The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX has beaten its own previous efficiency record in real-world driving with a 621-mile journey on a single battery charge.
Following its initial record drive from Stuttgart to Cassis in April, the research vehicle achieved a 747-mile road trip from Stuttgart to Silverstone in the UK, the company says. After negotiating an autobahn closure and requesting a cross-country diversion near Stuttgart, the Vision EQXX crossed the French border near Strasbourg and then drove across northern France at highway speeds to Calais, where it boarded the Eurotunnel. Continuing its journey in the UK, it took the M25 around London and then stopped off at Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix in Brackley. The Vision EQXX then carried on to Silverstone. Throughout the road trip, the Vision EQXX used its thermal management system to achieve an average consumption of 1 kWh/7.4864 mile in the face of heavy traffic and summer temperatures, Mercedes-Benz says.
An initial road trip in April 2021 saw the Vision EQXX cover 626 miles from Stuttgart to Cassis on the French Mediterranean coast. With temperatures ranging from a chilly 37.4 degrees to a warmer, spring-like 64 degrees Fahrenheit, it completed that journey with energy consumption of 1 kWh/ 7.142198 mi and a remaining range on arrival around 87 miles. The engineering team is continuing to run a series of road trips to test the technology underpinning the Vision EQXX under different conditions, the company says.
This time, Mercedes-Benz says the main challenges on this trip were summer temperatures of up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, paired with increased traffic density around Stuttgart and in the southeast of England.
Mercedes-Benz says the electric drive unit generates only minimal waste heat. This helps keep the thermal management system extremely small and lightweight. The engineered interaction of aero-shutters, coolant valves and pumps ensures the electric drive unit maintains an efficient temperature balance at a minimum energy cost, the company says.
High ambient temperatures and stop-and-go highway traffic necessitated cooling of the electric drivetrain and passenger cabin. The multi-source heat pump in the Vision EQXX proved efficient at keeping the cabin temperature cool in the warm summer weather. During the 14 hours and 30 minutes of driving time, the air conditioning was operational for just over eight hours, yet had a minimal negative impact on overall energy consumption, the company says.
