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B-Class Electric Drive Forum

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neel

New member
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
1
My dealer made a big deal about the B-class being a luxury car when I was comparing with other EV's around. But there are some very simple things amiss that makes this an average car...

a) When I switch off the car, why can it not put the car into Park automatically? Why do I need to specifically put it into Park? If there is a reason, I would be very interested in understanding it.

b) Touch Screen!!! Mercedes is a luxury brand and it does not have touch screen! Even after having it for a few days, I am still pressing on the screen :(

c) The console behind the wheel - not at all representative of German engineering that I hear about! I don't look at the speedometer dial - which anyway is on the left and obstructed in view. Having at least the trip meter also as part of the digital speedometer would slightly improve the usage and information display.

d) I hope I am not trivializing it - why not include the tenth of a mile info with the trip meters? There is a significant difference between 3 and 3.8 miles!

e) This is an EV...all the EV owners I have met care about statistics :) When the car is switched off, why not show the trip information? There is a "From Start" screen that they can show (if it can already be customized to show that screen on power off, I would be interested in knowing how to do it!).

That's all for today! Otherwise, it's a good EV...good pickup, good feel, spacious!
 
Johnsie said:
Mine switches into Park when I open the door or turn it off, maybe its a setting?
If you are on the highway going at 60 MPH, what happens if you open your door slightly?

Don't guess, do a test and let us know ;-)
 
neel said:
My dealer made a big deal about the B-class being a luxury car when I was comparing with other EV's around. But there are some very simple things amiss that makes this an average car...

a) When I switch off the car, why can it not put the car into Park automatically? Why do I need to specifically put it into Park? If there is a reason, I would be very interested in understanding it.

b) Touch Screen!!! Mercedes is a luxury brand and it does not have touch screen! Even after having it for a few days, I am still pressing on the screen :(

c) The console behind the wheel - not at all representative of German engineering that I hear about! I don't look at the speedometer dial - which anyway is on the left and obstructed in view. Having at least the trip meter also as part of the digital speedometer would slightly improve the usage and information display.

d) I hope I am not trivializing it - why not include the tenth of a mile info with the trip meters? There is a significant difference between 3 and 3.8 miles!

e) This is an EV...all the EV owners I have met care about statistics :) When the car is switched off, why not show the trip information? There is a "From Start" screen that they can show (if it can already be customized to show that screen on power off, I would be interested in knowing how to do it!).

That's all for today! Otherwise, it's a good EV...good pickup, good feel, spacious!
You might be expecting too much. This is a "compliant car" for the purpose of passing state zero emission requirements. Like the Toyota RAV EV, the MB B EV will only be produced for about 3 years, total of around 2500 units is my guess. Just like the RAV, Mercedes will not continue this project with Tesla.
 
I've had Beverly for 6 weeks now and I completely agree with the sentiments. After two decades of Audi ownership, this car - specifically, the infotainment and instrumentation - is not well thought out. The center part of the instrument cluster squanders space, the speedo is way too busy to be actually legible, and it's obstructed. The nav and whole infotainment system is mind bogglingly stupid. The dealer is about as bad as my Ford dealer was (but their infotainment was more usable - something I didn't think I'd ever say).

But of the little EVs it's the best highway cruiser with best reach, so that's what I have now for 3 years, and then hopefully we will have better choices.
 
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