Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid vs. Lexus LS600h Hybrid differences
Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid vs. Lexus LS600h Hybrid.
(July 15th, 2010 by BenzOnly - Exclusive Editorial Review)
Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is the full size luxury Hybrid sedan. Currently, it has only one competitor in this Class of vehicle: Lexus LS600h, as BMW, Audi and other automotive brands are only planning Hybrids, but have nothing to offer at the time of writing this article. There are a lot of myths and rumors floating around these 2 models. BenzOnly.com would like to give you the clear differences.
What is a Hybrid vehicle?
By definition: "A Hybrid vehicle means a vehicle with at least 2 different energy converters and 2 different energy storage systems (on the vehicle) for the purpose of vehicle propulsion." It means: a single car must have at least 2 engines. For example: one is gasoline and the second is electric. And they have to feed from 2 different energy sources. For example: the first engine is powered by gasoline and the second is powered by pure electricity.
Hybrid Evolution:
When people hear the word "Hybrid", they automatically think of Toyota and Honda. These 2 car brands have been always concerned about the fuel consumption, while the rest of the car business, at least in Northern America, was driven to improve on Performance, Space and Power. Right? ... This is the first MYTH, which BenzOnly.com would like to clear up.
A little bit of Hybrid history:
The 1st electric car was developed by Scottish engineer Robert Anderson in 1839, which had nothing to do with Hybrid, because there was only 1 engine, running on the poorly designed battery and the internal combustion engine - was not even invented at the time. In 1865, Gaston Plante made a major improvement when he designed the Plante Battery. And the 1st official Hybrid vehicle was designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche in 1898 (!). His car could travel up to 40 miles just using the electrical power, before switching to a 4-cylinder gasoline engine, which was designed by… Guess who? ...- Daimler-Benz! Mercedes-Benz continued to build and develop Hybrids throughout the 20th Century and implemented this technology in European buses since mid-1960.
S400 Hybrid vs. LS600h:
Lexus fans would immediately let you know, that LS600h accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.4 seconds and it is 1.8 seconds faster than 7.2 seconds of the S400 Hybrid! Wow! But the first question comes to my mind: Why do you need to buy a Hybrid in the first place? What is the reason to purchase a Hybrid vehicle?
It is: Fuel consumption, saving money on gasoline, low emission, lower price and the same comfort, that you can find in a regular car. Let's take a closer look.
Difference in design:
Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is the 1st vehicle on the market that offers Lithium-Ion battery, while LS600h offers Nickel-Metal Hydride battery. Why is it important? Because of its size. Lexus battery is so colossal in size; they had to place it in the trunk of the car and leave some space around it, because it can heat up like a stove! As a result, the trunk dimensions of LS600h have been reduced to just 11.7 cubic feet! Beside the need to carry High-Voltage battery in your trunk, this trunk is actually smaller in size than a trunk of the compact-sized Mercedes C-Class! On another hand, S400's trunk is exactly the same size like in any other S-Class models: 16.3 cu ft. Lithium-Ion battery is small, but powerful and it was possible to fit it cleanly under the hood, so it does not affect any dimensions. Plus it is more reliable and does not need a lot of service (!)
Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions:
Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid consumes average combined 27-29 miles per gallon of fuel. Lexus LS600h consumes an average combined 21 miles per gallon of fuel. This is a real money saver right here! On top of that, S400 Hybrid has 20% less CO2 emissions than LS600h. As a matter of fact, emissions on S400 are so clean, that Gas Guzzler Tax was removed from this model, which helped to reduce the price of the vehicle even further!
What is the benefit to buy Hybrid?
Is it a performance or an efficient use of energy? One of the criticisms of Lexus LS600h has been high fuel consumption for a Hybrid. High power V8 of the LS600h really positioned this model more for
Performance than for
Efficiency. On another hand, Mercedes-Benz expects their customers to buy Hybrid for the
fuel efficiency and NOT for
performance. Someone who is looking for Power and Performance will probably find S550, S600, S63 AMG or S65 AMG to be a better choice.
Lexus LS600h vs. Lexus LS460:
Lexus LS600h only achieves a combined average of 16% better fuel economy than LS460, which uses conventional gasoline engine. LS600h actually does worse on the highway drive than LS460 (!) People who drive mostly on highways – will actually see their fuel economy worse, than if they were driving the regular LS460 (!), essentially carrying extra weight of the Hybrid technology for no reason.
Prices:
Lexus LS600h Sticker price is over $100,000. It is astoundingly and unexplainably $40,000 more than LS460 (!) At the same time, Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is logically priced about 7% less than S550, starting from $87,950. Additionally, S400 Hybrid buyers are eligible for an Alternative Tax Credit from the Federal Government. Lexus customers are out of luck, because Lexus already reached their Tax limit in the United States.
Bottom Line:
Specialists from Sindelfingen subjected 200 pre-production S400 Hybrids to an extensive marathon driving test, spanning the Globe. It covered over 6 million miles and every possible weather and road condition
- to prove to Mercedes engineers that S400 Hybrid is Safe, Robust and Fuel-efficient. BenzOnly.com recommends S400 Hybrid over LS600h, because Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid serves its purpose
- it gives you all the benefits that you should expect from the
REAL Hybrid.
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