To get at least 700 km on a single tank of fuel is an achievement, but when you manage to extract nearly 2 000 km from a single fill-up it’s a hat off moment.
With no after-sales altercations or modifications made to the car, except for the optional 80-litre fuel tank that’s been fitted by Mercedes, the E300 BlueTec Hybrid set about a 21 hour journey crossing Africa and France, enduring heavy rain and intense heat, en route to Britain. On its tank of fuel the Merc managed to extract 1 968,2 km, without having to fill up once along the way.
This is made all the more impressive when it comes to light that the E300 BlueTec Hybrid only used 3,8 litre/100 km. In Europe, the fuel consumption is rated at 5,0 L/100 km.
The E300 BlueTec Hybrid is no stripped-out, uncomfortable eco model: its 2,1-litre diesel engine develops 150 kW and its electric motor an additional 20 kW, with the 0 – 100 km/h sprint taking 7,5 seconds onto a 240 km/h top speed.
Though the average speed on the journey was below that of typical highway speeds, it does suggest that long journeys can be accomplished with very little effort and at not much cost.
And it does beg the question: what would an E250 BlueTec have achieved…
– Charlen Raymond
