Mercedes S400 Hybrid – and a facelift as well

Mercedes S400 Hybrid launched - and a facelift for the S Class Range

Mercedes has long held the ‘Best Luxury Car’ mantle, despite build quality issues in the early part of this century, but the competition, particularly from Audi and BMW has got stronger with each model change, so they have to keep upping their game (and the new Jaguar XJ may make them up it even further before long). So we knew it time for a facelift for the current S Class, but Mercedes has decided to link that with the launch of the first S Class Hybrid – the S400 Hybrid.

The S400 Hybrid gets a 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine, which on its own delivers 279bhp, but linked to an electric motor it gets a 20bhp boost and a big jump in torque. This should, right foot permitting, deliver some pretty impressive mpg figures – up in the 30s.

The overall mid-cycle refresh for the S Class include changes on the front and back and a new grill. Lots of gizmos ported over from the latest E Class, including the ‘Doze’ alert, Lane Assist, improved ABC and active high beam assist.

Euro models, and their Euro prices (we don’t have UK prices yet) are:

S300 € 96,439
S 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY € 98,984
S 350 € 105,189
S 400 HYBRID € 109,265
S 450 € 118353
S 450 CDI € 133.,315
S 500 € 135,778
S 600 € 224,762

Orders are being taken for delivery in the UK straight away.