Mercedes-Benz plans to give some noise to its future electric cars. The right kind of sound, apparently. Some EVs sound like nothing, while others have engineered sound pumped through the speakers. In other cases, you may be listening to the true hum of the electric motors themselves. As for Mercedes’ upcoming family of EQ cars, you’ll be listening to what Mercedes sound engineers want you to hear.
However, life will not be completely without variety. Mercedes announced today that driving an EQ model will be a ‘multi-sensory’ experience, where people can choose between a range of soundscapes and feedback sounds. You can adjust the interior sound via the MBUX infotainment system. Turning off the sounds is also an available option. Mercedes starts describing the sounds for us here, but hasn’t shared any examples, and so some questions remain.
As expected, the sounds are played over the speaker and correspond to the throttle pedal position, speed, energy recovery and driving mode. In Sport mode, expect the sounds to be louder and more dynamic in nature. Mercedes also says over-the-air updates could lead to additional noises in the future. None of the available sounds were described in detail, but with plenty of choice, you can probably find something to suit the occasion.
In addition to interior noises, Mercedes is also working on making exterior noises more interactive. You get newly developed acoustic feedback when you plug it in, and it even indicates the battery’s state of charge. This uses the external speaker that otherwise generates the soft hum to warn pedestrians of the car’s presence.
Finding the right sound for electric cars is a task that every electric car manufacturer faces. Audi just explained its work to us last week, as it concerns the E-Tron GT. Mercedes is trying to solve the same problem, but it seems that electric Mercedes-Benz owners can choose from more sound options.
In addition to the sound reproduction by Mercedes today, we also have a gallery of images with an exploded EQC. It serves as an interesting way to see what’s going on under the skin of the Mercedes electric crossover. LED lights placed in the body emphasize its inner workings. You can view all the photos in the above gallery.