DailyTech - NAIAS 2012: Mercedes-Benz Displays E300 BlueTec Hybrid, E400 Hybrid

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Auto NAIAS 2012: Mercedes-Benz Displays E300 BlueTec Hybrid, E400 Hybrid
Tiffany Kaiser - January 10, 2012 6:43 PM

4 comment(s) - last by sleepeeg3.. on Jan 11 at 12:37 PM

Mercedes-Benz E300 and E400 Hybrids (Source: Tiffany Kaiser, DailyTech)

E300 (Source: Tiffany Kaiser, DailyTech)

E400 (Source: Tiffany Kaiser, DailyTech)

The E300 will go on sale in Europe sometime this year while the E400 will go on sale in the United States during the second half of this year

Mercedes-Benz uncovered a pair of hybrid vehicles at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) this week, where one will be sent to Europe while the other stays in the states.

The hybrid cousins are the E300 BlueTec Hybrid and the E400 Hybrid. Both have a similar external design and carry some high-tech functions onboard, but they prove to be pretty different otherwise.

The E300 BlueTec Hybrid, which is available as a wagon or sedan, offers a 2-liter, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine with 204 HP and 369 pounds of torque. It also has a 20-kilowatt electric motor producing 27 HP and 184 pounds of torque, and is capable of traveling in "sail mode" which disengages the internal combustion engine once up to speed and allows the electric motor to take over at speeds up to 100 mph. It has a combined fuel economy of 67.2 mpg.

The E400 hybrid, on the other hand, features a 3.5-liter, 306 HP, V6 engine coupled with a 20-kilowatt electric motor. Its fuel economy is expected to reach 27 mpg, which is much less than the E300.

There are clearly some chief differences between the two, such as the E300's ability to reach a top speed of 150 mph while the E400 only has a top speed of 130 mph, but both cars have an all-electric mode that is limited to speeds under 21 mph when pulling off from a stop. Also, the E300 will be sent over to Europe with no intention of being sold in the U.S. However, the opposite is true for the E400, which will be featured in the United States.

Both cars, however, have a load of functions such as the sailing option, which allows the vehicles to turn their combustion engines off when possible at speeds under 100 mph. This utilizes the electric motors to maintain speed. They also have auto start/stopping to save fuel at stoplights and regenerative braking for longer battery life.

"In 2011, we sold more than 1.36 million cars worldwide -- more than ever before," said Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman. "2012 will see us push forward with our product offensive and repeat two things that worked extremely well last year -- we will launch another six new models and we will set the bar even higher by making green cars cooler and cool cars greener."

The E300 will go on sale in Europe sometime this year while the E400 will go on sale in the United States during the second half of this year.

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Error?

By aebiv on 1/10/2012 9:40:37 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
...also has a 20-kilowatt electric motor producing 27 HP and 184 pounds of torque, and is capable of traveling in electric mode up to 100 mph.

Then you say...

quote:
...but both cars have an all-electric mode that is limited to speeds under 21 mph.

I'm lost.

RE: Error?

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 1/10/2012 9:47:47 PM , Rating: 3

It's a bit complicated. Once at speed, at say 100 mph, the start/stop system can shut down the internal combustion engine and allow the electric motor to power the vehicle solely in "sail mode" as long as the battery has enough power (and it wouldn't be able to power it very long at those speeds).

However, if you're pulling off from a stop, the electric motor can only go up to 21mph before the gas engine has to take over.

I've made it a bit clearer in the article.

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