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Written by Tom Harrison
As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary Mercedes GLE. The ESF 2019 is in fact the latest in a long line of Mercedes Experimental Safety Vehicles", one that aims to give us "an insight into the ideas that the company"s safety experts are researching and working on". Some of its tech" might be in your next car, while other bits are much, much further off. Among other things, the ESF 2019 looks ahead to the widespread adoption of electric and autonomous cars. Such cars will "require a different form of occupant protection", says the company, because of their "more flexible interiors", as well as systems that help other drivers "recognise intuitively what an automated vehicle intends to do". To that end, the ESF 2019"s seatbelts are integrated into the front seats, and the driver"s airbag is in the dashboard. The steering wheel, which is where you"d normally find the driver"s airbag, retracts into the dash when the car is in autonomous mode. Its flat top is so it doesn"t impede the relocated airbag. And because, y"know, the FUTURE.
Date written: 20 May 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15759
As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary Mercedes GLE. The ESF 2019 is in fact the latest in a long line of Mercedes Experimental Safety Vehicles", one that aims to give us "an insight into the ideas that the company"s safety experts are researching and working on". Some of its tech" might be in your next car, while other bits are much, much further off. Among other things, the ESF 2019 looks ahead to the widespread adoption of electric and autonomous cars. Such cars will "require a different form of occupant protection", says the company, because of their "more flexible interiors", as well as systems that help other drivers "recognise intuitively what an automated vehicle intends to do". To that end, the ESF 2019"s seatbelts are integrated into the front seats, and the driver"s airbag is in the dashboard. The steering wheel, which is where you"d normally find the driver"s airbag, retracts into the dash when the car is in autonomous mode. Its flat top is so it doesn"t impede the relocated airbag. And because, y"know, the FUTURE.
Date written: 20 May 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15759
