HIGH ROAD

THE GROUNDBREAKING MERCEDES-BENZ ELECTRIC SEDAN THAT CAN GO 747 MILES ON A SINGLE CHARGE

BY HOWARD WALKER

I’m a range anxietist. Each time I get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle with a longish drive ahead, a tsunami of fear washes over me. Am I going to run out of juice before I can find a socket? It’s the same anxiety seen at airports and Starbucks across the land: smartphone users with power cords in hand, desperately in search of a vacant outlet.

But there’s hope on the horizon. The remarkable Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX can go for an astonishing 747 miles on a single charge. To put that into perspective, 747 miles is roughly the distance from New York to Chicago, Miami to Charlotte, and L.A. to San Fran and back. In a recent record-shattering run, the EQXX whizzed across Europe, from Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to Silverstone, England.

I’ve come to the Mercedes-Benz research center in rural Immendingen (south of Stuttgart) to take a closer look at this visionary Vision EQXX. Right now, the EQXX is a concept car, with no plans for production. But the lessons learned from this advanced piece of engineering and technology will be incorporated into pretty much all upcoming Mercedes EVs.

See it in the aluminum and it’s a jaw-dropper, largely on account of that teardrop body design. And it doesn’t just look slippery, it is slippery. Mercedes achieved a drag coefficient of 0.17, making the Vision EQXX the most aerodynamic road car ever.

Climb aboard and the surprisingly production-ready cabin feels part George Jetson, part Mercedes E-Class circa 2030. It’s packed with some really cool features, like a massive, pillar-to-pillar, 47-inch touchscreen. The interior uses lots of sustainable, non-animal materials too, including upholstery made from cactus, mushroom roots, and vegan silk. The funky blue shag mats on the floor are a mix of bamboo and recycled plastic water bottles. Need a snack? Chew on a seat.

Arguably the Merc’s most impressive feature, however, is what lies beneath, i.e., the battery pack under the floor. It has roughly the same 100-kWh output as the battery powering the latest flagship all-electric

Mercedes EQS sedan, but it’s 30 percent lighter and 50 percent smaller. Tipping the scales at just under 3,900 pounds, the EQXX is 1,800 pounds lighter than an EQS 580. Reduced weight means less power is needed to move it; the relatively modest 241-hp rear-mounted electric motor can punch the EQXX from standstill to 60 mph in a sprightly 7 seconds. The EQXX also comes with 117 solar panels integrated into the roof that juice all the accessories, including the cooling fans, lights, and controls. On a long drive, they can add up to 15 miles of range.

Piloting the EQXX around the sinewy Immendingen road course requires you to totally recalibrate your driving style. For starters there’s the

BECAUSE IT PROVES THAT aero effect of that 0.17 drag coeffi cient. Lift off the throttle while cruising RANGE ANXIETY WILL SOON a fl at section of the track and the speed of this silver bullet just doesn’t BE A THING OF THE PAST. change. The car coasts and keeps on coasting. When you need to scrub off some speed—yes, that’s a tight corner up ahead—the brake pedal is there, but it’s not necessary. Instead, steering-wheel paddles provide four stages of regenerative braking. In one-pedal driving mode, lifting off the gas will stop you in your tracks, while dumping juice back into the battery. Other than that, the EQXX drives like any other EQ electric Mercedes. That means instant acceleration, silent running, agile handling, and the uncanny feeling that you’re helping save the planet. Range anxiety? Consider me cured. «

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