A lot of people tend to wonder why no one has thought of combining a diesel with hybrid technology, as oppposed to a regular gasoline combustion engine, since diesels are inherantly efficient to begin with. Seemingly combining two forms of efficient technology would be the ultimate in both efficiency and power as diesels tend to have high torque ranges.
Well, someone has thought of it before. Mainly mostly every car manufacturer. The problem with a diesel hybrid set up is that diesels are bigger and heavier than traditional gas engine. Therefore, there generally isn’t enough room in the engine bay for both the diesel and electric motor. On top of that, the set up would be quite costly. Both hybrids and diesels tend to be more expensive than gas engine vehicles, so having a vehicle with both likely would likely produce some sticker shock.
But, that of course doesn’t stop manufacturers from trying. Kia has recently been flirting with the idea of a diesel-hybrid, and Mercedes-Benz has just announced a production diesel hybrid version of their E-Class sedan.
Details after the jump.
The E 300 BluTEC Hybrid will make its debut for the 2011 model year. It will feature an upgraded 2.2 litre CDI engine and a 15 kw electric motor charged by lithium-ion battery technology.
Combined power will be good for 224 horespower and the set up is expected to return a rather impressive 4 l/100 kms.
The eight-speed automatic with stop/start technology, and the ability to run up to 35 kilometers on the electric motor alone help the new E-class hybrid acheive its efficiency.
No pricing as of yet, but expect to pay a premium for all this technology. Chances are, if you have the kind of dough to spend on an E-Class to begin with, then the price jump may not be such a hard pill to swallow.
