Mercedes-Benz VLE review

Prices haven’t been announced at the time of going to press, but with a bit of nudge-nudge-wink-wink, it appears that the VLE will weigh in at largely a similar price to that of the outgoing V-Class. That means about £95k basic. Which sounds like a lot, but tremendous value compared to a re-purposed van. Which the VLE very much isn’t.

The advice would be to look at what your use case is and spec appropriately, bearing in mind that Roll&Go is most practical when allied to the lightest fabric seats, and that unless you’re towing or attempting to go skiing every winter, the VLE 400 is probably overkill. 

If you want to spend more money, then there’s a long wheelbase version with an extra 175mm wedged into the B-pillar area, and the ultra-luxury VLS aimed at proper limo action on the way – a kind of S-Class MPV previewed by the Vision V-Class concept. After that, there’s also a Maybach VLS apparently incoming, a car that will be very popular in China and feature the kinds of appointments more usually found in business jets. If you actually need that in your electric people carrier is a matter of short debate.

And as ever, you can option the world on this Mercedes Benz – but if you’re looking to stand out from the private hire crowd, best avoid black or dark blue and go for a lighter shade. The red AMG Line VLE looks very smart, but the standout was the ‘velvet brown metallic’ – a kind of Bahama gold – on G-Wagen 23s. Absolutely bling, but when set to access height, childishly good looking.

Whatever, there are no EU grants for electric cars this expensive, though the usual efficiencies for EVs do apply.