2007 Frankfurt Auto Show: Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid

• Competes with: BMW X5, Land Rover Range Rover
• Looks like: A standard ML
• Drivetrain: 340-hp combined hybrid-electric power plant
• Hits dealerships: 2009

Mercedes has taken its redesigned ML-Class SUV and put a two-mode hybrid system inside, to pretty impressive results. The hybrid system is shared with GM and BMW, and we recently tested a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that uses a similar setup. However, this ML450 not only gets a combined rating of 340 hp, but if our metric calculations are correct, Mercedes is saying it will get 30 mpg (7.7 liters per 100 km). We’ll believe it when we see it at the pump; expect that to happen sometime in 2009. More information will become available next week when the Frankfurt show opens to the media.