Mercedes' Concept EQT Marco Polo is carmaker's answer to sustainable micro campers

The Concept EQT Marco Polo is Mercedes' answer to sustainable micro campers, and the EQT it is based on serves as the German automaker's entry into the electrified MPV class.

Equipped with camper-specific alterations, the Concept EQT Marco Polo, which is based on the upcoming long wheelbase EQT, has additional provisions for sleeping facilities.

It comes fitted with an additional roof bed installed in the pop-up roof, and you'll also find other items to make camping activities much more convenient –think provisions for hygiene and food preparation.

These include an element with a recessed washing facility, and a likewise recessed 16-litre compressor refrigerator box. There is also an induction hob and a drawer that can be pulled out of the vehicle interior with a flexible removable gas cartridge cooker, so that there are two options for cooking.

Mercedes engineers have also created the Marco Polo Module, which has been designed to equip the short wheelbase EQT models with some of the features present in the concept.

Engineered to be highly configurable from the onset, it'll enable its occupants the ability to revert the vehicle to its original purpose as a passenger vehicle in just five minutes, and utilises mounting points already present in the vehicle as anchor locations for the modules.

Though it is unlikely that Singaporean buyers would be keen on, or have a need for, these camping-specific components. But what would pique the interest of local car shoppers is the EQT itself – that is if Mercedes even intended to officially import the car onto our shores in the first place.

Based on the CMF–C/D platform developed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the EQT looks stylish and can almost pass off as a native, ground-up passenger vehicle. Gone are the slab-sided looks of the minivans of old – you'll find a bold shoulder line and properly integrated power rear windows, for a properly car-like look and feel.

Currently, there's still no official word on the equipment and trim levels, but we do at least know what motor and battery combination Mercedes will equip the car with.

In line with the German marque's all-electric goals, the latest addition to the Mercedes–EQ lineup will be equipped with a 122 bhp electric motor. It'll drive the front wheels and draw its current from a 45 kWh, mid-mounted battery pack.

Again, there's also no official word on the actual range of the vehicle, but some reverse engineering of the WLTP figures and the battery capacity would yield a range estimate of about 235 kilometres.

You'll find the front-mounted charging port underneath the Mercedes star emblem on the front of the vehicle, and using DC 80 kW will allow you to recharge the battery from 10 – 80 per cent in just 35 minutes. The car can also be recharged via AC, at up to 22 kW.

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This article was first published in Motorist.