Senzati® was founded in 2013 to work exclusively with Mercedes-Benz on the development and production of luxury people carriers. From the outset the goal was to be the only manufacturer in the sector to have both European Whole Vehicle Type Approval and Mercedes-Benz Approval. The most popular luxury conversions are on the Mercedes V-Class and every model of Senzati’s luxury V-Class conversions are fully approved. To achieve this unique position, Senzati had to go through a Myriad of approvals:-
Seat and curtain wall airbags need to be re-tested to ensure that airbag deployment is not affected by the luxury interior re-trim.
Partition walls and centre consoles have to be subjected to an ISO Load Partition Test to ensure that they are crash worthy.
The entire vehicle with every possible electronic accessory installed and working has to be submitted for EMC Test (Electromagnetic Compatibility). This ensures two important factors. Most important is that the newly installed electronic components and accessories will not affect the vehicle’s safe operation (Anti-lock brakes, electronic throttle, traction control etc) and secondly that the vehicle will not interfere with the correct operation of the onboard electronics (TV’s, intercom, stereo etc). There is no point in having a supposedly luxury people carrier if the interior doesn’t function correctly.
All of the interior furnishings and fabrics have to go through a burn test (fire test) to ensure that no toxic fumes will be released, that the items quickly self-extinguish and that re-ignition cannot occur.
All seating configurations and seats need to be pull tested (crash tested) to ensure that they will withstand a potentially enormous impact. This is particularly important with the VIP V-Class seats having integrated seat belts – this means that the entire weight of the occupant has to be supported by the seat structure in the event of an accident rather than the load being transferred through a belt attached directly to the car chassis. Many converters claim they use original Mercedes-Benz seats but a seat from a G-Wagon or S-Class is not suited to being installed in a luxury V-Class. It’s the same with cheap imitations that look like original equipment seats and controllers but have nothing like the strength required to withstand a crash.
There are also a whole host of other rules to be complied with which comprehensively ensure that the end vehicle is safe and compliant.
Once all of the above hoops have been jumped through, the modifications have to be approved by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) and controls and documentation have to be put in place to ensure Conformity of Production. This ensures that every Senzati vehicle complies with the stringent rules put in place to protect the occupants and other road users.
This is why Senzati are a registered Vehicle Manufacturer, delivering brand new vehicles to their customers and not a post registration converter making unapproved changes to a second-hand vehicle.
