Vehicle: 2010 Mercedes S400 Hybrid with AMG Sport Pkg, S400 Hybrid Premium Pkg, Climate Control rear seats, rear climate control, Night View Assist with pedestrian detection and Panorama Sunroof
Price as tested: CDN$125800
Performance: By mating batteries along with Mercedes’s tried-and-true 3.5 liter V6 engine, the S400 has a combined raw horsepower of 295 and 284 lb/ft of torque. As usual with Mercedes’s tradition, they have come out with real figure for the battery driven hp and torque. The batteries have given out 118 lb/ft of torque and 20 horses. On the other hand, the DOHC 3.5 liter 24-valve V6 generate 275hp and 168 lb/ft of torque. The result is a hybrid that drives and feels every inch an S-Class. That means seamless amount of performance without losing anything in terms of refinement. The transition between batteries and gasoline motor have to be one of the best in the industry. While some other carmakers have hybrids that one can feel its transition, Mercedes engineers are able to engineered an technical feast that is both quiet, seamless and powerful. While we already known this V6 engine is a smooth operator, combined with the batteries have produced such an amazing result. This combines with Mercedes’s wonderful 7-speed manumatic gearbox, which have both excellent gear rations for amazing highway cruising and bottom-end acceleration. It suddently makes this S400 hybrid sounds like a more sensible buy than any other gasoline-powered S-Class. That’s until you found out its fuel economy has suffered from same problem as many of its competitors. That means the figure provided by Mercedes is no where match the one we are able to drive in real life situation. We are barely able to get 15 liters per 100km during our test drive, that is 4 liters worse than Mercedes’s figure. If one is able to afford an S-Class, they already can afford such a fuel economy. Our figure is on par with S450 4-Matic. That version is powered by a 4.5 liter V8 with 4-Matic AWD compares to our hybrid with rear-wheel-drive. While one can argue this S-Class has 4519 lb of German leather-lined luxury as an excuse, we would rather have this metal moves with Mercedes’s incoming 3.5 liter Bluetec diesel. Or better yet, mated those battery pack with Bluetec might seem like a better idea.
Handling: One would have thought S-Class is a cumbersome car to push through corners with so much weight carrying. In fact, its not. No one would ever doubt Mercedes’s engineering prowess on engineered a wonderfully stiff and strong platform, that’s the case with the S-Class. Combined the strong chassis with a nicely damped air suspension, the S400 hybrid handles exceptionally well for such a heavy luxury cruiser. Push an S through the twisties, it exhibits nice body controls. Its a very composed and easily controlled luxury car. This hybrid handles similarly to any S-Class. Its a tall order and Mercedes has fulfilled it completely. While the ESP, as expected, kicks in abruptly. Its all one would expect for such an upper luxury car. The rear-wheel-drive layout with nearly perfect 50/50 weight contribution is one of the reasons why it handles so balanced. The steering provides decent amount of road feel and feedback, while the off-center feels somewhat dead as usual with every Mercedes-Benzes. What an S-Class always shines is the level of ride quality. It absorbs all the bumps, roughness to harsh patholes like its nothing on the road. If you thought you have sat in any comfortably riding car, you haven’t sat in an S-Class yet.
Brakes: Given S’s curb weight, its pedal feel and modulation are excellent. The stopping distance is short while the pedal feels solid all the time. It doesn’t exhibit any sorts of brake fades after a couple of hard stops. ABS doesn’t step in unnecessarily is an added bonus.
Interior: Everything else in an S-Class is finished in classy materials with excellent fit-and-finish. The leather seats are supple yet comfortable. You got all sorts of power adjustments right from the seats to steering column. If you are buying an S-Class, make sure you gethe Panromanic sunroof. As it opens up the rather austere black on black interior completely. My only pet peeve is the steering-mounted shifter. It takes some time to get used to its design, especially on how to shift from Park to Drive.
As expect from an S-Class, the backseat’s head and legroom are limosine-like. Each of the passenger in an S-Class got a climate control of their own, as its a 4-zone climate control. The same goes for air-conditioned and heated seats.
Conclusion: The new S400 is a good first step for Mercedes into the hybrid world. As it stands. It got a very good powertrain, handles exceptionally well while rides just like any other S-Class. It also shows the world that German is able to produce a hybrid as good as American and Japanese counterparts. I can’t wait to see how Audi and BMW respond to Mercedes in the hybrid race.
OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 Mercedes S400 Hybrid
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 3/5
Overall rating: 4/5