Move close to the Vision V and the doors open as if by magic. This is the most prestigious and luxuriously outfitted Mercedes to date and even if the front aspect reminds you of a bloated fish, the concept MPV makes even a Maybach look modest.
There was however no stretch of water to be seen in Dubai where the car was unveiled to the media in the desert. The V-Class is a 5.50 metre capsule which is still just a study amid strong hints that production is imminent.
This creation on the new modular VAN.EA platform is Mercedes’ answer to the lounge on wheels that well-heeled customers, especially in the Far East, are now keen to own.
The machine comes across as a space shuttle in a dinner jacket and it toured the Emirates just a few weeks after its world premiere in Shanghai.
The Vision V-Class is the very opposite of a driver’s car and as befits a chauffeur-driven saloon, the plushness starts in the rear, with the added comfort and luxury appeal that comes with its spacious interior.
After all, Mercedes didn’t just screw in two benches here as in the current V-Class, but fitted twin airline-style armchairs which can recline or even be slept on, despite a wheelbase of a little over three metres. The perches would not be out of place in an upmarket furniture store and are as comfortable as they look.
As part of the automotive cocooning, seven projectors create different ambient atmospheres, the rear windows can be flipped from transparent to opaque and there are even various karaoke modes on demand.
If desired, a screen will whirr out of the floor across the entire width of the vehicle and with an array of 42 loudspeakers the V-Class morphs into a cinema on wheels. The projectors ensure pin-sharp image quality.
The fun is not all on screens though and those who appreciate analogue entertainment can use a designer chess set lodged in a glass sideboard, toast their victory with a cold drink from the mini-bar or quench defeat with a stiff tot of whiskey.
The huge screen, the mini-bar behind glass and the dinky chess set may well disappear on the way to series production. What will remain is the huge amount of space and a new premium standard, which could even justify a Maybach logo along with prices reaching into six figures.
What also remains, or in this case is yet to come, is the technology under the bonnet. The van division at Mercedes has so far only tried to lure the Generation E with more or less half-hearted conversions of ICE-based models. This is the full Monty, a dedicated electric platform.
The concept car is a hand-built, one-off model and barely manages more than walking pace on a closed track in Dubai. Yet it will underpin not only the luxury versions of the V-Class but form the basis of the upcoming middle-class electric van VLE for families and driving services. It will also spur successors to the humbler Vito and Sprinter.
To achieve all this, Mercedes is installing an 800-volt battery that offers a range of more than 500 kilometres at best and can charge with over 350 kW. There are one or two motors with probably more than 400 kW/544 hp. The rear-axle steering system also allows the van to be manoeuvred effortlessly even in narrow driveways – a feature unlikely to be a game-changer in Dubai’s expansive hotel landscapes.
A van masquerading as a luxury saloon? Well, the idea is not new and this segment is booming, especially in Japan, South Korea and China. Similar MPVs from manufacturers like Toyota and its upmarket siblings Lexus, Kia, Denza and Li Auto are currently giving traditional executive saloons a good run for their money.
But with the Vision V-Class, Mercedes is the first European manufacturer to seriously tackle this market and may even liberate the MPV from its dowdy van image. If the Germans get the formula right, they may even take the lead with an opulent Maybach version as top dog.
