2010 Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid - Quick Spin - Car and Driver
What Is It. . An all-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz ML with an electrically assisted V-6 that generates V-8–like power but with better fuel economy. Combining a 275-hp, 3. 5-liter V-6 with two electric motors in the two-mode hybrid transmission—which was co-developed with BMW and General Motors when Mercedes was married to Chrysler—the powertrain delivers a total output of 335 hp and 381 lb-ft... A 288-volt nickel-metal hydride battery under the rear cargo floor provides the current for the motors, with the resulting bump in efficiency bringing fuel economy to 21 mpg city and 24 mpg highway, up from the all-wheel-drive ML350’s 15/20 rating... Stomp on the ML450 hybrid’s go pedal, and once the computer summons the engine and electric motors to duty, you’re eventually provided with an impressive swell of thrust that feels not unlike a turbo-diesel’s. although the transmission technically is an electronic CVT with four fixed ratios for better efficiency at both high and low speeds, it emulates an eight-speed automatic with manumatic shifting. The engine’s stop/start feature is subtle yet still detectable, and although you can creep around on electric power alone at speeds up to 34 mph—our favorite activity by far when it comes to driving hybrids—it doesn’t take much to strike up the... Source: www.caranddriver.com
