Mercedes EQXX concept

[jack_christie]

1000km range
1,750kg

This is it: the 1,000km-range Mercedes Vision EQXX

Light weight, low drag and lots and lots of range: meet the slippery Mercedes of the future

www.topgear.com

 

[NecroJoe]

Don't get me wrong, this is goofy and impractical as heck...but I adore it.

 

[eizbaer]

Now where have I seen that exact shape and the PV roof before?

also seems insanely impractical, no? Nobody needs 1000km range anyway, not if you have 200+kW charging, at any rate.

 

[gaasc]

I can think of a couple of nobodies. Long distance delivery couriers, for one. At any rate, it's a good thing we don't design cars based on what "we" "need".

If nothing else, the enormous range would mean increased longevity as the battery wears down. Think an extreme, unhidden version of overprovisioning.

 

[DanRoM]

The best-looking Mercedes in decades, but of course that doesn't say much. It honestly doesn't look like a Mercedes at all...

Nobody needs 1000km range anyway

A concept car needs impressive numbers. If they can get 1000 km range into this, they can also use smaller, lighter and cheaper battery packs for a realistic 500 - 600 km of range. That's the takeaway here.

 

[lip]

Range should come with battery tech not with aerodynamics. Not talking it down, it's cool, but still. Nobody wants a aerodynamical Tropfenwagen in real life. Think about petrol cars today: Total bricks, but still longe range. And practical. Parkable. Usable. Recharged in 2 minutes.

We are close though. The EV will win. The clock is ticking.

 

[jack_christie]

It has new battery and body tech, that's why its so light.

If cars have longer range, the charging network will be less stressed.

Anyway aren't you supposed to only top up to 80 or 90%, and not go below 20% most of the time, for better charging speed and battery life.

 

[NecroJoe]

Anyway aren't you supposed to only top up to 80 or 90%, and not go below 20% most of the time, for better charging speed and battery life.

Indeed. Some cars have this as a configurable feature. I wish my phone had the same feature...

 

[Dr_Grip]

I think @lip's point about the "2 minute recharge time" of petrol cars is key. For me, who almost exclusively drives long-distance, being able to do 800km without stopping and then have a extensive lunch break while the car charges sounds like it levels the playing ground between charging and refueling.

 

[Perc]

In some ways, a longer range is more important in an EV than in a diesel/petrol car with the state of the EV charging network as it is today.

My car's range is about 1000km give or take but I wouldn't be too annoyed with half that because diesel is available everywhere at a moment's notice.

The EQXX looks awesome, unlike the EQS which looks like a 90's cab-forward Chrysler mated with a New Beetle. It's probably the best sedan in the world right now, but good looking it is not.

 

[jack_christie]

Indeed. Some cars have this as a configurable feature. I wish my phone had the same feature...

So when you add degradation, starting at -50%, gives a realistic range number

 

[eizbaer]

Indeed. Some cars have this as a configurable feature. I wish my phone had the same feature...

tbh i think tesla does this specifically because they can then get away with a smaller "buffer" at the top of the battery. i think a particularly conservative buffer was used by audi in the e-tron - so "100%" was at a real 90% or something like that. They wouldn't even let you access the top 10% ever. Had the nice side-effect that they could keep up their high charge rate to a very high SOC, unlike tesla who start to throttle like crazy at 80%.
Some phones at least have a feature of timing their charging (the last 20% at least) to coincide with you waking up, if you charge overnight, in order to reduce the time the battery spends at 100%. Also abovementioned buffer: you never know how big that is with a phone.