Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX shows off amazing ability
Mercedes-Benz has given a stunning real-world demonstration of the capability of its next generation of vehicles. And it’s achieved an unlikely milestone.
Mercedes-Benz has shown the future of electric cars is bright as its latest concept car travelled more than 1000km on a single battery charge.
Dubbed the Vision EQXX, the sleek looking electric concept embarked on a massive road trip across Europe to demonstrate the vehicle’s amazing range and efficiency.
Benz packed the Vision EQXX with a big 100kW battery, which is about the same size as the power unit found in the coming Mercedes EQS and the Tesla Model S.
The Tesla can travel about 650km on a single charge and the Mercedes has a claimed range of about 560km.
A little known electric car maker, Lucid, currently has the best claimed driving range of any production electric car.
The American electric car brand’s Air Dream is able to drive up to 836km on a single charge.
The Vision EQXX driving range test took in a wide variety of conditions from urban environments to high-speed stints on the autobahn at 140km/h. Overall the prototype travelled at an average speed of about 87km/h.
Electric cars perform better in stop-start urban traffic than at higher speeds. Regenerative braking adds more range to the battery in the city but the heavy batteries hamper its efficiency at speed.
The brand’s F1 team helped develop the electric drive technology and the ultra lightweight frame.
Mercedes-Benz paid special attention to the Vision EQXX’s aerodynamic profile, making it sleek and slippery so as to reduce drag at higher speeds, which helps the car use less energy.
The brand also worked with Bridgestone to develop special low-resistance rolling tyres that further improved the vehicle’s efficiency.
Its test route also took in a stint in the Alps where the EQXX travelled uphill for 14km. Travelling on steep gradients is kryptonite for electric cars, draining their battery quickly.
Descending from the Alps the electric concept added a substantial amount of charge. This recuperation is due to the regenerative braking, which puts the electric motors into reverse to feed excess energy back into the battery.
Benz also added other smart tech including solar panels on the roof that powered several on-board tech items such as the satnav.
After the 1008km road trip, the EQXX still had a further 140km of range or 15 per cent of its battery charge left.
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