Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID 2010 Review - International

Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID

Price guide (in USA): $US87,950 (see text)
Crash rating: not tested
Fuel: PULP, 95 RON
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 9.04/12.37 US city/highway cycles (7.9L/100km Euro combined)
CO2 emissions (g/km): 186 (Euro combined)
Also consider: moving to the USA if you really want to buy one…

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 3.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

In a few short years California will lead the world via mandated application of zero emission vehicles. Under regulations imposed by the US state, car manufacturers that wish to continue to sell their wider ranges on the West Coast will be required to offer in limited but saleable volumes zero emission cars (read: electric for main part) or face economic exclusion from the market.

The cars, big and small, will often likely be sold or leased by the companies at a loss. But such is the power and size of the Californian car market (at one time it was in its own right the fifth biggest in the world) that not to be there is tantamount to economic -- or at least marketing -- suicide.

In such a green-focused auto environment it's little wonder that companies are keen to highlight their latest eco cars -- for corporates and drivers alike, it's as much about being seen to be doing something as actually doing it. Thus we couldn't think of a better place to experience a vehicle that's donned a different sort of green cape and become an eco-warrior... Albeit a rather large one...

The Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID is the first of a new breed of undercover green warriors. Indeed, save for the badges there's almost nothing to give its unconventional status away. For all intents and purposes externally identical to your run of the mill garden-variety luxury limo; it's for owners who want to dance their enviro-jig on the inside.

It's almost equally undercover when in use. There's very little indication you're driving anything else than a 'normal' S-Class. Most passengers will notice that the engine automatically stops and starts at traffic lights, but few if any will pick the slightly rougher running of the Atkinson Cycle modified version of Benz's proven 3.5-litre V6 or any real performance handicap.

Falling into the category of a 'mild' hybrid, the S 400 HYBRID will not drive you to the shops on battery power alone. It will, however, in the longer term influence how most hybrids are built.

Yours truly grabbed one of the first S 400 HYBRIDs (Benz's capitals not ours!) to hit the road in California during a recent trip Stateside. Starting in LA, the Benz Shy-brid took me to a bunch of airplane museums and tourist traps (not to mention outlet malls) as I first headed south to San Diego and east and northwards around the LA basin, eventually hitting the coast again at Santa Barbara. From there it was a quick blast up the Great Ocean Road's big US brother, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to Monterey and eventually San Francisco.

Over approximately 2500 miles (4000km) in six days, it performed just like a normal S-Class, wafting me from place to place. The real shock was at the pumps -- instead of 15mpg, it returned better than 26 miles per US gallon (approx 9.0L/100km). Considering that in stop-start LA freeway traffic the consumption actually dropped; and otherwise many of the miles were at 130km/h or thereabouts on the interstate or pretending to be a sports saloon on the PCH, that's an exceptional result in my mind.

Our man in Europe, Michael Taylor, drove the S 400 HYBRID at its launch so I won't regurgitate the technical details here, save for reiterating some basics of the S's 'mild' hybrid powertrain. Designed solely to reduce fuel consumption, the Benz system eschews complex powertrain duplication and features a thin and relatively simple donut-shaped motor that sits 'twixt conventional V6 engine and normal seven-speed automatic gearbox. Developing just 15kW but packing a hefty 160Nm, the motor supplements the 'economy' version of the normal V6 to deliver close to V8 in-gear performance and closer to four-cylinder fuel economy.

As alluded to above, battery capacity is limited. It's a relatively small lithium-ion pack that, instead of severely compromising luggage space, sits under the bonnet where it belongs.

Though true eco-warriors will say this whole powertrain is just window dressing, this design appeals to yours truly as a sensible and (hopefully in the long term) affordable application of technology.

Indeed, while it's unlikely for the time being that the S 400 HYBRID will be built in right-hand drive or therefore sold Down Under, I can't help but consider how exactly this sort of technology could be applied to locally produced large cars to the benefit of their makers and customers.

Able to be installed in conventionally proportioned rear-wheel drive sedans and wagons, this is exactly the sort of technology the Australia Government's Green Car Innovation Fund should be championing.

Imagine a 150kW lean-burn V6 in Holden's Sportwagon with a 15kW/160Nm electric motor feeding through the General's new six-speed auto box (GM was a partner to Daimler in developing the hybrid system the S-Class uses)... Or a combination of Ford's proposed EcoBoost turbo four and the 'helper' motor technology in the 2012 next generation Territory. That would really be something for KRudd to KRow about.

As it is the S 400 is far from a low-cost green option -- it's a pointer to what could be for the wider automotive world.

For the record, in the USA it's priced at around four per cent under the comparable S 550 (S 500 Down Under) V8-engined equivalent -- but that's still approaching six-figures in a country where $25,000 buys you a loaded Prius. Applying a similar 'reverse premium' to the car in Australia would see it priced from around $280K.

For a car that delivers palpable economy gains (approaching diesel mileage without the need to visit the 'dirty pumps') the S 400 HYBRID asks few sacrifices. All the luxury mod cons are there including adjustable everything, the updated S-Class's tricky new mood lighting et al and a US-spec suspension tune that varies from wobbly waft to sporting firm.

The Prius and its Lexus limo counterpart may have been the darlings of the Hollywood set to date, but the Benz Shy-brid should change that. True, it's far from the end-game, but it is the shape of many, many more 'mild' ones to come...

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