Emperor
rcc -
3 comments about your thread:
1) Not everyone takes road trips. Even those that do, could rent a car for the road trip if needed (a guy that works for me refuses to drive his or his wife's ICE cars on road trips -- they always get a rental).
2) Most households have more than one car; so if they do take road trips, every car doesn't have to be "road trip worthy" (either for EV range, or for room)
3) The Leaf has access to a high speed charging network. Not as fast as Superchargers, but CHAdeMO.
If someone already has a Model S that is supercharger capable, the B-class (or Leaf) may be a good fit for their second family car...
3 comments about your thread:
1) Not everyone takes road trips. Even those that do, could rent a car for the road trip if needed (a guy that works for me refuses to drive his or his wife's ICE cars on road trips -- they always get a rental).
2) Most households have more than one car; so if they do take road trips, every car doesn't have to be "road trip worthy" (either for EV range, or for room)
3) The Leaf has access to a high speed charging network. Not as fast as Superchargers, but CHAdeMO.
If someone already has a Model S that is supercharger capable, the B-class (or Leaf) may be a good fit for their second family car...
RobStark
Well-Known Member
1) Almost everyone wants to have the freedom of taking a road trip if they wanted to. Very few people want to buy a $40k car then have to rent another for road trips. That is why we have millions of SUVs that don't leave cities/suburbs.
2) Almost everyone wants more features for the money, for the same money almost all households would rather have two road trip worthy cars than one.
3) That is why city cars are such a tiny tiny market relative to the larger auto market. The EV market needs another city car like I need another hole in my head. Automakers that try to convince people to buy cars that they need and not cars that they want will continue a run in futility. Then they will say "nobody wants an electric car."
dirkhh
Middle-aged Member
Does the B class have access to CHAdeMO? I believe it doesn't, and then I'd say it's even less useful than the Leaf, unless it's a second or third car.
We have a Model S (I've taken it on a ~1500 mile road trip Portland - Bay Area). We own a Leaf for driving around town (basically because my wife didn't want to have to drive the ICE minivan (we call it the "steam locomotive") until her Model X finally gets delivered). And we kept the steam locomotive NOT because we need it for road trips but because with twin daughters and their friends the Leaf at times isn't big enough for my wife (hence the Model X reservation - which will replace BOTH the Leaf and the ICE). The B class would work as a Leaf replacement for us. But why would we spend the extra money? The 24mo subsidized lease on the Leaf is ridiculously cheap, and the B class wouldn't be big enough to get rid of the minivan, either.
I'll just put it this way. With the Supercharger network, the MS is my road trip car. It's also my minivan, since it has so much space. But my wife and I both work. We need 2 cars for our daily lives. We'll never take both cars on a road trip. Our second car today is a Volt. We've only put gas in it once since we got the MS a year ago. And that was only because of the 12 month forced burn off the Volt does to prevent "stale gas". We put 2 gallons in it and the ICE hasn't run since. So, the 38 mile EV range of the Volt is more than she needs. But she does need a car. So, the Leaf or the B-Series even if it doesn't have Level 3 charging or better is sufficient for us. We may not be typical, but I know my use cases and either car would fit them nicely.
Now, I'll admit that the Leaf has Chademo, that there are plenty of Chademo stations in PHX-area, and the ridiculous Lease offers probably still keep it higher on the list than the B-Series, but I'll still take a look at it for sure.
Now, I'll admit that the Leaf has Chademo, that there are plenty of Chademo stations in PHX-area, and the ridiculous Lease offers probably still keep it higher on the list than the B-Series, but I'll still take a look at it for sure.
Anyone have any word on its EPA size classification?
As I posted at BMW i3 - Page 73, the i3 appears to have received subcompact, which isn't that surprising.
As I posted at BMW i3 - Page 73, the i3 appears to have received subcompact, which isn't that surprising.
TonyWilliams
Active Member
I'm not quite sure why Mercedes would purposely lock away part of the battery. With the 40 kWh Model S, Tesla had already taken orders for the car at that given price point and needed something to deliver, so range-limiting 60 kWh batteries was the path of least resistance. With the B-Class Electric Drive, Mercedes is starting fresh and hasn't even taken reservations. If all the cars are going to have the same battery anyway, why limit the range of any of them? Charge a couple thousand more for the base model for the ability to advertise that you have over 100 miles of electric range and stand out from the crowd, rather than saying "our car matches the range of these other cars, but then you can pay more to have it go farther". I'd think if they really wanted to take this approach, they would already be heavily promoting the "optional" range rather than the "standard" range.
TonyWilliams
Active Member
I've changed my mind and now agree with you. Daimler / Mercedes will include the 33.2kWh usable simply by pushing the charge override switch, bypassing the "normal" 80% charge.
A highly-charged battery will degrade faster. So if you want to do lots of range charging you're more likely to trigger the battery warranty and you'll have to pay for it.
Kipernicus
Model S Res#P1440
Automobile Magazine 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Review
More confusing info about battery size and range:
some not so positive points in my book:
Also, look at this diagram of the powertrain. Seems silly to have the on-board charger up front but the charge port in the back, with a big long wire going the length of the car.
More confusing info about battery size and range:
some not so positive points in my book:
Also, look at this diagram of the powertrain. Seems silly to have the on-board charger up front but the charge port in the back, with a big long wire going the length of the car.
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
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