If price is a consideration in your shopping, you’ll probably want to stick with the E350 BlueTec, as its some $3,600 less than the E400 hybrid, which starts at a price of $56,705. As for fuel economy, the E350 BlueTec gets 3 mpg less than the E400 in the city, but one more mpg on the highway. Call it a wash.
Expect the E400 to produce 302 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque from its 3.5-liter V-6, which combines with the 27 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque from the electric motor to produce a total output of 329 horsepower and 457 pound-feet. That’s enough to get the Mercedes-Benz hybrid from 0-60 in 6.7 seconds.
As Car and Driver points out, the E400 is some $5,000 less expensive than the BMW ActiveHybrid 5 and roughly $2,000 less expensive than Lexus’ GS 450h hybrid, but it comes in at roughly $1,600 more than the Infiniti M35h hybrid. In other words, the E400 is competitively priced in the segment.
While that may be enough to make the Mercedes hybrid attractive to some buyers, the E400 falls a few mpg short of most others in the class, something to be factored in if fuel economy is your primary concern. The take-away is this: if you're shopping for a luxury hybrid sedan, there is no shortage of solid choices.
