Mercedes-Benz introduces latest E 200 Natural Gas Drive and E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition
09 August 2013
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| E 200 Natural Gas Drive. Click to enlarge. |
Mercedes-Benz is introducing the latest version of the bivalent drive E 200 Natural Gas Drive (NGD) variant to the E‑Class family in Europe. The E200 NGD can run on either gasoline or natural gas; benefits of running the car on natural gas include a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with comparable operation using gasoline, and much lower fuel costs. Mercedes-Benz also introduced the new diesel E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition, with CO2 emissions of 114 grams/km.
The E 200 Natural Gas Drive uses 4.3 kg of natural gas per 100 kilometers (NEDC combined), which corresponds to CO2 emissions of 116 g/km. If the new E 200 NGD automatically switches to running on gasoline because the gas tank is empty, the new four-cylinder engine needs requires 6.3 liters of unleaded gasoline (NEDC combined) for every 100 kilometers (37.3 mpg US), with CO2 emission of 147 g/km.
The bivalent drive also offers advantages with respect to the car’s range, which is more than 400 kilometers (249 miles) when running on natural gas, but more than 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) with gas and gasoline combined. An optional 80-liter (21-gallon) gasoline tank boosts the range to as much as 1,600 kilometers (994 miles).
The natural gas is stored in three containers—one behind the rear backrest and two under the floor of the trunk. Together they hold 121.5 liters (19.5 kg) of natural gas. Despite the additional gas tank, the trunk offers 400 liters (14 ft3) of space.
The new four-cylinder gasoline engine with spray-guided direct injection is a member of the BlueDIRECT family of Mercedes‑Benz gasoline engines. The engine generates an output of 115 kW (156 hp) and maximum torque of 270 N·m (199 lb-ft) at 1,250 rpm. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes 10.4 seconds, with a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph).
An ECO start/stop system that adds to the efficiency of the drive system, reducing consumption by 1.2 kg of natural gas per 100 kilometers in comparison to the predecessor model. This is an improvement of more than 20%. In natural gas mode the E 200 Natural Gas Drive qualifies for the efficiency class A+, or B when running on gasoline. In both cases the vehicle already meets the EU6 standard valid from 2015.
E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition. The drive system of the E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition uses the Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder diesel engine with direct injection. The engine generates 125 kW (170 hp) with an engine displacement of 2,143 cubic centimeters, and torque of 400 N·m (295 lb-ft).
The engine, equipped with fourth-generation common-rail technology, is matched to a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission that has been optimized with respect to driving comfort and consumption, as well as an ECO start/stop function.
Fuel consumption (NEDC combined cycle) is 4.4 l/100 km (53.5 mpg US). That corresponds to CO2 emissions of 114 grams per kilometer, beating all other cars in its segment. As a result, the new special model of the Mercedes-Benz E‑Class (which already meets the future Euro 6 emissions standard) has been assigned to the best efficiency class (A+).
The E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 227 km/h (141 mph).
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Why no 9 speed?
Posted by: GreenPlease | 09 August 2013 at 11:16 AM
The dual fuel makes a lot of sense for the USA as they are up to their necks in shale gas.
It might be worth the givernment giving a few billons to help the rollout of GNG stations.
The impact on CO2 would be small (but positive), but the impact on oil imports would be considerable.
+ you could always hybridise the CNG vehicles (new models).
However, you have to get a critical mass of CNG stations to make the whole thing take off.
They could take the expense from the military budget.
The fact that it can run on either gasoline or natural gas is very nice (like a PHEV), so you never need to worry about running out of gas.
Posted by: mahonj | 10 August 2013 at 07:01 AM