10 Things to Know About the Mercedes S550 Plug-In Hybrid
Mercedes-Benz has a new plug-in hybrid sedan hitting the market in 2015- the S550 Plug-In Hybrid. Here’s what you need to know:
1.) The S550 Plug-In Hybrid is the first Mercedes plug-in hybrid vehicle in the US but not the automaker’s first hybrid vehicle- that was the 2010 S400.
2.) F1 technology was infused in the design of the S550 Plug-In Hybrid resulting in the vehicle’s V6 engine and an intelligent hybrid drive system. Mercedes says this technology makes the S550 Plug-In Hybrid, “the first luxury sedan with the performance of a V8 and the fuel consumption of a compact model.”
3.) Just because it’s a plug-in hybrid, that doesn’t mean it’s lacking power. The S550 Plug-In Hybrid features a twin-turbo V-6 with a 8.7 kWh lithium-ion battery and a 85 kW electric motor putting out 436 HP. The car can get to 62 mph from a standstill in 5.2 seconds.
4.) In initial testing by industry journalists, the S550 Plug-In Hybrid gets 18-20 all-electric miles per charge with braking easily restoring power for additional miles.
5.) After you’ve expended your charge, it will take 2.75-4 hours to charge the S550 Plug-In Hybrid on your 120v household outlet but only two hours with a 240v plug.
6.) There are luxury amenities throughout the vehicle. The back seat of the S550 Plug-In Hybrid includes a pop-up foot rest for back seat passengers. There is leather upholstery, high performance headlights, LED tail lights, and seven types of ambient lighting.
7.) The S550 Plug-In Hybrid offers pre-entry climate control allowing the owner to tell the car what time they plan to depart, and what temperature they want the vehicle to be at when they get into it. Then, automatically, the car (interior, seats, steering wheel and armrests) will heat or cool according to the temperature outside.
8.) According to Autoweek, the sedan drives smoothly over bumps, steers easily, and is not as stiff as the standard gasoline powered S550.
9.) The vehicle is scheduled to go on sale to the public in Q2/mid-year 2015.
10.) Pricing for the S550 Plug-In Hybrid hasn’t been released but the standard S550 comes in at $94,000 so we expect to see it around the $100,000 mark.
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