Can you guess?  According to a study of 16 different hybrid automobiles, only one can claim to actually cost less to purchase and operate on its gasoline counterpart.  For those of you thinking Prius, think again amigos.

What?  It isn’t the Prius?  The hybrid car most associated with the word hybrid?  Shocker.  It has historically been a complaint that there is essentially no payback for purchasing a hybrid car, that they are more expensive to buy and cost just as much in fuel.  I mean, shouldn’t a hybrid return the initial cost of investment in fuel savings? 

So which one can claim the opposite?  Drumroll please.  The 2010 Mercedes-Benz S 400 Hybrid gets that title.  A Benz beat the quintessential Prius in this department?  The Prius hybrid that sold over a million units?  Heads will roll.

Yes, the British Columbia Automobile Association projected the fuel costs of 16 hybrid cars over a 5-year span, against their purchase price and financing fees.  This study was released in late July, and only the Mercedes S400 luxury hybrid cost less to buy and drive than its gasoline counterpart, about $5,000 less over a 5 year period.

Mercedes has priced the S 400 hybrid at the entry-level S-Class price, and it gets around 27 miles per gallon (follow link for further info on the Mercedes S400 Hybrid).

Research by BCAA shows that price is not the leading factor when deciding to invest in a hybrid car, and that people are willing to pay more to reduce their carbon footprints.  I think personally that some are willing to pay more just to appear green and trendy, and that is fine too, as some pay more to appear rich and James Bondish. To each their own I say.

The future appears bright and green indeed for Mercedes-Benz, who is rolling out an E-Class hybrid and may sell the S-Class only in hybrid form by 2012 or 2013.  We may see the next generation of Mercedes hybrids compatible with diesel engines, as teased in the E300 Bluetec Hybrid from the Geneva Motor Show.
 

Keep it up MB, I assume other luxury hybrids are green with envy.
 

 

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