First Benz hybrid arrives

About 60 Australians with an environmental conscience have placed orders for the first hybrid Mercedes-Benz model to go on sale in Australia, the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID.

That number far exceeds Mercedes’ own sales forecast for a model that, based on an allocation of about 100 examples this year and 528 E-Class sales in the first half of 2013, should account for about 10 per cent of total E-Class volume here this year.

It also eclipses the sales of most of its direct rivals in the BMW ActiveHybrid 5, only a handful of which arrived late last year, and the equally new and exclusive Infiniti M35h.

Lexus is the large hybrid sedan leader, with about 180 sales of its latest GS 450h since May 2012, accounting for 10 per cent of the 1800 new-generation GS models sold here since then.

While Lexus admits tech-savvy early-adopters helped drive early sales of the GS 450h, it points out that the first IS hybrid, the upcoming ES hybrid and the cheaper GS 300h due early next year (bringing to seven the number of hybrid models it offers here) will lift the brand’s hybrid sales split well beyond its current 30 per cent.

Keen pricing and the fact it is Australia’s first diesel-electric passenger car could also play a part in the unexpected initial demand for the E 300 hybrid, orders for which could outstrip supply.

“Our ambition is not huge volume, but the reaction has been surprising and it is bringing a lot of new customers to the brand, which is pleasing,” said Senior Manager Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz Australia, David McCarthy, at this week’s launch.

“With lower fuel consumption than a smart it’s luxury without guilt. It makes a large car a positive experience because it offers outstanding efficiency with no sacrifice in luxury, space or performance.

“One hundred (sales) a year would be a good outcome and we think we’ll exceed that. The issue could be supply.”

McCarthy said the S 300 BlueTEC HYBRID is “95 per cent” confirmed to join October’s all-new S-Class range as the three-pointed star’s next hybrid model here by mid-2014, followed by a hybrid version of the next-generation C-Class due next year, probably with the same four-cylinder diesel-electric powertrain.

For now, Australia’s first Benz hybrid and first diesel hybrid joins the facelifted E 200, 220 and 250 sedan and wagon models launched here last month (and before the E 400 and E 63 AMG S models in August, with the facelifted E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet range to come in September), priced at $108,900 plus on-road costs.

That makes the E 300 hybrid sedan a neat $10,000 more expensive than the model upon which it’s based, the E 250 CDI, which at $98,900 is priced the same as the Infiniti M30h hybrid and the cheapest of three new Lexus GS 450h hybrid variants.

However, the E 300’s sub-$109,000 pricetag is $14,000 lower than that of BMW’s petrol-electric 5 Series sedan ($122,900), which Mercedes says is the result of hard bargaining with its Stuttgart HQ.

“We put our hand up over 12 months ago for it and we’ve had robust discussions on pricing since then – a lot of work’s gone into it,” said McCarthy, who added that if the luxury car tax threshold was raised to $100,000 for cars consuming less than 5.0L/100km the E 300 hybrid would cost the same as its E 250 CDI donor car.

That’s because at just 4.3L/100km and 113g/km, the E300 is considerably more efficient than its chief large luxury sedan rivals, including the GS 450h (6.3L/100km, 147g/km), BMW ActiveHybrid 5 (6.8L/100km, 156g/km) and Infiniti M35h (6.9L/100km, 159g/km) – and almost twice as efficient as big homegrown sedans like the Ford Falcon EcoBoost (8.1L/100km, 192g/km) and Holden Commodore Evoke (8.3L/100km, 198g/km).

And yet it is no slouch, with claimed 0-100km/h acceleration of 7.5 seconds -- within two seconds of its six-cylinder petrol-powered luxury hybrid competitors from Infiniti (5.5 seconds), Lexus and BMW (both 5.9 seconds).

Like the E 250 CDI, the E 300 hybrid powers its rear wheels with a direct-injection 2.143-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that’s boosted by a two-stage turbocharger to produce 150kW and a healthy 500Nm of torque.

To this the full two-mode hybrid E-Class adds a 20kW/250Nm electric motor/generator between its engine and seven-speed automatic transmission, bringing total outputs to 170kW and 590Nm (the latter from just 1800rpm).

Efficiency is further increased by a ‘sailing’ mode in which the engine is switched off and the vehicle maintains cruising speeds of up to 160km/h under electric power alone, short periods of electric-only take-off acceleration under light loads and a regenerative braking system that feeds kinetic braking energy back into the battery.

While that brings worthwhile reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions over the E 250 CDI (4.9L/100km and 129g/km), the electrified E-Class’ extra performance is cancelled out by a 100kg weight penalty (including 27kg for the motor/generator and 23kg for the front-mounted lithium-ion battery), resulting in identical 0-100km/h acceleration.

Boot capacity is almost identical too, falling from 540 to 505 litres because the 12-volt battery is moved from the engine bay. There’s no full-size spare, but the same split/folding rear seat and through-loading functionality as conventional E-Class models.

The E-Class technology leader is otherwise specified the same as the E 250 petrol and diesel models, including the Avantgarde cosmetic kit, full LED headlights with auto high-beam, leather trim, electric/memory front seats, keyless entry/starting, Driving Assistance Package PLUS (including active lane departure warning, active radar cruise control and blind spot monitoring) and 19-inch alloy wheels with 245/35 front and 275/30 rear tyres – in addition to the plethora of equipment standard across the 2013 E-Class line-up.

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