In this picture is a Mercedes S300 BlueTec Hybrid, a single car of the two hybrid variations of the new Merceds Benz S-course. Another model of, the S400 Hybrid, made of petrol with five-litre V6 engine to an electric motor for V8-chasing overall performance, but this S300 is far more progressive (and appropriate to the Uk) as it really is driven by a tiny 4-cylinder diesel motor.
Go through on for CAR’s initial drive review of the new Mercedes S300 BlueTec Hybrid.
So with a 4-cylinder motor it’s going to be the most inexpensive Mercedes S-course you can purchase, correct?
Nope. The S300 BlueTec Hybrid only comes in lengthy-wheelbase guise, and at £72,260 it really is £6355 much more than the 6-cylinder S350 CDI LWB . For that additional income you get two less cylinders – and that lops absent 844cc – and in spite of the S300′s 20kW electric powered motor aiding the 201bhp 2.1-litre four-cylinder motor, it can’t match the 254bhp of the S350′s three.-litre diesel V6.
Of course, that e-motor also provides 184lb ft of additional torque, but the non-hybrid S350 even now reaches 62mph eight-tenths quicker than the S300 Hybrid (six.8sec vs seven.6) and has a increased top pace as properly. But the S300 counters with formal figures of 61.4mpg and 120g/km CO2 against the S350′s 50.4mpg and 148g/km. You is not going to match these figures in actuality, but in the course of our take a look at the S300 Hybrid always averaged in excess of 40mpg.
Can you explain to it truly is a minor four-cylinder diesel beneath the bonnet?
Occasionally. Push the starter button when there is certainly ample cost in the lithium-ion batteries and you’ll glide in silent EV manner out of your driveway, along your road and get up a good head of velocity just before the motor fires into existence, by which stage there’s some ambient wind and tyre and road sound to dampen its result. But if the batteries are depleted and the motor starts from chilly at a standstill (or with a doorway or window open) then it truly is a loud little runt – or at the very least seems so simply because the S-course is so refined and quiet than any unexpected introduction of sounds feels intrusive.
It does not have the greatest grunt of the S350 CDI either, the diesel motor and e-motor combining to give far more of a well mannered nudge in the back than the six-cylinder’s kick. A display in the electronic dials reveals when the motor is supplying increase, but a fellow banker in an S350 CDI (or a upstart teller in his Golfing GTI) would leave you behind in a drag race.
However outside of that you not often think about what’s powering this S-class. What’ll impress your (back again seat) passengers is the silence when the S-course 1st wafts absent from a gala awards ceremony in electric mode, the exceptional integration amongst the diesel motor, seven-velocity gearbox and e-motor, and the serene trip, overall refinement (it truly is nigh-on as tranquil as a Rolls-Royce Phantom) and ambience (this is a Mercedes interior that feels genuinely particular).
What are the downsides then?
The electrical module is integrated into the gearbox and suits under the bonnet, but the batteries go into the boot, and that indicates a large plastic shroud eats into baggage area.
It’s no Jaguar XJ or Porsche Panamera behind the wheel either. Granted which is never been component of the S-class’s remit (and the extra 60kg the S300 Hybrid carries in excess of the S350 is inconsequential in a two-tonne limo) but the steering is gentle and lifeless, and there’s a tad way too significantly bodyroll.
That, and despite the fact that the inside is stunning, our test car was loaded with £30k of possibilities (including every thing from £1740 Nappa leather-based upholstery to heated front and rear armrests). How various would it truly feel without so many optional extras lavished upon it?
Verdict
How typically do owner’s thrash their limos? Virtually never ever, which is why the luxury-targeted S-course is always a hit, and the latest iteration has set a genuine step between it and rivals from Audi and BMW. And though the hybrid powertrain may well be a boardroom boast for some proprietors, its EV manner ups the effect of refinement although the smaller sized engine genuinely enhances fuel intake.
