Does the war between electricity and oil make sense? Video

Electricity or gasoline? Electric or diesel? Is it necessary to distinguish these two worlds or, perhaps, electricity can be a choice of alternative based on taste just as, before its arrival, customers chose petrol instead of diesel or vice versa?

This is the idea behind the Mercedes plan that decided to invite several journalists on a trip to Tuscany that started from Milan and Rome. Unlike in the past, however, the passenger cars were also different: there were 250+ EQAselectric version of the GLA, but there were also warm GLAs: diesel. plug-in hybrid and even thirstier (and also more fun) than the gasoline-powered ones, the AMG version.

After leaving together, we all had one goal, to get to lunch at the same time. Spoilers? We made it with a difference of about ten minutes at most…

The first part I traveled was inside the GLA Plug-in, a car that left Milan in the same state as those in real life for those who choose this version: almost a full battery, because it would be pointless not to recharge the plug-in. every evening, with a tank full of fuel. With other offers we all stop for breakfast and it is here that the EQAs recharge at a station that took us a long time for coffee, and we are talking about an electric SUV that is certainly not very fast in filling the electrons from the peak. The charging power is limited to 100 kW, which the car will finish charging.

Then I take one of the EQAs in my hand and replace it with a plug-in to launch myself on a road test only, and at full speed as I will have to arrive more or less at the same time as those who drive the diesel or AMG versions.

Battery of the latest update from Mercedes EQA 250+ is from 70.5 kWh, a surcharge that allowed the manufacturer to increase the declared WLTP which is always in conflict with the actual driving requirements. Since the purpose of this experiment was certainly not to try to save money, my drive from Autogrill Arda Est (where we recharged without leaving the road) to the destination of Marina di Pisa involved no precautions.

The route is 209 kilometers, where I “decided” to add 40 more due to a mistake since I missed the exit, I went further south than I should have and I had to make up for the lost time by increasing the pace so that they would not be late than the rest of the group.

The overall average was 24.2 kWh / 100 km, with a total consumption of about 60 kWh that I definitely did not have in the “tank” since I took the EQA with 56.4 kWh at the gas station. This required a very short stop of 11 minutes: in this case the time was dictated only by the need to use the bathroom and there was no time wasted. My need was to stop for psychological needs, and the loss of time because of the car was a few seconds of plugging in and plugging in before entering the service station, doing what I had to do and quickly exiting to get back on track. the steering wheel. In those ten minutes, also due to the battery being in the correct range to accept maximum power, I recovered just under 15 kWh to reach the point where I went through the other 3 stages (more than 25 km in total, responsive, Mercedes dealership and hotel .in Pisa Central).

In all three cases you will be able to recharge with slow increments given that the column was located 300 meters from the restaurant along the coast, in the Mercedes dealership (Ugo Scotti in via Meucci in Pisa) and in the car park near the station.

All things considered, with the car running at 100% in real road conditions – unrestricted except for traffic issues, the actual range is around 300 km. With the car at 80% after the first quick charge you can travel 200 km between stations one for the road and the other (assuming a 10% recharge).

At a strategic level, Mercedes has revised those plans, without distorting them. Electricity remains the point of arrival, on the other hand there is no going back with investment implemented by the entire automotive industry. However, the Germans have never given up diesel, and so this remains in the range: up to 50% of sales within the second half of the decade (2025 or so) will be made by Mercedes electric or Plug-In, but. endothermic will accompany us beyond 2030 and will therefore be available on newly registered vehicles.

What changes in strategy is how electricity will be proposed: not a replacement, but an alternative. If before there was a choice between gasoline and diesel, today Plug-Ins or fully electric cars are added, and this will meet different needs without forcing but only considering the power of electric cars in the respective categories.

And the younger ones? The A-class will remain in some form, but Mercedes did not go too far in answering this question. The roadmap towards 2030 includes four models based on the MMA (“electric-first” platform for regular and mid-size cars but also capable of hosting traditional engines) and future innovations based on three new electric platforms: MB-EA for electric passenger cars, AMG.EA for high-performance electric cars and VAN.EA for electric commercial vehicles. Speeds and rates will be determined by market and application.