First Mercedes Hybrid - on sale next year.

[doversole]

Our beloved marque is set to go all 'dolphin-friendly'.
Looks like it will be coming to the UK in June 2009.

One of my favourite sites:

http://www.carenthusiast.com/news.html?mode=article&id=2963

DoverSole

 

[hawk20]

I assume it will be dearer than the 320cdi. Seems it will offer almost exactly the same combined mpg as the 320cdi at about 35mpg. So no great gain there. And at motorway speeds the hybrid offers no benefit so only those who do a fair amount round town will notice even the meagre benfits claimed.

Now a hybrid with a diesel engine: that might make sense!

 

[jberks]

I can't see the beneifts on a long distance motor either. As Hawk says, pop that same technology on say an S320cdi and it starts to make a lot more sense. After all, I bet a lot of the Co2 saving is down to the stop-start mechanism which is of no use on a motorway and with the better low down torque of the diesel, you could probably get a better recharging rate off the idle.
I felt the same when the chairman of Sainsburys proudly presented his Lexus hybrid as a green alternative to his previous maserati. The journalist whittered on about it passing silently round London but only fleetingly mentioned that he has a near 200 mile daily commute for which an S320cdi would have been a vastly greener choice.