Mercedes-Benz’s facelifted S-Class family has just received a new member, dubbed the S 560e, a new plug-in hybrid.
The luxury hybrid combines the brand’s familiar 367 hp 3.0-liter V6 engine with an electric motor delivering an extra 90 kW and 440 Nm of torque. These two powertrains work in conjunction with Mercedes’ 9G-TRONIC Plus automatic transmission and the electric motor is actually housed alongside the torque converter and clutch in a compact hybrid drive unit.
When the S 560e is running solely on the electric motor, it has a range of approximately 50 km thanks to the lithium-ion battery’s capacity of 13.5 kWh. Combined fuel consumption over the European cycle sits at just 2.1-liters per 100 km.
Despite the increase in energy content of the battery, it is actually smaller than its predecessor and this allows the facelifted model’s trunk capacity to swell from 395 liters to 410 liters.
To help ensure maximum fuel efficiency, the S 560e includes a technology dubbed ECO Assist. This piece of tech takes into account traffic situations and information to display driving recommendations and assist in smooth driving. In fact, the system is so advanced that it continuously generates coasting simulations in the background and is able to compute whether fuel can be saved if the vehicle is to coast freely.
Another interesting titbit in the S560e is its use of extended pre-entry climate control which allows the driver to determine the air conditioning and heating temperature via the Mercedes me app before they step into the vehicle.
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