Mercedes-Benz officially unveiled its new VLE series and is determined to prove that minivans aren’t just for soccer moms anymore. If anything, the automaker wants you to think of this all-electric people-mover as a “grand limousine,” and it certainly delivers the appropriate ride and features. But Mercedes isn’t the only automaker recommitting to the minivan market, reports Headlight.News.
Two wheelbases will be offered with the new Mercedes-Benz VLE, and four trims.
With the debut of the massive new VLE multi-purpose vehicle, Mercedes-Benz is determined to change the image of the minivan. Think of this all-electric entry as more of a “grand limousine,” the automaker suggested, rather than just a vehicle family buyers suffer through during their years hauling groceries and kids to soccer practice.
If anything, the VLE “writes the next chapter” for the Mercedes brand, company officials suggested, by offering the sort of ride, space and features that can push beyond what its current flagship products deliver.
While Mercedes may be pushing the minivan into an entirely new realm, however, other brands are focusing on more mundane targets with new entries of their own. Chrysler, for one, took the wraps off the updated 2027 Pacifica on Monday –though perhaps the biggest news was what it’s leaving out, rather than adding. Pacifica no longer to be offered with a plug-in hybrid option. Sibling Ram, meanwhile, announced it will reenter the small cargo van segment with the return of the ProMaster City.
Putting the “Grand” in limousine
Mercedes made no attempt to pretend the new VLE isn’t a minivan. It’s pretty obvious from the basic one-box shape and sliding doors. But once you get past the familiar design language you discover that the initial package offers everything you’d find in one of the brand’s Maybach-grade sedans and SUVs.
“It redefines the notion of space and comfort and adds a game-changing level of versatility and innovation,” proclaimed Mercedes-Benz Group Chairman Ola Kallenius, starting with room for up to eight passengers, depending upon the seating choice buyers make. And these aren’t just overstuffed, heated-and-cooled business jet seats that can give you a massage en route, they can be reconfigured more like your living room – something Mercedes describes as “seat ballet.”
As one would expect, there are loads of high-tech features, including the latest-generation MBUX operating system with its personalized voice assistant. There are three screens up front: a digital gauge cluster, the requisite, oversized touchscreen and another display for the front passenger. But the big news is the 31.3-inch display that drops down out of the headliner for those in back. Say, “Hey, Mercedes, activate Cinema mode,” and you can stream 8K video to your heart’s content. If it’s a work trip, an 9-megapixel camera allows you to videoconference.
Two sizes
The rollout of the new VLE family is expected to begin next year, the minivan likely designated a 2028 model when it reaches the U.S.
The top-line limo package will arrive first, though the VLE family will be offered in more mainstream configurations over time – four currently in the plans. It also will be available in two lengths, starting with a short-wheelbase configuration measuring 209.0 inches nose-to-tail. To put that into perspective, that’s about 5 inches longer than the current Chrysler Pacifica – which the automaker also tries to market as more than just a family hauler.
The long-wheelbase package comes in at 215.9 inches, a full 4 inches longer than a standard-wheelbase Cadillac Escalade – though nearly a foot shorter than the Escalade ESV. Only the stretched Mercedes VLE will be offered in the U.S.
More Auto News
- First Drive; 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Muscling Through the Snow in the 2026 Dodge Charger R/T
- Fuel Prices Surge as Iran War Drags On
VLE goes all-electric
The VLE will be able to add 220 miles range in as little as 15 minutes.
Mercedes has been tinkering with its EV line-up, reflecting the disappointing sales of its original EQS and EQE models – the automaker going so far as to abandon the EQ nomenclature. But its far from giving up on battery power. The new VLE line-up will, in fact, be offered only in all-electric form.
Two powertrains will be available at launch, both using a 115-kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery pack. The VLE300 package will feature a single motor driving the front axle and delivering 272 hp. The VLE400 4Matic adds a second motor in the rear to create through-the-road all-wheel-drive. It boosts output to 409 hp and, considering the mass of the big minivan, should hit 60 in 6.5 seconds, the automaker estimates.
For the U.S. market, meanwhile, Mercedes plans to offer a version of the VLE with a smaller, 80-kWh LFP battery. That should provide an option on luxury buyers on a budget – a seeming oxymoron considering the concept behind the VLE line.
Range and charging
The single-motor package will tow up to 3,300 pounds, the 4Matic increasing that to 5,500.
Unlike the original EQ models with their 400-volt electrical architectures, the VLE uses an updated 800-volt system which offers both improved performance and quicker charging. Using the most powerful DC chargers currently available, that should allow a motorist to add another 355 kilometers, or 220 miles, in just 15 minutes.
Mercedes claims the VLE will deliver up to 404 miles on a full tank of electrons, so to speak. That is, however, the rating using the WLTP standard. Typically, EVs get about 10 to 20% lower ratings using the more demanding EPA standard. That would still translate into somewhere between 320 and 360 miles.
Chrysler and Ram also bet on minivans
The reborn Ram ProMaster City.
The minivan segment is today a fragment of what it was at the beginning of the new millennium, when U.S. sales peaked at 1.3 million. That said, demand rebounded by an unexpectedly strong 20% last year, with many analysts forecasting further growth – at least if the Iran War and a weakening economy don’t tank the overall U.S. market.
Chrysler, the once grand brand, today is really just a minivan marque, so keeping demand up for the Pacifica is critical. The automaker is reportedly working up a complete makeover, though that’s still several years away. In the meantime, it is giving Pacifica some tweaks for 2027, primarily a new front end design and a new logo. The entry-level Chrysler Voyager is being renamed Pacifica LX. The big news, however, is what won’t be offered in 2027: as part of a broader decision by parent Stellantis to abandon its plug-in hybrid technology, there’ll be no Pacifica Hybrid.
As for sibling brand Ram, its staging a return to the small commercial van segment that the industry had effectively abandoned in North America. The ProMaster City model will stage a return after being dropped in 2022. Targeting folks like plumbers and other tradesmen, it will start at just under $40,000.
0 Comments