Driving The Outrageous Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX Defies Expectations

At one extreme, the concept slows dramatically to an eventual halt when releasing the accelerator. It’s far more aggressive than the maximum setting in most production electric cars, demanding a reset of just how soon you lift off. At the other extreme, meanwhile, the VISION EQXX will coast with no regen whatsoever.

The routes snaking through Mercedes’ Immendingen Test Center near Stuttgart, Germany are designed to model the different conditions and markings of roads around the globe. That includes one extended, almost level stretch, which emphasized the VISION EQXX’s collective talents perfectly.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

First, I tackled it in Mercedes’ test rig for the concept’s drivetrain: basically, the key guts of the VISION EQXX packed into an EQB SUV body. Set to coast, I started at 80 kph (50 mph) at one end of that long, uninterrupted stretch. By the time I reached the end, the blocky aerodynamics had helped bring the speed down to 70 kph (43.5 mph).

The second time around, this time in the EQXX, I started at the same 80 kph. By the end of the run, though, I was actually going faster: 82 kph (51 mph), and needing to crank up the regen in order to safely take the next corner.