Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has been pushing for further electrification in the S-Class since the W222 first arrived on our shores. It was initially available as a ‘mild’ hybrid with a 3.5L V6 CGI engine doing most of the heavy lifting. With the locally-assembled facelift model, we got the S560 e. This paired a 3-litre V6 turbo with a more powerful 121hp electric motor. As this model was a PHEV, it could be charged up for a theoretical 50km of electric driving. It also benefitted from tax incentives, which gave it a price advantage over the petrol S450 L variant.
With the freshly debuted W223 S-Class, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is likely to eventually continue trying to take advantage of ‘EEV’ incentives and bring in another PHEV model. So what are the options for this generation?
Well, it’s worth noting that in most markets, the default petrol engines are all mild hybrids, so there’s no running away from electrification this time. But if we’re talking about just Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) options, then what we’re looking at is the S580 e.
The S580 e has many similarities to the current S560 e powertrain. For one, it too uses the same M276 3.0L V6 petrol motor. The electric motor is also housed within the 9G Tronic Plus transmission.
However, the total electric range has now been doubled to 100km per full charge. Of course, this is a theoretical range which may be a lot lower in real life. The battery pack is probably the biggest reason for this increase in electric range. It goes up to 28kWh versus 13.5kWh on the current PHEV model. That’s more than double the battery capacity! Also, combined, the S580 e is able to produce 510hp, up from 469hp on the S560 e.
Do PHEV S-Class models get you excited or do prefer the tried and tested petrol models that cost a little more upfront? Let us know what you think.
