A bird's eye glance of Benz hybrids
(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
The view high above the Staples headquarters parking lot in Framingham was fantastic. But why was I hovering over the parking lot in a boom truck bucket in the first place? Well, as the operator started to give me a fast 360 degree twirl I too wondered this.
This particular Eaton bucket truck was a hybrid vehicle, part of a lineup of alternative fuel vehicles designed for commercial fleets.
Admittedly, I am not a commercial fleet owner nor do I plan to be one. So, from my bird's eye view of the assembled vehicles I chose two familiar looking Mercedes-Benz vehicles to look at.
(Glenn Gould/Boston.com)
The first was a 2010 S400 Hybrid sedan intended for livery service. This black on black beauty personified elegance. Although intended to be chauffer driven, the driver is provided with all the creature comforts a non-fleet S-Class has to offer. For instance, there is a 14-way power adjustable front seat with pneumatic lumbar support.
Other standard equipment were COMAND system with 49 GB hard-drive navigation system, HD digital radio, Sirius satellite radio, Zagat restaurant guide, and a harman/kardon surround-sound system. The cabin was swathed in luscious leather and dark brown eucalyptus wood trim. I wish my office were as nice.
(Glenn Gould/Boston.com)
The $95,000 S400 Hybrid has a 3.5 liter V-6, which in "mild" hybrid configuration provides V8-like performance. It assists the vehicle, but does not run as a pure EV. The estimated combined fuel economy is 29 mpg. Not bad for a big Mercedes. The lithium-ion battery, about the size of a breadbox and much smaller then the normal battery found in the non-hybrid Benz, lives in the engine bay. Thus, cargo and passenger capacity is also equal to the non-hybrid S400.
(Glenn Gould/Boston.com)
The other Mercedes-Benz was a light blue 2010 ML450 Hybrid available next spring. This vehicle had a 275 horsepower 3.5 liter V-6 gasoline engine. It will run in EV mode up to 34 mph (its hybrid system was co-engineered with BMW, Chrysler, and General Motors). As with the S400 sedan, Mercedes promotes the ML450 as having V-8-like performance. They state the ML450 gets 30 percent better fuel economy than a comparable V-8-powered ML550. The electric motor generates 80 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque. It also has all-wheel drive, so it might be an option for the non-fleet owners among us too.
Not on display, but commercially available is a B-Class compressed natural gas/gasoline bi-fuel vehicle soon to be launched in the southern and western regions of the US. It seems they have a better infrastructure for distribution of CNG than in the Northeast.
Also in the lot were several Chevrolet Ford and Toyota hybrids. GM had a Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle that they were giving rides in. Not as cool as the Eaton bucket truck, but the fuel cell Equinox was very quiet. It runs in EV mode all the time.
Oh, we were transported from our parking lot in a Massport CNG Shuttle Bus. I would have preferred the S400 sedan, but the CNG Shuttle Bus beats walking any day.
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about boston overdrive
Boston.com reports the latest trends, auto shows and wrings out the newest cars in our city's hellish maze - and across the great roads of New England.In the garage: 2008 MBTA Zone 1A monthly pass, 1995 21-speed Iron Horse. Bill Griffith is an automotive correspondent for The Boston Globe and has reviewed cars for 10 years. He was also the Globe's assistant sports editor for 25 years and the paper's sports media columnist.
In the garage (over the years): 1956 T-Bird, 1959 Nash Metropolitan, 1980 El Camino, 1997 supercharged Camry TRD.
