Navigating through an urban canyon, skyscrapers to either side, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 Hybrid glides along quietly, its air suspension smoothing the pockmarked pavement and the cabin insulating me from the downtown bustle. I expect these refined qualities from the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but this one brings additional quiet, as an electric motor drives the wheels, leaving the engine temporarily dormant.
The S550 Hybrid not only brings a full hybrid drivetrain to Mercedes-Benz's flagship S-Class, it adds plug-in capability, letting owners charge its 8.7 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack from the grid.
Unlike the fully electric B-Class, which uses driveline technology from Tesla, the S550 Hybrid's drive system comes from Mercedes-Benz, with a gasoline engine and electric motor mixing power through a seven-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels. I could select its electric drive mode, but the S550 Hybrid only goes 20 miles on a full charge before the Hybrid drive mode automatically takes over. Still, that 20 miles should be enough to beat London's congestion or sneak into your country home's driveway to catch the help stealing silverware.
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Remarkably, the S550 Hybrid comes in at the same base price as the standard S550 sedan, $94,400 in the US. With the hybrid, you will sacrifice 13 horsepower, 436 total system output compared with 449 horsepower, and 0.4 second of your zero-to-60 mph time compared with the S550's V-8, but average fuel economy should jump by 5 or 6 mpg, into the high 20s. The S550 Hybrid I drove came with a number of packages, jumping the total price to $117,515 with destination. You won't find anything labeled as an S550 on UK or Australian Mercedes-Benz dealer lots. The UK equivalent is the S500 e L, with a base price of £88,620, while the only S-Class hybrid Mercedes-Benz offers in Australia is the short-wheelbase S300 BlueTec Hybrid.
As with all new S-Class sedans in the US, the S550 Hybrid is a long-wheelbase model, meaning a giraffe's worth of legroom in the rear seats. Add the rear-seat power adjustment, climate control and fluffy headrests, and I would almost prefer to be chauffeured around in this car, except for the fact that it is so interesting to drive.
As with other plug-in hybrids, I could marvel at and partially control the interplay between gasoline engine and electric motor. The virtual tachometer displayed on the big LCD panel showed me when the engine turned off, either at a stop in traffic or when there was enough charge in the battery pack to drive the wheels. I could pull up a power flow animation, showing the mix of power between engine and motor, and whether the battery was collecting energy from braking regeneration.
More directly, I could choose Hybrid, E-mode, E-saver and Charge modes for the hybrid system, and E, E plus or S for the drive modes. Among the former selections, Hybrid mixes gasoline and electric freely, E-mode drives for as long as possible under pure electric power, E-saver preserves the battery charge by relying more on the engine and Charge attempts to add juice to the battery pack with the engine and regenerative braking. Meanwhile, S is for Sport, sharpening throttle and tightening steering, while E and E plus maximize fuel economy. It's a bewildering set of choices, although most drivers will just go with the default Hybrid and E modes.
Three drives
Starting fresh with a full charge, the S550 Hybrid's instrument panel showed 18 miles of estimated electric range, based on how the car had most recently been driven, less than the potential 20 miles. I switched to E-mode for the hybrid system and the E plus drive setting, and took off into San Francisco's heavy urban traffic. The engine remained off as I accelerated from each stoplight, the 85-kilowatt motor proving ample to get moving.
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The silence of the ride and the smooth acceleration complemented the S550 Hybrid's opulence for a truly sublime experience. To thoroughly enjoy the drive, I turned on my massage seat and played music from my phone through the 13-speaker Burmester audio system. The audio quality was crystal-clear, highlighting each tone and subtle sound from the songs I played. Ever hear the slight cough and intake of breath at the beginning of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here"? Those sounds came through very clearly with this Burmester system.
Tipping the scales at over 5,000 pounds, the S550 Hybrid is a lot of car to move, and I felt that weight each time it gathered momentum, but the electric motor met the challenge. However, those 18 miles proved illusory, as after only 7 actual miles I had burned up 14 miles of potential range. I ascribe that range burn to an adverse environment, with red lights at every intersection and a couple of hills on my route. But those electric miles had a very positive impact on my overall fuel economy.
I took the opposite tack for another drive, taking the S550 Hybrid into the hills, along the same twisty track over which I had tested its non-hybrid sibling, the S550. Choosing Hybrid and Sport for the drive settings, and switching the air suspension to Sport, I abandoned all thought of fuel efficiency. When I hammered the accelerator, the 3-liter V-6, with a turbocharger for each cylinder bank, made an aggressive growl as it reached for its peak 329 horsepower. Aided by the electric motor, there was no hesitation on power delivery and the car built up steam like a freight train.
In the turns, the air suspension proved its worth, fighting the inertial forces attempting to exploit suspension travel. A corner braking system, applying light inside wheel braking, assisted in the turns, making the S550 Hybrid feel shorter than its 17.2 feet. Even with the wheels squealing, it felt manageable and refined.
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There is no Sport mode on the stalk drive selector, but the Sport drive mode made shifting from the seven-speed automatic transmission more aggressive. And paddles on the steering wheel let me hold it in third gear for a good set of turns, the virtual tachometer pushing towards the 6,500rpm redline.
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