Mercedes Benz VLE, luxury controlled from your phone
A luxury people carrier is no longer just a matter of more legroom and thicker carpets. Mercedes Benz has just unveiled the fully electric VLE, Vision Luxury Electric, a machine that Stuttgart’s engineers rather theatrically describe as a ballet of seats.
A seat ballet, conducted from your pocket
The juiciest innovation lies in the flexibility of the passenger compartment. Order the VLE with electrically adjustable seats and you can hand control of them to your smartphone. Using the Remote Variable Rear Space function in the Mercedes Benz app, you can move, rotate and configure the seats without even stepping into the car.
There are four preset modes to choose from.
Luggage mode moves the seats forward automatically to create maximum room for cases.
Executive mode slides the rear seats back to deliver suitably regal legroom.
People and luggage strikes a more sensible balance between comfort and practicality.
Standard keeps everything in the default seating position.
All of it forms part of the new MB.OS operating system, which turns the car into something more like a clever travelling companion than a passive metal box.
Grand Comfort and a cinema on the ceiling
And then there are the seats themselves. The optional Grand Comfort chairs offer massage, leg rests, wireless charging and even extra cushions. Still, the real showstopper sits above your head. A vast 31.3 inch 8K display unfurls from the roof and turns the rear cabin into either a private cinema or a mobile office.
For video calls, Mercedes even built an 8 megapixel camera into the screen, for those who insist on running the world while travelling to the next meeting.
The numbers matter too
The VLE’s technical claim is just as serious as its lounge like interior.
Range stands at more than 700 km on the WLTP cycle.
Its 800 volt architecture can add 355 km of range in a 15 minute charging stop.
Rear wheel steering, with up to 7 degrees of movement at the back axle, gives this large machine a turning circle comparable to that of the compact CLA.
Its aerodynamic drag coefficient is just 0.25 Cd, a barely believable figure for something with van like proportions.
A new era for VIP transport
The VLE marks the point at which its van origins are thoroughly forgotten. What Mercedes has built here is electric top tier luxury wrapped in an unusually flexible and intelligent shell. Whether it ends up carrying a family on holiday or a VIP to the airport, the VLE makes one thing clear. In the future, the app on your phone will not just control the vacuum cleaner. It may also rearrange the interior of your rolling luxury suite.
