Comments on: Mercedes Takes Hybrid Lead Among European Carmakers

By: Cory

Cory — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:59:14 +0000

It is a crock. I purchased one of the first Tahoe hybrids with a $2500 tax credit. What they didn’t say is if you can afford a car this expensive, you won’t qualify for the credit. When I filed my taxes, I ended up with nothing!

By: alancamp

alancamp — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:47:05 +0000

It seems like Mercedes is selling a 'Hybrid' in name only. As a luxury car owner, I would be embarrassed to drive a car that only gets 19/26 with a big Hybrid sticker on the back. GM and Chrysler already tried this same 'mild' concept and failed. It's the equivalent of ordering a Whopper, large fries and a diet Coke.

In their other vehicles, going to a V6 instead of the big V8 seems to increase the fuel consumption at least 3 mpg city all by itself. So this 'Mild Hybrid' seems to be just a way for Mercedes claim to have a hybrid, when they are still waiting to see if hybrids can be profitable. The only thing the S400 has going for it is a slightly lower intro price for an S Class of $3,650.

The Lexus LS is the worst. For $38,000 more for the 'hybrid' LS AWD, you get 3mpg more in the city, and 1 'less' mpg highway. They sold 12 cars in the US for September. Not sure how many are born every day, but at least 12 were alive in the month of September.

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:11:00 +0000

Jeff, I agree that the S400 is a luxury car, and the Avalon is just a very nice car. With that said, the Avalon is about the same size and power. I also am trying to point out that the S400 should not have a tax credit because its MPG is just not high enough to encourage people to buy it. Not that a 1.3% discount is much encouragement.

So to be fair, the S400 gets almost 5% better MPG when compared to the all wheel drive and much more powerful Lincoln MKS. The S400 beats the Lexus LS 460 by almost 10%.

I still think such low MPG cars should not have incentives from our government.

A non-green side note, the MKS runs on regular, not premium like the S400. So according to the EPA the MKS will cost less for fuel.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:26:34 +0000

Charles, the S400 and Avalon aren’t in the same class. Yes, the Avalon gets better mileage than the S400, but the S400 is in a top luxury category, and the Avalon just isn’t. I can’t imagine anyone who is willing to buy a $90K Mercedes is ever going to purchase a $40K Toyota. That’s just a fact. It has to be an apples-to-apples comparison. Now, if you want to compare the Lexus LS460 (hybrid or non-hybrid) against this S400 mild hybrid from Mercedes, then I think that’s a valid comparison.

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:11:00 +0000

I do not applaud conspicuous consumption. The article states a 30% improvement, but the EPA has it at only 22%. I may have applauded 22% if it was 22% above non-hybrid large cars, but it is 22% above a poor mileage car. As stated the Avalon and Taurus get better mileage and are as large and very close to as powerful. The all wheel drive Escape Hybrid is 31% more efficient when compared the non-hybrid version. Why compare hybrid and non-hybrid versions? The comparison should be to the best of the non-hybrids. For the Escape Hybrid that would be its 29 MPG vs the RAV 4′s 24 MPG. So the Escape Hybrid is about 21% more efficient. The S400 vs the Avalon, shows the S400 at almost 8% lower MPG.

By: Lost Prius to wife

Lost Prius to wife — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:21:04 +0000

Maybe a better point to make here is: How many “average Joes” will be going out and buying a Honda Insight, a VW Jetta TDI, or a Toyota Prius? How many of those “average Joes” will be saving 30% more in oil usage rather than buy into the same old car or truck mileage? We applaud people that buy a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD over a regular 2010 Ford Escape 4WD, but that is no different than the Mercedes – they both decrease oil usage 30%. Then why did we not applaud the Mercedes purchase?

By: Lost Prius to wife

Lost Prius to wife — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:57:13 +0000

There are people that will always be buying a Mercedes. Now they may buy $89,000 Mercedes S400 mild hybrid rather than the more expensive S550. Yes, this car is way beyond the average person’s budget, but not beyond everyone’s budget. If one really has earned the money required to buy a Mercedes, and they want that kind of luxury, they can now choose to use 30% less oil. Again, the whole point of this site is to make a dent in our oil usage and car emissions. This car does that for the luxury car market.

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:01:05 +0000

$1,150 tax credit for 19/26/21 MPG (on premium), what a crock. At a price of $89,000 I will be willing to bet that most buyers have to pay the AMT, which I think disqualifies the buyer for the tax credit.

Here are specs for some large cars:
The Toyota Avalon (268 HP) has a combined MPG of 23.
Ford Taurus (263 HP) 22 MPG or the all wheel drive SHO (365 HP) and combined MPG of 20.
Chevy Impala (211 HP) 21 MPG.
S400 (275 HP) 21 MPG combined.

None of them are hybrids. The Avalon has an above average predicted reliability from Consumer Reports, all the others are average.

By: Nelson Lu

Nelson Lu — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:52:39 +0000

“Takes Hybrid Lead Among European Carmakers” is like “Takes Reliability Lead Among Chinese Carmakers.”