Electric vehicles can offer a near-soundless environment, however there are important reasons to selectively reintroduce sounds to the experience. For safety, comfort and convenience – and, yes, to put a smile on the face of drivers. Image: Mercedes-Benz Group AG.
Ever since Karl Benz patented the world’s first production motor vehicle, the Motorwagen, in 1886, noise has been a necessary accompaniment to driving.
Fortunately, the basic chug of the single-cylinder engine that powered Karl’s pioneering three-wheeler has evolved to the enticing purr that’s a hallmark and selling point for modern-day vehicles bearing his name. Enthusiasts even consider the visceral aural feedback from a performance-tuned powerplant as integral to their driving enjoyment; the sweet snick of a well-timed gear change or a playful exhaust bark on the downshift are the icing on the cake.
Such pleasures may be tempered by the intrusion of less mellifluous influences, such as road and wind noise. Ever since the Motorwagen, Mercedes-Benz has vigorously pursued an ideal of suppressing all unwanted sound.
A new breed of fully electric vehicles from Mercedes-EQ brings this closer than ever. Add whisper-quiet electric motors to noise-suppression characteristics honed over many decades, and the result inside the cabin is truly astonishing. Near-total silence, even under rapid acceleration.
Yet there are important reasons to selectively reintroduce sounds to this tranquil environment. For safety, comfort and convenience – and, yes, to put a smile on the face of drivers.
Setting the tone
Integral to the development of the Mercedes-EQ range has been a specialist acoustics laboratory comprising a team of physicists, sound designers, media designers and mechatronics specialists. Their brief was to create a set of algorithms that build a ‘soundscape’ specific to each model. This largely unprecedented task seeks to achieve an interplay between the driver's action, the vehicle's reaction and the feedback of the sound.
The new EQS, the luxurious new all-electric saloon developed by Mercedes-EQ, reveals a taste of what lies in store. First and most obviously, occupants can opt for interior driving sound designed to “stir emotions and inspire”. The intelligent system responds to up to a dozen parameters, such as accelerator position, speed or recuperation. The drive program is also influential – in SPORT mode, for example, sounds are more dynamic and further effects are activated.
As you might expect, Mercedes-AMG has already further amplified this concept. For the AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+, it developed AMG SOUND EXPERIENCE, a program delivering “an emotional sound spectrum” with “a new, powerfully sonorous sound”. This is achieved using special speakers, a bass actuator and a sound generator with two modes – Authentic or Performance. Generated both inside and out, it creates not only sound but also vibration, with tonality and intensity to match the driving status and driving mode, or set to the driver's wishes.
Other features of the luxurious EQS include a selection of soundscapes via a premium Burmester surround sound system. For example, Silver Waves is described as “a sensuous and clean sound” while Vivid Flux is aimed at EV enthusiasts, described as “crystalline, synthetic yet humanly warm”.
Driver and passengers can also be greeted acoustically when approaching and getting in the vehicle, while an aura sound accompanies exiting and locking the EQS.
Expect a tailored suite of auditory feedback to be developed for each new addition to the Mercedes-EQ range. Designed jointly for safety, convenience and emotional satisfaction, each will also ensure sounds that are desirable or important are clearly audible, while previously inescapable road noises are effectively suppressed. Sounds good to me.
Some features may not be available in New Zealand at the time of publication due to legal or licensing limitations. Please visit your local authorised retailer or visit the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 product page for up to date information on all EQS features and availability.
By Steve Colquhoun