Mercedes-Benz Malaysia couldn’t have chosen a better way to end the year, than with the debut of the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid in Malaysia come December 4th, 2014.
Why this car is so intriguing? Well, for a start, the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is the first diesel hybrid from Mercedes-Benz and the first diesel hybrid available our the market. And as diesel a much more fuel-efficient compared to petrol (mentioned in our earlier post), you’ll be able to save more fuel in the long run.
As the company claims the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is the world’s most fuel-efficient model in the luxury segment, it recently recorded a staggering 1,968 kilometres across 2 continents, 4 countries and 3 time zones from Africa to England on just one tank of diesel!
The record was accomplished by British journalist Andrew Frankel and one relief driver where originally, their plan was to take the ferry from Tangier and then cover the distance up to the Chunnel along European routes just to be able to reach the U.K., a distance of just over 1,931 km. But, upon arriving in the U.K. after 27 hours on the road, the team decided to continue on to the Goodwood Festival of Speed since they still had some fuel left.
When Frankel arrived at Goodwood, the fuel readout still showed another 160km worth of driving range. If he’d kept driving, the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid could easily covered 2129 km of road without a single stop.
The E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is powered by a 2.1-litre, 204hp diesel engine and a 27hp electric motor that generates 250Nm of torque, all mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission. The overall torque generated by the two powerplants is 500Nm. That’s enough to give it the ability to make the sprint to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds while top speed is rated at 240km/h.
So here’s something you can look forward to till next week as AF will bring you live coverage of its Malaysian debut!
