Automotive

478-mile Mercedes EQS brings top-of-range electric luxury

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Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes debuts the highly anticipated EQS flagship electric luxury sedan
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The Mercedes EQS can sprint to 60 mph in as little as 4.1 seconds
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes scales back a little from the digital look of the Vision EQS, but still gives the EQS a modern electric look
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes pushes the cab forward, shortens the hood and gives the EQS a fastback-style roofline
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The Mercedes EQS will launch later this year
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes highlighted the MBUX Hyperscreen earlier this year at CES, and the EQS becomes the first vehicle to feature it
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The Hyperscreen flows around the face of the dashboard, providing three distinct areas: instruments, infotainment and passenger screen
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The EQS measures 205.4 inches in length
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
Mercedes EQS in profile
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
It's impossible to make out from a distance, but the black panel grille features a pattern defined by classic Daimler star logos
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The EQS charges at up to 200 kW
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The EQS can add 186 miles of range in about 15 minutes
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
The Hyperscreen and cabin lighting come to life after dark
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
EQS dimensions (mm) diagram
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
With its 0.20 drag coefficient, the new EQS becomes the most aerodynamic production car on the market
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
With up to 350 sensors, the EQS is ready for automated driving tasks now and will gain additional features in the future
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
A peek at the rear seats
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler
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Fast-building its EQ family, Mercedes-Benz brings all-electric power to the flagship of the brand: the S-Class. After months of teasing, it has finally given the all-new EQS a proper world premiere. The electric sedan explores the highest echelons of the electric market with a range that pushes 500 miles, a sleek, slippery design that Mercedes defines as the world's most aerodynamic, and more tech than some Silicon Valley zip codes.

The EQS becomes the latest step in Mercedes' Ambition 2039 plan that aims to create a fully carbon-neutral new car fleet within two decades. The car follows the EQC crossover, EQV van and EQA hatchback Mercedes-EQ introduced previously, and takes its place at the top of the EQ family. Mercedes intends for plug-in vehicles to push their way to over half its sales by as early as 2030, and the EQS makes some strong arguments certain to wrest sales from the ICE side ... at least for those shopping the high end of the luxury sedan market.

The US-market EQS 450+ base model comes with a 329-hp (245-kW) rear-axle electric drive. Those looking for more power and performance will be able to step up to the EQS 580 4Matic, which adds a front-axle electric drive for a total of 516 hp (385 kW) of all-wheel drive power. The 450+ sprints from 0 to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 5.5 seconds, while the more powerful 580 cuts that to 4.1 seconds. Both cars have their speeds limited to 130 mph (209 km/h). Mercedes also plans to raise the stakes with a 630-hp (470-kW) performance variant in the future.

The Mercedes EQS can sprint to 60 mph in as little as 4.1 seconds
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

A combination of carefully optimized factors and features helps the EQS travel up to an estimated 478 miles (770 km) on the WLTP cycle. Most notably, the new scalable high-density battery family tops out a hair under 108 kWh for the EQS, packing roughly 26 percent more capacity than the EQC battery. A smaller 90-kWh battery will also be used in the EQS line. Mercedes plans to stamp each battery with the promise of 70 percent capacity by the 10-year or 155,000-mile (250,000-km) mark. Over-the-air (OTA) updates will keep the energy management system evolving and performing at optimal levels.

Another factor that plays heavily into the EQS' range and capability is its aerodynamic design. Mercedes says it achieves a drag coefficient of 0.20 under optimal conditions, putting it just higher than the 0.19 Volkswagen XL1 wunder-car, a rolling showcase of aerodynamics and efficient engineering, to make it the current market leader, edging out the 0.21 Cd of the Lucid Air and latest Tesla Model S update, both of which do exceed the EQS in estimated range by topping 500 miles (800 km).

With its 0.20 drag coefficient, the new EQS becomes the most aerodynamic production car on the market
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

Mercedes-EQ also helps increase range with an aggressive brake recuperation program that can decelerate to stop without the driver so much as tapping the brake pedal. The recuperation features in the adaptive cruise control, applying recuperative braking to decelerate based on the traffic pattern ahead. The driver can manually adjust between three recuperation levels using the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. When the EQS does run out of juice, it charges at up to 200 kW via DC fast-charging, adding 186 miles (300 km) worth of battery power in as little as 15 minutes.

Upon first look, the 205-in (521-cm) EQS doesn't have the grand appearance of one of the market's most luxurious sedans, at least not the kind of grand appearance we've come to expect over the past century or so. That's largely because the short nose looks like it belongs to a much smaller vehicle, perhaps a subcompact four-door. Stroll around to the side of the car, though, and you'll see the short nose gives way to a stretched fastback cabin with a roofline that nearly drops into the rear fascia in a single swoop. The focus is clearly on freeing up interior space, which we suppose is much more central to the design of an electric luxury sedan than conventionally attractive proportions.

Mercedes EQS in profile
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

The EQS loses the digitized face of the concept that previewed it, leaning into a more traditional design. The radiator grille is still a smooth panel, but instead of bright blue lights, it wears a pattern of tiny circa-1911 Daimler-Motorengesellschaft stars. Mercedes wraps the headlights with the greater grille surround and pushes the real grilles down around the bumper. We don't particularly like how the dual-tone paint job drips its top color down to the front wheel arches, isolating the front-end from its surroundings – the face looks okay, but not pretty enough to be framed out like that – but those who agree can always go with a single color instead.

It's impossible to make out from a distance, but the black panel grille features a pattern defined by classic Daimler star logos
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

Moving back over the fenders and down the sides, the EQS isn't quite as dramatically rounded as the Vision EQS concept, but it does work from the same "seamless" philosophy that aims for a smoother body with few corners or creases. The seamless design continues around the rear fenders and quarter panels, into a sleek full-width taillamp setup.

As expected, that large glasshouse opens up an impressive interior that's big in both size and boundary-pushing design. As the driver approaches, the available automatic driver's door opens on its own and closes the minute he or she depresses the brake pedal. Once seated, both driver and front passenger are greeted by the pillar-to-pillar MBUX Hyperscreen that looks much more natural built into the dashboard than it did hovering around in free space. That big hunk of digital mass adds a 12.3-in OLED passenger screen to the usual combination of digital instrument panel and infotainment screen. To prevent driver distraction, the system automatically dims the passenger screen if the driver-facing camera detects the driver looking over at it.

Mercedes highlighted the MBUX Hyperscreen earlier this year at CES, and the EQS becomes the first vehicle to feature it
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

Inspired by the current focus on health and clean, fresh air, Mercedes equips the EQS with the Energizing Air Control Plus system, which uses a HEPA filter to clean outside air before distributing it through the A/C system. The system also displays inside and outside particulate levels on the Hyperscreen and makes recommendations about closing windows when outside air quality is particularly low.

The S-Class is no stranger to getting the latest in driver-assistance tech, and the EQS comes loaded with 350 sensors to support its myriad assistance systems. The highlight is the new Drive Pilot, to be added in early 2022 in Germany and in additional markets as regulations allow. The selectable automated driving feature takes over driving in heavy traffic at speeds up to 37 mph (60 km/h), eliminating one of the more stressful aspects of commuting and freeing the driver to use the time more productively, making calls or surfing the internet, for example.

With up to 350 sensors, the EQS is ready for automated driving tasks now and will gain additional features in the future
Mercedes-EQ/Daimler

The Drive Pilot system controls speed, following distance and lane-centering while also observing traffic signs and events, dealing with unexpected events using evasive maneuvering. The driver must maintain readiness to take over when conditions no longer allow for Drive Pilot operation, and the driver monitoring system ensures that he or she is alert and ready. Should the driver not take over when prompted, the car brakes to a stop and makes an emergency call for help.

Other available EQS technologies include Distronic active distance assist, active lane keeping and lane changing assists, active evasive steering assist, active emergency stop assist and smartphone-activated remote parking assist. The EQS is further prepped for intelligent park pilot, which will offer Level 4 automated parking and pickup, without the driver needing to guide the car via smartphone, in parking lots equipped with Automated Valet Parking (AVP) infrastructure, subject to laws and availability in specific EQS markets.

EQS tech promises to improve over time with OTA updates, both standard and optional. For instance, a planned future upgrade will let owners unlock a 10-degree angle (from 4.5 degrees) on the rear-axle steering system to cut the turn radius from 39 ft (11.9 m) to 35.7 ft (10.9 m). More personalized driving modes will also be possible through OTA updates.

The EQS will launch in Europe in August, with the US launch following shortly thereafter in fall. Pricing information, market-specific specs and options, and other details will be released closer to those respective launches.

Source: Daimler

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13 comments
CAVUMark
The safety technology is great. I can only tell the driver education industry to start looking for a new job.
guzmanchinky
Well I guess it's about time they came up with an electric car that rivals (but sadly does not beat) a new top of the line model S. I know Benz is FAR superior in the interior quality and overall build quality, but it seems like they are still far short in the performance and self driving ability department...
alm
wonder where they spied this now from? in the early times daimler spied in uk then after ww2 they copied french facel vega and later under ceo reuter they copied from mitsubishi...
Gizmowiz
478 miles on the European WTLP cycle translates to about 382 to 430 miles using the EPA cycle as we do in America (80 to 90% less than EPA cycle on average).
anthony88
Are the HEPA filters washable, like in my vacuum cleaner, or do I need to pay a gazillion to get new ones fitted each time the car is serviced?
paleochocolate
Who tf needs 500 miles range???
jerryd
This sounds more like a PR than an article and the 478 mile range is a pure lie. It'll be lucky to get 350 mile range EPA.
It's performance pales compared to the Tesla S.
The interior seems designed to keep one from touching one's love ones.
As for HEPA filters, about time and I'd bet they use a special shape so they can charge you 20x as much.
And in general, do we really need another expensive EV?
Something in the B/C segments would actually make a difference.
And delusional them thinking they have 20 yrs when in just 5 yrs it'll be very hard to sell an ICE as EVs are cheaper and have V2G making free charging, money buying, selling power, something they didn't mention it has.
In 2 yrs it'll be hard to sell an EV without V2G, emergency power ready.
Vernon Miles Kerr
I'm on my 4th Benz since '04. My current GLC 300 is 4 yrs old, still seems new. Big Benz fan. But I can't help being amused by the apparent design obsession that requires at least a "virtual" grille where a grille is an utter rudiment.
Don Duncan
No BEV (or any vehicle) comes close to the Aptera, drag: .13. Aptera is also the lightest, fastest, safest, cheapest, most advanced design (form follows function).
Johannes
@guzman If by performance you're referring to the "leisurely" 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds, it might help to know that a Ferrari 348 provided a similar level of acceleration back in the day. Shows how far expectations have changed. As for the self-driving, I think the jury's still out on the willingness of various jurisdictions globally to accept autonomous control of vehicles on public roads. In practical terms, if you have to pay attention constantly to what the self-driving system is doing, seems to me there's no significant benefit.