New Mercedes S 580 e L Plug-in Hybrid costs from £104,490

Mercedes-Benz adds a plug-in hybrid variant of the new S-Class – the Mercedes S 580 e L – promising 63 miles of EV range and costing from £104,490.

The new Mercedes S-Class went on sale in the UK last autumn, but only with ‘regular’ ICE engines. But now Mercedes has added a plug-in hybrid variant of the S-Class to the offerings with the new Mercedes S 580 e L.

Available only in LWB guise, the new Plug-in S-Class comes with a choice of four trim levels – AMG Line Premium, AMG Premium Line Plus and Executive Line versions for both – with prices starting at £104,490 and rising to £113,880.

Whichever trim level you opt for you’ll get the same plug-in hybrid powertrain which mates a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine with 362bhp to an electric motor good for 148bhp, with the electric motor powered by a chunky 28.5kWh battery promising an EV range of 63 miles. This means, most of the time, and if you actually plug-in, you’ll be driving round in an electric S-Class.

All models get a raft of safety nannies including Active Distance Assist, Traffic Sign, with the  Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assists and Active Evasive Steering Assist, with the entry-level PHEV, the AMG Line Premium, including 20″ AMG alloys, Burmester Sound, panoramic roof, 12.3″ digital instruments, remote parking and electric seats, and the AMG Premium Line Plus adding augmented reality HUD, 21″ AMG alloys, Energizing Confort Pack and clever seats.

For an extra £3,795 you can opt for the Executive Line version of both trim levels which adds MBUX rear tablet, electric sun blinds and chauffeur package.

The Mercedes S-Class PHEV is now on sale in the UK with first customer deliveries before the end of the year.