(Tue 23 Feb 10)

There are no immediate plans for anything like it to go into production, but we do rather like the Mercedes-Benz F 800 Style. The latest in an increasingly long line of research vehicles, the F 800 offers, in the company's own words, "a glance at the upper-range sedans of tomorrow", though the predicted fuel economy and CO2 figures at first suggest something quite different.

In plug-in hybrid form, the F 800 Style is said to be able to give around 97mpg on the official combined cycle, with CO2 emissions of 68g/km. The combined power output from the V6 petrol engine and the electric motor is slightly more than 400bhp, giving the car a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds. The platform can also support a fuel cell, which involves no engine at all, and of course CO2 emissions fall to zero, though the car is also considerably slower, and there remains the problem of refilling the tank with hydrogen.

The F 800 Style is also being used as a showcase for new technology such as the Pre-Safe 360 system, which automatically applies the brakes while the car is stationary if it senses that a following vehicle is about to clatter into it (the brakes automatically release if the driver realises what is about to happen and hits the accelerator).

The Distronic Plus system, which senses vehicles in front and keeps a constant gap to them right down to a standstill, now has a Traffic Jam Assistant feature which means the car will continue to follow the vehicle in front even through corners, at speeds up to 25mph. Exceptionally cleverly, the system can tell the difference between a car that is going round a bend and turning into a side street.

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