In our recent post about the debut of the Mercedes-Maybach S 580e, we noted that the donor Mercedes-Benz S 580e came out two years ago, and we wondered again when our market would get a crack at it. The time is now. Mercedes announced the S 580e 4Matic is here at a price of $122,500. Add the $1,200 destination charge and buyers need to shovel over $123,700 before options. That makes the hybrid sedan $1,500 less dear than the version with the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8. The hybrid’s more powerful than that V8 as well. A turbocharged 3.0 liter inline-six makes 367 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque on its own. An electric motor adds 148 hp and 354 lb-ft, for a combined 510 hp and 553 lb-ft. The tally comes to 14 more ponies and 37 more lb-ft than available in the S 580 4Matic. The traditional V8’s still faster, though, getting from 0-60 in 4.4 seconds compared to the hybrid’s 5.1 seconds.
The S 560e was the last S-Class hybrid on sale here, the green trim among the previous sixth-gen sedan lineup. That car made 469 hp and 516 lb-ft, its 13.5-kWh battery powering a 19-mile EPA-rated all-electric range. Mercedes touts a rearranged battery placement for the fourth-generation hybrid system in the new S 580e that doesn’t eat into cargo room or kill the pass-through. The former hybrid trim sacrificed about four cubic feet of of the standard sedan’s 16.3 cu-ft. as well as the trunk pass-through. The boast about trunk space on the new car comes partly from the fact that the new S-Class’ load area is about three cubic feet smaller than the previous S-Class trunk, at 12.9 cubic feet, automatically making room for the battery.
Even so, the 21.5-kWh battery in the new car is larger and is said to double the all-electric driving range. The EPA estimate isn’t ready yet, but owners will be looking at about 40 miles of silent running. A 9.6-kW onboard charger is standard, an upgrade over the previous 7.2-kW unit. An optional 60-kW DC charger will be able to take the pack from 10% to 80% SOC in 20 minutes.
Dealers are taking orders now, and the sedan is expected to reach lots in the first half of the year.
