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Start whirring electrically. This works out. Carefully and with subdued vigor. But it works. But because an S-Class is a very quiet car in itself, doing without the petrol engine in the S400 Hybrid is somehow not as fascinating as in other hybrid automobiles. That is simply the burden of an already more than comfortable car. It will be difficult to celebrate the benefits of the almost silent electric motor and the absence of vibration. A normal S-Class, especially as the S500, is hardly louder, vibrates little more than this S400, which can be moved away from the traffic lights with a gentle toe play.
The advantage of the hybrid has to hide somewhere else.
In the best car to a better person?
Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid. The best is not good enough.
Hard to imagine, but the technically rather complex hybrid version of the S-Class is currently the cheapest gasoline engine in the Stuttgart luxury class price list. He brings not only the 3.5 liter V6 petrol engine and the 7-speed automatic, but also a narrow disc-shaped electric motor with 20 kW, which has found its home between gasoline V6 and automatic transmission. In addition to the function as an electric motor, this dynamo disc also takes over the work of the starter and the alternator.
Now the 20 kW are able to drive the car electrically, but only if the driver handles the gas with great sensitivity and with a manageable distance. In the city - away from the traffic lights - there is a short electric switch, then the petrol engine switches on. What the S-Class can do well is “sailing”. Take off the gas, the gasoline engine switches off, the gearbox into idle - the S-Class sails along. If you now play with a lot of feeling on the accelerator, you can only maintain the speed for some time with the electric drive. However, as mentioned at the beginning, the advantage in terms of noise development is manageable. The S-Class itself is simply so quiet, so muffled, so comfortable, and doing without the 306 hp V6 petrol engine does not really add to the comfort.
[one_half] [=”notification_mark” ]The basics:[star_list]
- 2 weeks in the test
- 2.822 test kilometers
- Base price: € 86.334,50
- Test car price: € 125.061
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- Eco-Tour: 7,8 l / 100 km
- Commuting: 11,0 l / 100 km
- Field service mode: 14,8 l / 100 km
- More information about the test consumption
No plus - more of a minus
The consumption. A total of 333 hp are available. The S-Class is currently the most comfortable vehicle in its class. It pampers the occupants with a hot stone massage (optional), sounds like an opera hall or a rock concert in the front row (Burmester facility) on request, seals you off from the hassle of everyday life (double glazing), runs on Speed 250 km / h in the electronic limiter and sprints to speed 6.8 within 100 seconds. And yet - in everyday life, almost 9 liters per 100 kilometers are feasible without feeling like it is bad. Anyone who cares and feels animated by the green energy flow in the display can create a low 7, a high 6. And here we are talking about liters of petrol per 100 kilometers. A thing that would have been considered impossible a few years ago. It was not long ago that an over 300 hp S-Class devoured a good 15 liters per 100 kilometers without anyone rolling their eyes. That was just the way it was. Performance, luxury, pleasure - that costs.
The S400 Hybrid can still do that. Anyone who moves the S-Class as it was written in the pedigree of the great Stuttgart - with Tempomat 200 over a long distance - also quickly blows 16 liters (per 100 km) through the six combustion chambers and changes their physical state from liquid in gaseous. Now one may be inclined to say: What does the hybrid drive bring to this hunt?
Nothing. Until very little.
The electric motor works as a generator in overrun mode, not unlike a bicycle dynamo and if you don't sail, but lightly tap the brake pedal, you can turn the generator into a power plant. The S-Class collects superfluous power, converts the kinetic energy that is no longer needed into electricity and stores it in its lithium-ion battery. These lithium-ion batteries are inherently light, but not too big in the S-Class S400 Hybrid. That brings us back to the start. Because the battery is not particularly large, the supply of electrical energy never lasts long. In return, the electric motor delivers fine and useful 250 Nm torque from the first rotation. This helps those who suck freely - the V6 in the S-Class is the “old” 3.5 liter vacuum cleaner - a little over its manageable torque range. Mercedes calls it boost and that's what the electric motor is good at. It supports the gasoline engine when accelerating. And it collects superfluous momentum again.
Everyday situations
Short purely purely from the parking space, then the petrol engine starts, pulls on the S400 and together push e-engine and gasoline engine, the S-class in the rush hour out. It works very well at first. But if you concentrate, whoever starts to be challenged by the possible economy of the big thing, you will notice the bumpy transitions between the electric motor and gasoline engine and their different strategies when working together. Others can do that much better. (Brief look to Japan ..)
Into the village, easy on the brakes. The feeling on the brake pedal is good - the difference between the first recuperation of the electric motor and the grip on the brake pads on the disc is fine-tuned. Nothing looks artificial. The classic passage through town creates the S-Class in purely electrical operation. And that fascinates already. But not because of the peace, but rather because it is possible.
On the autobahn, the V6 then begins to make itself felt, at least when the desire for “a lot of thrust” is expressed. Whoever throws the accelerator through the deep-pile carpet will experience an angry, rotating V6 naturally aspirated engine. That is right on the verge of losing composure. It doesn't seem really melodic and without turbo help it lacks the thrust. That's supposed to fix the electric disc. Start the sprint at 140 km / h, but it was no longer noted in the specification sheet.
The hybrid lettering on the rear of the test car relieves a little of the burden of luxury. Big cars. Gas guzzlers. Evil people. There is this equation every now and then. And of course this thought is in the back of your mind - the hybrid helps to minimize the load. Let the others see it calmly. Yes - this S-Class costs a good € 86.000 in the series and as a test car with the appropriate equipment it costs more than € 125.000 - but hey, I exercise restraint. “Small” V6 and electric motor instead of V12-Bi-Turbo and Maximum Attack.
Comfort oomph
What the powertrain didn't really do for me was taken over by driving comfort, seating comfort, this general level of wellbeing on board the new S-Class. There is currently no car with better seats. There is no car with better long-distance comfort - just demolish 1.000 km in one go? A blessing. Seat massage on, seating climate on, the sound system (even without a Burmester a stunner) on and off the feel-good express goes.
And finally ...
The "best car in the world”Is not the best choice when it comes to hybrid drives - at least for now. The nearly 3.000 km test was not entirely convincing. Too often you could feel the change in drive type, too inharmonious the transition between electric motor, gasoline engine, between boosting and recuperation. You don't become a “better person” just because you bought a hybrid. Nevertheless, the S400 trains its driver to walk efficiently.
As soon as it comes to the classic qualities of the S-Class, such as seating comfort, driving comfort and the talent for the big - I mean really big - trip, then the S400 Hybrid also scores. It doesn't owe this to its drive train, however. Because these are skills that every S-Class has.
[tabgroup] [tab title=”S500 Plugin Hybrid”]In a few days, Mercedes-Benz will give the press the opportunity to test the new one Plugin hybrid S500 to drive. In contrast to the S400 Hybrid, the S500 Plugin not only got the turbocharged V6 engine, but also a larger battery pack. Thanks to charging at home using a socket, a range of up to 35 kilometers is possible purely electrically. In addition, the spark plugs should remain silent up to a speed of 140 km/h. To make this possible, the electric motor was increased to 85 kW. You can already order this large hybrid. His base price? With €108.944,50, it is already over the magical €100.000 hurdle. [/tab] [tab title=”S350 BlueTEC Diesel”]You buy a hybrid because you want to save. However, with the small electric motor and the manageable battery power, it is not that easy to be really economical. Anyone who drives more than just city traffic will probably be happier with the S350 BlueTEC Diesel. An impressive 620 Nm is available here and the NEDC standard consumption even falls below the 6 liters (per 100 km) mark.
The S350 BlueTEC is almost €6.000 cheaper than the S400 Hybrid.[/tab] [tab title=”Hybrid explained”]Mild hybrid, full hybrid, plug-in hybrid? Toyota coined the term “full hybrid” for the Prius a few years ago. This meant that such a vehicle could drive purely electrically. The other manufacturers bravely adopted it and as soon as a hybrid could not start electrically, it was a mild hybrid. Plugin hybrids are very similar to “full hybrids”. However, thanks to larger batteries and the ability to charge via plug-in, these full hybrids can cover longer distances in purely electric mode. The S400 Hybrid is a “full hybrid” and the S500 Hybrid will be the “plug-in hybrid”. There is no “mild hybrid” in the S-Class range.[/tab] [/tabgroup]
| Manufacturer: | Mercedes |
|---|---|
| Type: | S 400 Hybrid |
| Class: | Upper class |
| Engine: | V6 |
| Transmission: | 7G Tronic Plus |
| Drive: | Rear |
| displacement: | 3.498 cc |
| Power / power (electric motor): | 306 hp (225 kW) / 27 hp |
| Torque: / Torque (E-Motor): | 370 Nm / 250 Nm |
| Weight ready to drive: | 1.925 kg |
| From 0 to 100: | 6,8 s |
| Top speed .: | 250 km/h |
| Consumption (NEDC): | 6,3 liters |
| CO2 output (NEDC): | 147 g / km |
| Emission Class: | EU 6 |
| Efficiency: | A |
| CW value: | 0.26 |
| Comment: | - |