Photo: Mercedes-Benz
For the time being, the most fuel-efficient W177 is the A 180 d with the dual-clutch transmission. As little as 3.9 liters per kilometers and 103 grams of C02 per kilometer were promised by the three-pointed star, but Mercedes-Benz won’t stop here. Likely to bear the A 250 e nameplate, the plug-in hybrid W177 is expected to premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2019.
If Autocar.co.uk is right about the timing, then the A 250 e will arrive at European dealerships for the 2020 model year. The front- and all-wheel-drive vehicle architecture is shared with the CLA and GLB, meaning that Mercedes will expand the availability of the plug-in hybrid option in due time.
The building block of the A 250 e is the 1.3-liter turbo four-cylinder in the A 200, complemented by an electric motor which could be integrated into the transmission for the sake of packaging. In regard to the suck-squeeze-bang-blow stuff, the ICE is good for 158 horsepower and 148 pound-feet while the e-motor would feature 101 horsepower and up to 221 pound-feet of torque.
Further still, the plug-in hybrid relies on the electricity stored in a 15-kWh battery. The BMW 225e Active Tourer and Volkswagen Golf GTE, which are both compact, make do with 9.7 and 8.7 kilowatt-hours. In other words, the A 250 e is expected to hit 87 miles per hour in electric mode while e-range is estimated at 37 miles or thereabouts.
In order to make room for the battery and various electric and electronic add-ons, the fuel tank has been reduced in volume from 45 to 35 liters. Other modifications have been made to the rear suspension of the A-Class because of the help package the 120-kilogram battery. The cells are supplied by LG Chem from South Korea while the battery is assembled at Deutsche Accumotive in Germany, a subsidiary of Daimler AG.
“The A250e is expected to support DC charging at up to 22 kW” according to the British publication, double the kilowatt-hours of the Hyundai Kona Electric. Looking at the bigger picture, it’s curiously disappointing that Mercedes-Benz can’t do better than 37 miles from 15 kWh in a compact-sized car. Toyota claims 39 miles out of the Prius PHV while Hyundai is also capable of 39 miles with the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid.
The building block of the A 250 e is the 1.3-liter turbo four-cylinder in the A 200, complemented by an electric motor which could be integrated into the transmission for the sake of packaging. In regard to the suck-squeeze-bang-blow stuff, the ICE is good for 158 horsepower and 148 pound-feet while the e-motor would feature 101 horsepower and up to 221 pound-feet of torque.
Further still, the plug-in hybrid relies on the electricity stored in a 15-kWh battery. The BMW 225e Active Tourer and Volkswagen Golf GTE, which are both compact, make do with 9.7 and 8.7 kilowatt-hours. In other words, the A 250 e is expected to hit 87 miles per hour in electric mode while e-range is estimated at 37 miles or thereabouts.
In order to make room for the battery and various electric and electronic add-ons, the fuel tank has been reduced in volume from 45 to 35 liters. Other modifications have been made to the rear suspension of the A-Class because of the help package the 120-kilogram battery. The cells are supplied by LG Chem from South Korea while the battery is assembled at Deutsche Accumotive in Germany, a subsidiary of Daimler AG.
“The A250e is expected to support DC charging at up to 22 kW” according to the British publication, double the kilowatt-hours of the Hyundai Kona Electric. Looking at the bigger picture, it’s curiously disappointing that Mercedes-Benz can’t do better than 37 miles from 15 kWh in a compact-sized car. Toyota claims 39 miles out of the Prius PHV while Hyundai is also capable of 39 miles with the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid.
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