Mercedes CLS 450: The Sexiest Hybrid on the Market?
Roadshow reviews M-B’s latest hybrid car, a delicious blend of 48-volt tech and sleek 4-door coupe styling.
This excellent review of the CLS 450 from the Roadshow YouTube Channel starts with the words, “I’ll call it sleek, I’ll call it stylish, but I will not call the Mercedes CLS a coupe. It’s got 4 doors. That makes it a sedan. There’s no such thing as a 4-door coupe. I don’t care what those savages over in marketing try to tell you.”
We can’t disagree with that. The term has evolved from something completely different, but since the 1960s the word coupe has been accepted to mean a 2-door car, but that’s a whole other article. The point here is that, dodgy marketing term on not, the CLS 450 is a gorgeous looking coupe-inspired car. But, that and the gorgeous interior are not the only attractions. It’s also Mercedes first application of the 48-volt mild hybrid technology they have been developing for some time.
Roadshow‘s host sums up the 48-volt mild hybrid system as, “… an electric motor that makes a paltry 21 horsepower, but a really healthy 184 lb-ft of torque … It never operates completely under electric power but that e-motor is able to add bursts of torque under strong acceleration.”
The smoothness, and extra torque, that system also adds to the elegance and luxury of the CLS 450 makes us think the 48-volt mild hybrid system brings something substantial to the table for Mercedes and suits the experience people expect from their cars. Frankly, we can’t wait to get our hands on one to experience ourselves and look forward to the evolution of hybrid from Mercedes.
It’s obviously being thought through properly and used to the advantage of the car rather than being pushed out because everyone else is doing it.
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