Your 8K Living Room On Wheels Has Arrived

The concept of a living room on wheels is a modern cliché in the automotive world, the vision of a car that is so comfortable, well-equipped and ultimately luxurious that you’ll be as happy spending hours there as you would be relaxing at home.

The problem is that most of those concepts, like the Cadillac InnerSpace or the Mini Urbanaut, are dependent on the availability of self-driving technology, something that still only exists in limited areas by Waymo, Zoox and their ilk. We’re still years away from you or I being able to buy a car that can drive itself without supervision, but that’s not stopping Mercedes from releasing a living space that may be the most attractive.

It’s called VLE, ​​and while it requires a human to drive it, second-row passengers will be treated to reclining rear seats, massaging seats, a 22-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system, and a 31.3-inch ultrawide 8K display. It’s a wonderful package, but is it enough to overcome those minivan preconceptions?

Visually, the VLE fits the silhouette of the countless family-friendly minivans that have been taking over the job of hauling kids in the United States since the seed was sown by the Dodge Caravan in the early ’80s. Ask Mercedes, however, and they’ll tell you it’s a different beast.

The company calls the VLE a Grand Limousine, and while it sounds pretentious, it’s actually quite appropriate. At 216 inches, the VLE is 10 inches longer than the GLS SUV. It also has an interior ceiling height of 49 inches, making it easy for six-foot-tall me to move around.

And it’s certainly at least as luxurious as your average limousine, with reclining seats. The VLE can be configured with space for up to eight in three rows, but it’s best with less, especially configured with the two-seat captain’s chair arrangement you see here.

Two powertrains will be available. The VLE 300 offers front-wheel drive and 272 horsepower, while the VLE 400 4Matic moves up to a dual-motor, all-wheel drive configuration with 416 hp. Both rely on a single, large, 115-kilowatt-hour usable battery pack that extends across the floor of the van. Mercedes says it will provide enough range to cover 435 miles on the European WLTP test cycle. On our more challenging EPA testing, expect a rating of about 350 miles. It is an 800-volt system that charges at a maximum rate of 300 kW. That means adding about 200 miles in 15 minutes.

As much as I love driving, the best seats in the VLE are in the second row. From there, you can lean over and look through the glass ceiling, or deploy the 31.3-inch ultra-wide screen and tuck away into your YouTube queue.

You can also stream Disney+ directly to the display, but sadly, these are the only two video streaming partners. Neither Chromecast nor AirPlay streaming are supported. There’s an HDMI port if you want to BYO stuff, but running wires into the cabin doesn’t sound particularly luxurious to me.

You can also choose some basic games to play on the system, and if you have two kids who can never agree on anything, you can split the TV into dual, 15-inch 4K displays. The 32:9 ratio means that after the split, you’re effectively getting a pair of 16:9 displays, which is honestly better for viewing most content anyway. A pair of Bluetooth headsets means a pair of passengers can also get their own dedicated audio.

sitting in front? There are a lot of pixels there too. Specifically, the three dashboard-spanning units that make up Benz’s MBUX SuperScreen setup. There is a 10.25-inch gauge cluster on the left, a 14-inch main infotainment screen in the middle and a 14-inch passenger display on the right that can also stream videos and other media.

For the immersive listening part of the media experience, you have 22 speakers from the Burmester 3D sound system. It handles Dolby Atmos, allowing you to be completely immersed in both music and more dramatic content. Interestingly, the system can also dynamically reconfigure itself depending on who is sitting in the van and where.

Driving alone? Speakers automatically give you priority. Do you have a full van? This will fill everything with sound. And it is very capable of doing so. I checked out a playlist of Atmos-optimized music, everything from Tay Tay to Axl Rose, and everything sounded great.

Those two chairs in the middle are heated and ventilated and can seat you upright or recline you to the appropriate level. No, they don’t go completely flat, but you probably wouldn’t like what would happen to you in an accident if they did. They’re honestly a little narrow and awkward to get in and out of, but I can see myself spending hours in here without any complaints.

I was also able to stay productive, thanks to integrated USB-C power in all three rows and a fold-out laptop tray, which looks flimsy but was sturdy enough to handle my Lenovo X1 Carbon. A temperature-controlled compartment in the armrest can keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, and there’s a separate chiller in the back for more.

RGB LEDs run throughout the cabin, so you can paint your ride whatever color you want, and there’s even an integrated nebulizer that gives off a special scent, too.

Even the third row is comfortable. The middle seats automatically swing forward and out, so entry is easy, and I had ample headroom there. And then there’s the driver’s seat, which is comfortable and convenient if you have to drive this machine yourself.

With up to 416 horsepower delivered through all four wheels, the VLE can accelerate decently once it reaches Sport mode. It also runs on adaptive air suspension, which can make the VLE feel firmer and more responsive in corners.

But in my time behind the wheel, it never felt comfortable when driven aggressively. I enjoyed driving the VLE more when I dialed it to Comfort, took a deep breath and just went on my way.

In this mode, the air suspension is supple, and the throttle is so relaxed that you can easily move forward without disturbing anyone in the rear seats. The steering ratio is also slow, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this isn’t an agile van. With seven degrees of steering from the rear wheels, the VLE can maneuver its impressive bulk in tighter circles than you might expect.

Drivers also benefit from a set of active safety systems, including active lane-keeping assist on the highway and a comprehensive automated parking system that turns this big beast into tiny parking spots. It will automatically come out of a difficult situation even if you take a wrong turn in a narrow street.

The only drawback in VLE is complete autonomy. It would be great to get a machine like this and it would let you work in a few rounds of Fortnite on that 8K display. Alas, we are not there yet, but I think most people who experience the VLE will do so from the second line. This would be an epic airport and event shuttle, but it will take a while to get into service.

The VLE isn’t scheduled to hit the U.S. market until late 2027, and while the price isn’t set, Mercedes-Benz Vans development chief Andreas Zygen told me: “It definitely won’t be cheap.”