Passenger vans are still quite popular in the United States, but they have become mostly boring family cars with the stigma of "football parents." For years, US enthusiasts have lamented our country's lack of futuristic high-end vans, looking from afar as China and Europe have seen scores of cool new vans introduced. But now, for the first time, we are getting a luxury van in the United States, and it comes from Mercedes-Benz. But the 2028 Mercedes-Benz VLE is a ground-up design on a bespoke electric van platform, designed from scratch with plans for launch in the US. In a more basic form the VLE is already a major step over the v-class replacing in terms of style, luxury and technology.
But just outside the gate, Mercedes is launching a VLE with fancy trim featuring some of the nicest rear seats you've ever seen. Even the most basic VLE looks nice, with less flashy headlights and black trim in the grille instead of a checkered look, but it's thanks to the large center light bar in the middle of the grille actually works with the VLE and the illuminated grille surround and wraparound taillights that look like piano keys. The first van I drive is the VLE300 with a single motor that powers the front axle. Some of the other American journalists on the program really blame it for the evening dinner and say it's too late and underpowered for US prices and the audience, but I don't think it's that bad.
The motor will be 272 horsepower, and Mercedes says the VLE300 will reach 9.5 mph in 62 seconds, about 1 second slower than the old naked Metris passenger van. At least on the streets, highways and mountain roads of Bilbao and its surrounding cities, it really doesn't feel so slow. The VLE400 on the other hand feels faster than the VLE300, but don't think it's sporty, whether it's offline or accelerated from speed. Power delivery is less intuitive than many EVs, and the torque rises slowly and linearly as it accelerates. Entering sports mode on both cars makes a noticeable difference in the responsiveness of the powertrain, especially with throttle tuning.
The steering is direct but very light, and the VLE's center of gravity is low (it has an F1-style inboard rear suspension), but this is a tall car at the end of the day, so there's a fair amount of roll in the corners. It's very unlikely to actually happen, but I think the AMG model is cool and actually pretty good. Speed and handling, however, are not important for this car. It's all about the smoothness and luxury that VLE offers in spades. The Airmatic air suspension with individual adaptive damper for all 4 wheels is standard, with rear shock mounted on board. In addition to automatically lowering above 68mph for better efficiency or when the sport mode is on, the suspension raises 1.5 inches for dirt roads, and even on 22-inch wheels, the VLE, with a fairly low-profile 265/40 Pirelli Scorpion all-season tire, is available in the s-class.
Despite the flat, low floor of the VLE, the front seat sits where I'm quite high. Fortunately, the driving position is barely like a van, the front seat is well adjusted, the ideal armrest is placed on the door card, and the dashboard is too long to peer over. The steering wheel is also angled like a car. The a-pillar on the driver's side is really thick and sharply raked, creating the most annoying and dangerous blind spot on the winding road, but the visibility is much better on the passenger side, and the short hood and front overhang make the VLE easier to place. The side windows and back windows are all huge, and when the van has one of the more elaborate backseat setups, there's no need to worry about the availability.
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Helping manoeuvrability even more is the rear wheel steering system that comes standard. It rotates the rear wheel up to 7 degrees, giving the short wheelbase VLE a rotating circle of about 37.5 feet, which is similar to the CLA. Our LWB model still has a really tight 39.7-foot rotating circle. To give you concrete vision, the VLE can turn around inside the tennis court. It really makes the VLE so easy and effortless to drive through the narrow and hectic city streets of Bilbao and its surroundings. Mercedes' automatic parking system has also gained significant upgrades. Sensors and cameras are now able to find and map parking lots from a distance, so you no longer have to park after passing through the parking lot.
It now has a new reverse parking system that can be reversed up to 490 feet to recreate the drive forward that was just you, convenient if you get to a dead end or pulled off a particularly tricky parking job, allowing you to enter and exit the spot for both you and park at an oblique spot. Another really great new feature is the transparent rim protection view and warning system, which helps prevent the wheel from suppressing and add a red highlight over the wheel if it gets too close to the edge. 12 ultrasonic sensors, 5 radar cameras and 10 external cameras are also used for a suite of driver assistance systems that include hands-free MBA drive assist Pro system that will be able to handle point-to-point city driving.
The Vle's dashboard features the same superscreen setup as many other new Benzes, with a 10.25-inch gauge cluster, a 14-inch center touchscreen and a 14-inch passenger display under 1 glass panel and trim support. Floating in the round. The latest MB of the brand.The OS infotainment system is excellent, but after riding a car like the GLC with seamless super screen options, the borders and bezels are disappointing and hopefully with the model year update the VLE can get a seamless screen. The quality of the Mercedes interior has been at least better and the materials used in all the VLEs we drive are even better with low-end trims Almost every surface in the exclusive line car gets smashed regularly.
Only hard plastic is in place covered, with leather or padded material Door panels There are large storage cubbies and you are able to choose between a few different center console setups. One is like a shelf with a wireless charging pad, some physical controls and a cup holder, leaving the space behind the front seat open. Then you can get armrests, refrigerators under them, integrated cupholders and a large fixed console that has enough space for storage, fragrance dispensers, UV disinfectant trays, and a large purse or backpack underneath.There is one really big problem I foresee that Americans have in VLE 1: climate-controlled vents.
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On both sides of the super screen are large vertical vents with straked illuminated surround. There's a vent over the dash just behind the middle of the screen, but I really hit my hands and get air from them to face the way I like, as I said I could probably get used to it and the climate system itself is great. Above the driver and the passenger seat there is no sunroof, but a huge single-piece glass plate extends from just behind them to the top of the 3rd row. It is surrounded by ambient lighting and has a powered, fully opaque sunblind. In addition to retractable mesh sunshades for the side windows of the door and the side windows of the back, you can also get a shade for the rear window.
All of these can be up and down with the push of 1 button. The old V-class didn't have a rear window rolled down, but the VLE's doors are large enough that you can roll down the window completely. It's really a big deal in the van world. The exclusive line also gets a 31.3-inch 8K screen that unfolds from the ceiling — it sits on the front passenger's head where the sunroof will be - touch these remotes can also adjust seating, climate control, and all sorts of other vehicle functions, but turn on the screen and turn on all the blinds. Close It is most convenient to quickly enter cinema mode. Its HDMI port allows you to connect DVD players and game consoles.
The remote control has intuitive touch controls with the ability to swipe through different apps and use them like a kind of laptop trackpad, which is convenient to actually use them. It has a built-in camera so you can take selfies or make zoom calls and the camera can focus on both people or only rear passengers The split screen feature allows both passengers in column 2 to see and perform various things.Both seats are equipped with wireless barmester noise-cancelling headphones. But with a chauffeur-driven ride through Bilbao where you really listened to music or watched a movie using the available 22-speaker Burmester3D surround sound system with Dolby Atmos features, we got the "F1: Movie" trailer and the quality of both images and streaming through the YouTube app was excellent .
Behind these fantastic seats, there are still 2 rear benches with a level of fit and finish as high as the first 3 rows. The way back seat is heated and power-adjusted, and there are two USB-C ports on both sides, a metal Burmester speaker grille and a real wood trim piece. The floor is low, the roof is high enough and there is real space for adults to sit there for a long time without feeling cramped. No matter which row you sit in, it's certainly better to ride than a body-on-frame SUV, a large crossover or any other minivan. Mercedes says they are coming to the U.S. in the first place in the most attractive configuration, as they are the ones seen most in demand from both potential customers and dealers
The company says dealers have long sought vehicles with 3 rows of really convenient seats, as even the 3rd row of the giant GLS is only suitable for children and adults on short journeys. You can see a normal family eager to get out of the SUV and get into the VLE. The Vle will probably start over above $80,000 and stretch to about $130,000, so a wealthy normal family, I should say.Still, there is a stigma in the US van, especially in the word "minivan" itself. That's why Mercedes does not sell this as a van — no, it's a "grand limousine," simply the best luxury experience you can get from Benz, no matter the shape or type of vehicle. Not only are we fans of VLE and excited about it coming to our shores, but we are optimistic that it can bring a whole new segment of luxury vans in America, especially since many people in the country have reached peak huge SUV fatigue. It will be a victory for all of us.
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