New Mercedes GLE 350de Plug-in DIESEL hybrid – with 61-mile EV range

Mercedes reveals the new GLE 350de, a diesel plug-in hybrid SUV boasting an electric range of over 61 miles and official economy of 256mpg.

The world and his dog may have fallen out with diesel-engined cars, although all the bad publicity they’ve received since the Dieselgate scandal does seem to have galvanised car makers to clean up their act and deliver diesels which really are quite ‘clean’.

So assuming the latest diesels from Mercedes really are as good in the real world as Mercedes claims, wouldn’t it be a stonkingly good idea to mate them with a plug-in hybrid powertrain and a thumping great battery to deliver the best of all worlds? Say hello to the new Mercedes GLE 350de.

The Mercedes GLE 350de is the latest of Mercedes plug-in diesel hybrids, but this time Mercedes has gone the whole hog and given the GLE 350de a 31.2kWh battery to store its electrickery, enough, say Mercedes, to allow thye GLE to run for over 60 miles as an EV. Which means you can run as an Ev almost all of the time, apart from long trips, if you remember to plug in each night.

The GLE 350de’s ICE power comes from a 192bhp 2.0 litre diesel joined by a 134bhp electric motor  mounted in the nine-speed auto ‘box to deliver a usable 315bhp and 516lb/ft of torque, enough to get the GLE to 62mph in a decent 6.8 seconds and deliver official economy figures of 256.8mpg. We know, that’s meaningless.

The new Mercedes GLE 350de will be on sale in the UK before the end of the year.