Whether configured as an executive shuttle or a family truckster, the VLE’s cabin prioritizes comfort, flexibility, and luxury.
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If any vehicle proves that what’s inside matters more than what’s outside, it’s Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming electric van, the VLE . Vans are all about interior space, and the VLE is designed to make that space as flexible and luxurious as possible. Mercedes, meanwhile, is trying to avoid the term “minivan,” instead referring to the VLE as a “grand limousine.” In Germany, limousine means sedan, so think Town Car rather than stretched Escalade. Per Mercedes’ plans, proper (American) limousining will be the role of the bigger VLS van , while the VLE fulfills the dual role of executive shuttle and—Mercedes hopes—soccer shuttle for well-to-do families.
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Everyone’s Crazy ’Bout a Sharp Dressed Van
It should come as no surprise given its dual intended roles that Mercedes has done up the VLE’s interior in fine Benzo form. Open a door, any door (the rears are power sliders, natch), and you’ll find yourself on the threshold of a cocoon made from leather, metal, and textured wood accents. We always look for a bit of cheating, a little cheap plastic slipped in where it presumably wouldn’t be noticed, but we could find no such gaps in this new electric van. The VLE drips class the way old cars drip oil. And it had better; while Mercedes hasn’t announced pricing, we expect it to start in the $80,000–$100,000 range.
Let’s go front to back and take a closer look at the VLE’s first-class—perhaps we should say business-class—interior.
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The View From the Flight Deck
The VLE’s driver faces what Mercedes calls the MBUX (Mercedes Benz User eXperience) Superscreen, which is a trio of screens arranged under one greater panel. There’s a 10.3-inch instrument display for the driver and 14.0-inch screens in the center position and ahead of the front passenger. There’s also a colorful head-up display. All the screens can display advanced navigation mapping, so there’s no excuse for getting lost in a VLE.
We like the design of the vents at the sides of the dash, which are a sort of squared-off play on the automaker’s turbine-vent theme. What we don’t love so much is the lack of center vents. They do exist, but they’re located at the top of the dashboard, where they aren’t nearly as effective as vents in the dashboard would be.
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High-end VLEs have a full-size center console between the front seats, complete with a built-in beverage compartment that can serve as either a cooler or a heater. That’s cool, though we wish it wasn’t quite so easy to switch functions; we accidentally (and unknowingly) brushed the touch-sensitive temperature control. Half an hour later, instead of ice-cold water, we had tea.
One feature that may or may not make it to the U.S.-market VLE is an abbreviated version of the console that’s little more than a tray, housing a few buttons, a pair of wireless chargers, and a pop-out cupholder. It allows for a functionality we haven’t seen on a minivan in years: the ability for the front passenger to pop back into the second row and attend to fussing children (or fussing adults). We’re hoping Mercedes will offer this in the U.S., because if the VLE ever gains traction as an upscale kid-hauler, this will be an invaluable feature.