While they’re not the first gasoline-electric hybrids on the market, the S400 HYBRID and new E400 HYBRID lead the way with a number of breakthroughs.
Mercedes-Benz was first to market with a Lithium-Ion battery, a more efficient approach to electric power. The S400 HYBRID also the first with immediate payback compared to its gas-only counterpart, because it’s actually priced below a similarly equipped S550 Sedan. And both models delivers their exceptional fuel efficiency and emissions with all the safety, luxury and performance leadership of the iconic Mercedes-Benz S-Class and E-Class.
The S400 Hybrid is equipped with lithium-ion batteries and works in combination with a 20-horsepower electric motor and a 275-hp, 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine. It delivers a measly EPA mileage ratings of 19 MPG city and 26 MPG highway. However, I have to give credit to Mercedes on their sustainable interior.
Celebrities seem to Love This Mercedes S400 Hybrid Electric Car!
As the official vehicle of the Palm Springs International Film Festival back in 2011, Mercedes-Benz provided environmentally friendly luxury vehicles for Hollywood’s elite. Since then, celebs have fallen in love with these hybrids.
Dinner where celebrity presenters and honorees such as Amy Adams, Mark Wahlberg, Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Carey Mulligan, Helen Mirren, Taylor Hackford, Aaron Eckhart, Oliver Stone, James Franco, Amy Ryan, Rashida Jones and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Ben Affleck, Robert Duvall, director David O Russell (The Fighter), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) and songwriter Diane Warren (Burlesque) were driven in Mercedes-Benz 2011 S400 HYBRID luxury sedans.
What’s So Cool?!
When the S400 HYBRID is at a traffic light, for example, the gasoline engine is off, but the AC compressor and steering pump are operated electrically, so air conditioning and power steering are fully operational. When the brakes are released, the gasoline engine is started automatically, and works with the electric motor for seamless performance.
With their remarkable fuel efficiency and Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle certification, the E400 HYBRID and S400 HYBRID outperform many smaller cars in a number of dimensions. But in the virtues that define an Mercedes-Benz from safety to luxury, they measure up in every way. Further, their impactful fuel and emissions innovations come with a few other surprising environmental benefits.
During braking, the electric motor acts as a generator, recovering kinetic energy and storing it in the lithium-ion battery. Under heavy braking, the vehicle’s conventional brakes provide supplemental stopping power. Recovered energy is stored in the battery and re-used whenever the electric motor is running.
While, I have heard the S400 only got a 19mpg in hybrid, the E hybrid can get 30 MPG.
Even Robert Downey Jr owns one as seen here.
Try The Eucalyptus wood trim. It’s Fabul
!! LOL. no it really is cool!!
While I was reading the interior information, I was glad to see the sustainability measures for the wood interior. Instead of TREE WOOD, they use hand-polished dark brown Eucalyptus wood trim on the console, dash and doors, lending the S400 and E400 HYBRID cockpit a further air of SUSTAINABILITY.
According to Ashley Strickland on Social Yell:
Businesses like http://www.rei.com REI are now selling products made from eucalyptus wood because they claim that the trees grow quickly and “offer a strong, durable hardwood that has been harvested sustainably in Vietnam for years!
This is also true for the neem tree, which is said to grow quickly and have pest-reducing/resistant qualities.
Eucalyptus trees have a multitude of benefits, besides just producing beautiful furniture.
The trees are fast-growing and can be chopped off at the root so they can grow back.
They are also a great cash crop in their native environments and the oil can be used as a natural insecticide or in cleaning products.
Eucalyptus trees have also proved well in swamp draining in areas with risk of malaria.
They are even said to reduce erosion and provide windbreaks where they are planted and their cellulose can be extracted for use in biofuels.
One downside is that eucalyptus tends to be an invasive plant where they aren’t wanted (water drainage) and the oil in the trees is so flammable that trees have been known to explode! And it is wise to leave them alone concerning natural habitats, like in parts of Australia, because koalas depend on the leaves for food.
