Report: All upcoming Mercedes S-Class vehicles - including AMG - to be hybridized

It is too bad that Lexus didn't offer that option. I'm thinking the difference between the observed MPG is how much city vs highway driving the testers did. the Lexus has the edge in the city and the MB has the edge on the highway.

On the 2 mode hybrid, it is just as complex as the HSD mated to a CVT. 2 mode hybrids offer much improved mpg while still keeping towing capacity at or above 5,000 lbs.

 

IrishPrius: "Absolutely every other car maker ... have ZERO tech know how of mass produce hybrid tech."

This is hardly the same as just mentioning the lack of "production" hybrids in MB's stable.
Anyway, looks like there's no CVT in the MB S400, the Li-Ion battery is an advance plus the hybrid version is the get this cheapest S-class model.

 

Too bad S600 hybrid is not offered with V8. S400 indicates it has 4.0 liter performance while 600h L has 6.0 liter performance. These cars are in completely different class.

Mercedes owners towing more than 5,000 lbs? I don't see this happening.

 

Which is not true. the 600 moniker is just as fast as a 460. Either Lexus needs to speed up the hybrid or slow down the 460L. (the extra weight is really sapping the LS 600hL of any more power gained from the HSD.) There should be a difference in 0-60 time between engines. The LS 600hl is much faster than a s400, but it is not faster than a s550.

Lexus did get it right with the GS450h, which is just as fast as the GS 460 and faster than the GS350.

They need something to pull their vintage sailboats to the dock so they can put it in the water and still feel "rugged"

I used to work close to a dock and I saw more Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Mercedes Benz, putting sailboats in the water than anything else (it was a pretty affluent town)

 

I will give lexus the benefit of the doubt that it's awd, which none of the germans hybrids are (I just found out BMW has a 7 series full hybrid and a X6 full hybrid). They all seem to be priced close to the lexus 600hl and in certin instances they are better values (like massaging seats in the rear are on both sides in the german models, but not in the Lexus)

The town (Scituate which I worked in) is filled with well off people, but I never got that "you're poorer than me what are you doing here vybes". Everyone seemed down to earth and were a very marina based towns (everyone had a boat no matter if you were rich or pour).

I honestly don't care what car you drive as long as you use it for what it was built for. I hate to see people get in fast cars and drive them ridicously slow! I can't count the many times I've been behind a BMW on an on-ramp and they try to merge into traffic doing 40mph. I never seen a Hummer go off road. I've only seen them on highways, in shopping centers or some other place a regular car can serve the same or better purpose.

 

The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 shares the mild hybrid system with the mercedes S400. They upped the power of the turbo V8 and smoothed it out with the electric motor. Motortrend liked it better than 12 cyclinder BMW7 because it handled better. Do you really need to get to 60 faster than 4.7seconds in a luxury car?

Mercedes should have their V8 and AMG s-class between 2012 and 2014. Not that I want to drive something that big. I had a lexus gs before the prius, and hope for a luxury plugin hybrid bmw3 type car when it becomes available. Lets hope Lexus, Mercedes, and BMW fight it out to get us awesome cars.

 

BMW really should think about changing the name of their hybrid system between the x6 (which is the 2 mode hybrid) and the 7 series.

Do you really need to get 60 faster than 4.7, no but for 100k I sure want the choice. Do people need radar cruise control or self parking?

 

I agree about BMWs naming for hybrid system.

I probably didn't phrase the question right. The BMW hybrid 7 with a V8 gets to 60 in 4.7 seconds. The Mercedes AMG65S with 12 cylinders makes it in 4.2 seconds. Soon mercedes will offer a hybrid version of this beast and it may get even faster.

 

I think the BMW also has the split infotainment screen in the front (the fron passenger can watch videos and the driver can't see it) and both have that night vision pedestrian detector (which actually spots deer very well from a distance).

I think Lexus LS 600hL would benefit greatly from lighter LI-ion battery pack. it would really improve FE (through weight savings the HSD adds 900lbs to the LS) and possibly make it faster. I checked the Lexus website and it only mentions the ottoman with massage. It could be that Lexus just doesn't mention it (it wouldn't be the first time). Lexus could also do a reverse awd-i that is found in the RX450H. Instead of having the rear wheels powered by electricity only, have the front wheels of the LS powered by electricity.

*edit I found it, lexus seems to use the regular/ typical type of vibrating massage, while the bmw/benz uses and air power massage mixed with vibrations.

I know this is off topic, but has anyone heard of anything on the fisker karma? If I were to buy a 100k sedan, it would probably be that, 50 mile ev range and a range extender. Even at 30mpg in CS mode that would blow any comparable car away (in that price range.... well not a Tesla). The website needs a serious update. More detailed photos.

 

Absolutely. I agree 100%. Hopefully, it will force other luxury manufacturers to switch entire fleets to all hybrid.

And, who knows, in ten years from now, the luxury automakers could be the leaders in hybrid technology. There used to be a time when Volvo was perceived as the safest, and now today, Mercedes has, what, like 15 airbags all over the vehicle, traction control, stability control, and all kinds of stuff. Mercedes could eventually come out with a special-edition $300K hybrid with the entire surface covered with inch-square solar cells, covered with a clear polymer body, and it could have batteries all throughout the car of special very expensive battery technology, double regen/motors on every wheel, and two plug-in power cords for two separate battery systems, and who knows what else ......

 

Having the engine stop and start automatically is a luxury feature I expect to drive hybrid technology in high end cars. You only have to wait a few years for a efficient plug in hybrid sports car. The cost will be high though.

BMW Plug-in Hybrid Sports Car Coming in 2013 | Hybrid Cars

BMW’s overarching goal was to combine breath-taking speed and groundbreaking efficiency. In the BMW Vision, that boils down to 4.8-second 0-to-60 miles per hour acceleration and 63 mile to the gallon.
​

 

Something that should help offset the hybrid powertrain for S-Class buyers? The current "$3,000 in gas-guzzler taxes" that current S-Class buyers pay!!!
Mercedes Says S-Class Could Become a Hybrid Line - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

Have you seen the Porsche 918 Spyder? Recent news articles indicate rumors that Porsche said this car is going to production.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucnp-srma-A]YouTube - All new Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept[/ame]

 

Actually the S600 is in the same class as the 600hl. The Lexus was designed earlier and has worse ICE technology and earlier (but better) hybrid technology. In the end the hybrid system adds too much weight making the performance of both cars quite close. Lexus could revise this system with what Toyota has learned since and make it better.

The 600hl looses way too much trunk space as well vs the non hybrid version and the S600.

 

I duno. Isn't the S600 & 600 hybrid kind of an apples versus oranges comparison? Like life, it's a bunch of tradeoff's. I think the Lexus hybrid's smog lessening feature is what Lexus is trying to sell more than it's 'non-lightness' aspect ... tradeoff's being what they are. It's not like either of these 2 rides are ever going to help either of these companies hit the average 35mpg mark, or be affordable to 95% of the buying public. The big show, is that a fast car can also be clean(er).

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We are in agreement. I was saying S400 hybrid and LS600h are not in the same class as previous poster tried to compare MPG.