Unveiled at the LA auto show this year, they had one for test drive.  I took the ML450 Hybrid for the test drive.  Mercedes is noted for high quality and exquisite design and the new ML450 Hybrid lives up to those high standards.  For more information on the battery and the different Hybrid car technology this brief intro will help sort out a few things.

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Test Drive

The ride was smooth with good acceleration.  You would not know you were in a hybrid vehicle if it weren’t for the electronics that let you know when the battery is charging during braking or when the hybrid is switching to use the gas engine.  This is one of Mercedes finest engineered vehicles to date.  Just beautifully designed and a comfortable and luxurious ride.

Hybrid

The ML450 goes through millions of cacluations per second.  It switches from electric mode to gas powered mode.  All the time trying to balance between fuel economy and performance.  During parking and low –speed operation the ML450 hybrid runs on electricity only.  It will run on electricity in these cases and not on gas. 

Gas Engine

The ML450 Hybrid features a V6 gas engine that produces 275-hp that gets 21 miles per gallon city and 24 mpg on the highway.  This is a 46% fuel savings over its V8 –powered ML550 model. 

Electric Motors

It has two electric motors.  They produce 80 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque is the first engine.  This first engine is used more for start up.  The second engine is used specifically for acceleration and has 83 hp and 173 lb-ft of torque.  There is a total of 335 hp and 381 lb-ft of torque during total power.

Nickel-metal-hydride battery

The electric motors have 288 volt nickel-metal-hydride battery that is liquid cooled.  The temperature controlled battery keeps the battery at an optimum performance giving a battery life of up to ten to fifteen years. 
The ML450 will be available as a lease only