The hybrid car concept is already a pretty self-celebrating idea, but with good reason. Having a car that can both run on diesel and electric power, it is up to the driver to ultimately choose between environmental efficiency or burning up their miles on the freeway.

As a hybrid, the E350 e functions well, as the car is able to switch from diesel to electric or vice versa the moment one of these power sources starts running low, thereby guaranteeing the vehicle will not malfunction in the middle of the road.

Even if the driver forgets to switch the vehicle from the E-MODE (fully electric) to HYBRID mode, the car is smart enough to do so itself. It can allow up to 33 kilometers of all-electric and therefore, emission-free driving.

It is equipped with four different body modes, “Comfort,” “Sport, ”“Sport +” and “Eco.” The difference between these modes is that at some speeds, such as above 80 kmph or 120 kmph, the automated suspension lowers itself to help reduce drag.

Technically speaking, the car handles itself like a sports car but consumes less fuel than a small compact-class car even with its four-cylinder gasoline engine and powerful electric motor that produces an output of 210 kilowatt.

Made available last month in Malaysia, this writer took it upon himself and the Mercedes Benz team to try out the intelligent hybrid on Malaysia’s more forgiving roads.

Testing the car in an open environment, like the highway, the E350 e handled very smoothly, and automated itself throughout the drive, making the 94-km test drive between Kuala Lumpur and Port Dickson just fly by.

For about 22 km on this route, the car ran completely on electric power, but the car’s brain knew better to shift to the full gas tank when it was time. The point where the car ran out of electric power passed unnoticed.

Even running the car at 100 kmph felt incredibly smooth, and because of the noiseless nature of the hybrid car, you won’t really realize that you’ve gone above the speed limit (but that’s for you to look out for). The smooth ride makes for a great driving experience and the brainy car’s artificial awareness of its surroundings basically assures the driver that everything will be okay.

On the dashboard was one fittingly large screen, with a complete display of navigation maps, phone calls and entertainment options alike. Two control buttons sit in the central console where the gearstick is usually placed in other cars, but no touch screen. Speaking of the gearstick, it can get quite confusing when it is located on a stem jutting out of the right side of the steering wheel, akin to the windshield wiper stem, as it is in the E350 e.

While already for sale in Mercedes Benz’s largest South-East Asian markets as Malaysia and Thailand, it is still to be determined if the hybrid E350 e will ever be sold in Indonesia.

Mercedes Benz Malaysia vice president of sales and marketing passenger cars Mark Raine noted that while Indonesia was a lucrative market for the company, the main obstacle to marketing hybrid cars in Indonesia remains the lack of infrastructure to sustain it.

For one thing, Indonesia is way behind its neighbors when it comes to electricity-powered cars as oil-based fuel remains the main fuel for vehicles.

His concerns are right. Even the supposedly “global” city of Jakarta is still subjected to rolling blackouts. If the electricity infrastructure is still a shambles, how can it properly accommodate an innovation like the hybrid car?

With that said, it is a pretty useful and assistive car, the E350 e. But it makes one wonder. Is the reason cars are getting smarter and smarter because we humans err too much and are too predictable? Are these machines just compensating for our very nature?

I mean, having a driver-assist function such as automated parking (where the driver merely needs to let go of the wheel and let the car literally park itself, calculations and distance done and all) is great and it saves the hassle of both finding a space and parking the car itself, but are we just being too spoiled by car companies?

Or, do the car companies feel that the limits of human error are just far too great for us to actually stay safe on the roads?

Whatever they are thinking, the Mercedes Benz E350 e Hybrid is a smart release from the Merc team. It is just a bit unsettling (or exciting) to think that we humans might eventually not be needed to drive cars anymore. 

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