Mercedes-Benz GLE450e plug-in hybrid priced from $156,900 in Australia

Mercedes-Benz Australia has put the updated GLE450e plug-in hybrid on sale, priced from $156,900 before on-road costs for the SUV and $160,900 for the Coupe. The five-seater joins the GLA and GLC as the brand's third PHEV line locally, slotting into a revised GLE range that opened with a six-cylinder turbo-diesel wagon.

The 450e pairs a 240kW 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six with a 135kW electric motor for combined outputs of 320kW and 680Nm, sent to all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic. Both body styles claim 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds, 0.6 seconds quicker than the GLE350d diesel already in showrooms.

How it sits against the rivals

The PHEV carries a premium over the turbo-diesel GLE350d, which lists at $142,300 before on-roads and is, like the 450e, imported from the US. It also edges past the outgoing BMW X5 xDrive50e M Sport at $153,600 plus on-roads, though pricing for the new-generation X5 PHEV due here in November has not been announced. The Mercedes undercuts the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, which starts at $164,800 as an SUV and $171,400 in Coupe form.

The timing is no accident. PHEV sales in Australia are up 124.2 per cent year to date to September, and the category took 9.3 per cent of all new vehicles sold last month. Mercedes is landing its most powerful GLE variant into the fastest-growing corner of the market, and pricing it between the BMW and Porsche alternatives rather than above both.

A 25.7kWh lithium-ion battery drives the wheels on electric power at speeds up to 140km/h. Claimed electric-only range is 87km for the SUV and 91km for the Coupe, the latter managing more despite riding on larger 21-inch wheels against the SUV's 20s.

Charging is where the specification gets unusual. DC fast charging is a $1100 option, and even then a 10 to 80 per cent recharge takes 29 minutes. On AC at 11kW, a full charge from flat takes two hours and 45 minutes. Paying extra for DC capability is rare at this end of the market, and buyers who mostly charge at home may not miss it, but anyone counting on public chargers for their electric kilometres should budget for the option from the outset.

Mercedes-Benz Australia has not published local fuel consumption figures. The US and UK versions of the 450e claim a combined 88.3mpg, equivalent to 3.2L/100km, plus 21.6kWh/100km of energy consumption. For reference, the current GLE350d diesel is rated at 8.2L/100km combined. Local figures should land closer to launch, and buyers comparing the two on paper will want them before signing.

Dubai Police has taken delivery of a Lamborghini Temerario, the hybrid supercar joining a fleet that already runs the Urus, Huracan, Aventador and Revuelto in the emirate's colours. The handover came through the force's collaboration with Lamborghini Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Unlike a conventional pursuit vehicle, this Temerario will not chase down highway speeders. It sits with the Tourist Police Department, appearing in high-density areas and at major attractions across Dubai.

The car wears the signature white and green livery with special emblems and Police lettering in both English and Arabic. Brigadier Saeed Al Hajri, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation at Dubai Police, said the luxury patrol fleet combines an effective security presence with community and tourist engagement, and that the supercars help people feel safe while reinforcing the force's commitment to being close to the community.

In practice that means the Temerario is as much a public relations tool as a patrol car. Tourists and residents are encouraged to approach it and ask for a photo rather than expect a traffic stop, which fits the pattern set by the Urus, Huracan, Aventador and Revuelto before it.

907 hp, but no highway pursuits

The Temerario produces a combined 907 hp (677 kW / 920 PS) and 900 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque from a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and three electric motors. Those are serious numbers by any standard, yet Dubai Police has deliberately kept the car away from highway pursuit work, reserving it for visibility duty instead.

That is a sensible use of the car. A 907 hp hybrid is far more valuable to the force as a crowd magnet at tourist landmarks than as a high-speed responder, and the existing fleet suggests Dubai has long treated its exotics this way.

Not the only police Temerario

Italy's Polizia di Stato has also unveiled a Temerario, a follow-up to the police versions of the Gallardo and Huracan. The Italian car has a working role rather than a ceremonial one: it is equipped for high-priority emergency missions, including transporting organs across the country, and is permitted to exceed the 130 km/h (81 mph) motorway limit when driven by trained officers.

Over 22 years of collaboration between the Italian State Police and Lamborghini, those rapid-response units have transported more than 200 organs. The two cars show opposite philosophies for the same model: Dubai's is a white and green showpiece for tourist engagement, Italy's a blue and white working tool built for urgent cross-country runs.