Mercedes-Benz is aiming to build a luxury minivan next year, and this is a look at a new level of fanciness.
More than four decades ago, automakers dreamed up the minivan as a prominently practical concept. It wasn’t exactly what you’d call cool, though you might want to reconsider your prejudices with the crop of new van concepts and production models. To wit, Mercedes has this new Vision V concept — underpinned by the company’s new VAN.EA platform that will go into full production next year — as an ambitious idea of what a luxurious minivan could be…rather than just your stereotypical family machine.
The idea behind the glitzy and glamorous Vision V is, essentially, to redefine the modern limousine. SUVs are cliche these days, after all, and while sedans have faithfully served the limo role for decades, they don’t make the most practical use of space. Here, this electric van concept brings tons of room behind the massive faux grille up font and thin light bar underlying the three-pointed star hood ornament (because we’re talking luxury, and that hood ornament shouts class).
Around the back, moving through the insanely large wheels (apropos of a concept) and prominent chrome brightwork, the Vision V gets a full, wraparound taillight unit that pretty much encompasses the entire rear end design. Will that make it to production? Almost certainly not. Does it look cool? Well, if you’re a nerdy type like me, you’ll probably say yes. It’s better than a Chevy Express or the now-departed Dodge Grand Caravan, isn’t it?
And then…there’s the interior.
Once you’re inside, “insane” hardly even begins to describe the Mercedes-Benz Vision V. Sure, we’ve seen plenty of lounge concepts in recent years, particularly as automakers thought about how electric powertrains change the packaging game, but the automaker is throwing pretty much everything at this luxury van to capture peoples’ imaginations.
The Vision V brings a ton of wood trim (naturally), as well as funkily styled Nappa leather-trimmed seats and white silk elements. Along the side walls, glass display cabinets are integrated into the trim, and passengers get a 42-speaker Dolby Atmos surround sound system — with four of those speakers mounted on pillars outset from the wall, like an actual home theater setup.
And speaking of the home theater setup, no lounge-on-wheels would be complete without a 65-inch retractable 4K display that rolls up out of the floor. You also get seven projectors hidden in the headliner and the floor to project images onto the side windows, which can be made opaque, so you get a 360-degree viewing experience. And Mercedes included a game controller in one of the glass cabinets, so you’ve captured my inner nerd right there.
Up front, the Vision V is fairly typical Mercedes, funky leather seats notwithstanding. You still get a “Superscreen”, lest the rear passengers get all the display power here, as well as a host of crystal white leather.
Now, this being not just a concept but a particularly over-the-top concept, it’s unlikely most of the swankiest features would actually reach production. That said, Mercedes is on a mission to actually make a glamorous luxury minivan to shuttle celebrities as well as well-heeled families who want something different than your run-of-the-mill SUV. Right now, the closest we have to that in this country is the Volkswagen ID.Buzz (I also think that’s cool, but VW’s obviously going for more mainstream appeal).
How much will a Mercedes-Benz luxury van cost? At this point, we have no idea, although I wouldn’t be too surprised if it started well into six-figure territory.
