Mercedes S560e PHEV Launches With 476 HP, 31 Miles Of Electric Range

With the introduction of the new EQC, Mercedes is running full-speed ahead into the electric-vehicle market. And there’ll be more to come. But for the time being at least, hybrids (and plug-in hybrids) will form the bulk of the German automaker’s electrified lineup. Like the new S560e.

The plug-in version of the S-Class sedan is now launching (in Europe at least) with a 3.0-liter V6 rated at 367 horsepower (270 kW) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque, paired to a 121-horsepower (90-kW) electric motor and a nine-speed automatic transmission. Working in conjunction, that gives the S560e a combined output of 476 hp (350 kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque.

That’s significantly more than the 436 hp (325 kW) and 479 lb-ft (649 Nm) of torque offered by the previous S500 Plug-In Hybrid, and as much toque (but even more power than) the conventional S560 sedan.

With both motors spooled up, it’ll run to 62 mph (100 km/h) in five seconds flat and top out at 155 mph (250 km/h). Running on power from the 13.5-kWh battery pack alone, it’ll exceed 80 mph (130 km/h), and is capable of driving for 31 miles (50 km) before needing to charge up (or start the gasoline engine). And it’ll charge from empty to 100-percent capacity in about an hour and a half when plugged in to a new-generation Wallbox charger, or five hours overnight on regular current.

Of course it also encompasses all the comforts of any other long-wheelbase S-Class (this side of a Maybach at any rate). But it won’t use as much gasoline in the process.

Orders open this week in Germany, where the S560e starts at €96,065, or about $110k in equivalent US funds. But the straight conversion tells you only so much, what with Germany’s higher tax rates. More to the point, the domestic price comes in about the same as the S450 4Matic sedan, which starts under $93k in America.