German Car Zone

Mercedes-Benz has apparently begun shipping the new S400 BlueHybrid sedan to its US dealer network, as one of our readers spotted one and grabbed a photo of the window sticker. The S400 is Mercedes' first production hybrid vehicle and utilizes the mild hybrid system it developed in conjunction with BMW. While BMW is going whole-hog for performance with its ActiveHybrid 7 Series, Mercedes is going for more efficiency. The Stuttgart brand has opted use its 3.5-liter V6 with the hybrid system along with the first lithium ion battery used in such an application. The 120 V battery is actually nearly the same size as a traditional lead acid starter battery and takes its place in the engine compartment – meaning no trunk space is lost compared to the standard car.

The S400 Hybrid gets an EPA rating of 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. That compares to 15/23 mpg for the V8 powered S550. The base price on the S400 starts at $87,950 and the car spotted by our reader had a bottom line of $93,775. You can configure your own S400 at the Mercedes USA site.

- Mercedes-Benz now shipping the S400 Hybrid to US dealers — Autoblog

I hope the reliability is there. They can't fail on that front with this car. Should be interesting to see the real-world and magazine tests alike.


M

This, my friends, is a milestone.

I am very dissapointed in the hybrid. First, this is a reaction to the market. MB is way behind and instead of leading the charge with diesel tech they are making a half hearted attempt at a "mild" hybrid. Audi is adverstising the A4 with 42 mpg and MB is standing there with its thumb up its butt as to why there is no C-class 4 cyl diesel in the USA.

I thought I was going to wreck the car when I drove it. The brakes are horrible and have the worst feel of any system I have driven in 20 years. The mileage is a joke. And if you are spending 80k to 100k on a car, who gives a rip if you save 3 lousy miles per gallon. The diesel would get better mileage and be cheaper to sell. Sure, lets emphasize economy on a $90k car. Lexus flopped with the LS hybrid. Brilliant.

Boo Mercedes for pulling this crap.