The Mercedes-Benz Luxe Drive Live Pune edition concluded yesterday at Dhole Patil Engineering College in Wagholi, Pune. Targeted at customer engagement and roping in potential customers, the Luxe Drive Live is a weekend of music, food and drive experience for customers. The company has partnered with MTV for live music sessions. Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar engaged the participants with his workshop on gourmet and food photography, apart from providing some gastronomic delights for the one and all at the venue. Many Mercedes-Benz goodies were also on display for the attendees to purchase.
A range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles were displayed at the venue, including the new S-Class, new G 63 AMG and the E-63 AMG. Safety demos for the customers were done with the new E-Class and C-Class, where the driving instructors demonstrated safety features like ABS, EBD and stability control on a slalom course. In one such panic braking demo, the driving instructor went flat out on the straight and braked hard, his hands not holding the steering wheel. Despite the driver’s hands not on the steering wheel, the E-Class didn’t lose control came to a halt in a straight line, rather than going left or right. In another demo, after putting the pedal to the metal, the driving instructor braked hard and turned the car left and right, in a zig-zag manner, simulating a condition where a driver swerves the E-Class at high speed to avoid an obstacle in its path. As soon as he subjected the E-Class to an armful of opposite locks and braked hard, the windows rolled up automatically, seat belts tightened and a beep sound went off. However, the car remained planted the entire time, with limited body roll. Any other sedan or hatch carrying such speeds and subjected to violent turns would have lost control for sure.
There were self-drive experiences in the CLA on slalom courses and GLCs on stones and logs to demonstrate the AWD system on the cars. The GLS 350 d tackled 45° ramps, with the driving instructor engaging hill hold assist and hill descent control while ascending and descending the ramp. An axle twisting session was also done with the GLS 350 d, where the 4WD prowess of the SUV was demonstrated, using 35° lean angle ramps on either side to show the power distribution to the diagonal wheels on ground when the other two diagonal wheels were in the air.
“After an enthralling response in Nagpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Jodhpur and Ahmedabad, the Mercedes-Benz Luxe Drive Live is set to conclude the marquee Mercedes-Benz property in the Cultural City of Maharashtra – Pune. We are happy to host the Luxe Drive Live experience in Pune which is the eighth largest metropolis in India and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra. Pune is the only urban city in India; wherein the total number of vehicle figures have surpassed the human population. We are delighted to announce that we are bringing an innovative customer engaging initiative like Luxe Dive Live in our home city Pune. Through these events, our focus is to provide our potential customers a delightful experience of our exclusive range of products while showcasing the brand capabilities and finesse.”
The turnout at the event was good, which is a success for the company with an objective to engage with its customers while also inviting prospective customers to indulge and introduce them to the brand through this initiative.