Mercedes-Benz hopes to transform the car-service industry with an electric private jet on wheels. Those who resided in New York City or any of the nation's population-dense metropolitan environments around the turn of the millennium probably remember the transformation: Seemingly overnight, the time-tested four-door sedan limousine disappeared from the urban landscape, replaced by full-size SUVs as the luxury transport vehicle of choice for upscale car services.
With their spacious interiors, their sturdy truck-based chassis (better suited for navigating aging infrastructure), and automakers' collective decision to cull the herd of suitable sedans, it seemed the natural selection of evolution was at work. Now, two and a half decades into the 21st century, Mercedes-Benz is attempting to kick-start a similar regime change with its new VLE-class van, an electric vehicle aimed straight at the heart of the VIP car-service industry.
Mercedes is convinced that the VLE-class passenger vehicle—staffers repeatedly insisted that it's not a "van," mini or otherwise—is a cut above any current minivans that lean into the luxury segment. So much so that Mercedes executives use the phrase "Grand Limousine" for the luxury-focused versions of the VLE. One executive told us the brand's U.S. dealer network thinks "minivan" is a bad word.
View Price on AmazonThough luxury versions of the full-size Sprinter van and smaller Metris (aka V-class in the rest of the world) have long existed, they are commercial vehicles sent to finishing school to renounce their blue-collar roots and gain an appreciation for the finer things in life, such as sound deadening, multiple touchscreens, and kingly seats worthy of coddling royal bums—or at least maybe the Kardashians'. The VLE, on the other hand, is new from the ground up, a design dedicated to passenger comfort first and very little manual labor if it can help it.
You can fit up to eight passengers with rear bench seats, but it's the two/two/two configuration that really channels the private-jet-on-wheels vibe. There's not a bad seat in the house, but we did notice that the driver's seat in the more upscale Exclusive trim we tried has less fore-and-aft travel and backrest adjustment than the seats in the less swanky versions. Mercedes says it has to do with the hardware for the fancy electrically adjustable sliding rear seats (MB calls it a "seat ballet"), but it also, maybe not so inadvertently, reserves more room for the pampered passengers paying the fare.
Like a minivan, the VLE has dual power-sliding side doors with roll-down windows. Interior B-pillar-mounted switches allow you to operate either side with the flip of a tiny selector switch. Additionally, they can be operated by the driver or via remote access with an app. Tight curbside entry and exit in urban environments has never been so easy.
We'd be remiss if we didn't point out the VLE's party trick: the 31.3-inch panoramic screen tucked up in the ceiling. Dubbed the MBUX Rear Space Experience, the screen teams with the available Burmester audio system with Dolby Atmos sound processing to create a mini theater experience sure to entertain even the most miserable cinema Pecksniff. The startup sequence, summoned by either of the wireless remotes, can even be programmed to raise the window sunshades as the screen deploys, for maximum dramatic effect. And in a nod to the proletariat, the screen is available even on the base model.
Without motors, the VLE is just a fancy shed with a home theater installed. Luckily, it offers a choice of two powertrains: the VLE300, which has a single 272-hp motor driving the front wheels, and the VLE400, with a dual-motor setup providing all-wheel drive and 413 horsepower. The vehicle features an 800-volt architecture and has a nickel-manganese-cobalt battery with 115 kWh of usable energy.
Source: caranddriver.com
