Car of the week: Mercedes EQS: silent and serene - but pricey

BY BRIAN BYRNE

WHEN you have a range of over 700km in your electric car, you simply forget about range.

That’s a figure that nobody is likely to get anyway close to in any one day of their normal driving life.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ had the longest range of any EV I’ve so far had out to review.

It was also at the upper end of the significant number of very expensive cars that I’ve driven in more than three decades of automotive journalism.

Adequate range is the least that you should get. But you do get a lot more.

First, it’s a lot of car. The EQS sits larger in all parameters than the BMW 7, Audi A8, and the Jaguar XJ ... and even its own stablemate S-Class. But standing at the kerb it doesn’t look so, thanks to the exceptional sleekness of its styling, which also makes it the most aerodynamic series production car in the world. For those unschooled in such nerd-speak, the claimed 0.20Cd drag coefficient is seriously impressive.

You have to like the styling details too. Where the radiator grille was in ordinary cars, there’s a good-looking pattern around a Merc star which is much nicer than the blank ‘face’ we get in most EVs. AMG-Line sculpting on the review car also gave it a visual punch. The rear is surprisingly plain, a simple integrated spoiler on the liftback tailgate and a full-width LED lights strip, muted in the graphite colour of my car. The optional 21-inch alloys’ design stood out, though.

Inside, the size is apparent. Not least with the substantial room for the rear passengers who are likely to be the important ones. You could cross your legs and still not be touching the front seatback.

From the driver’s perspective the optional Hyperscreen in the review car is a very dominating feature (not to mention its price, but I’ll get to that). Behind a single sheet of touch-screen glass with curves there’s a central 17.7-inch display for the usual infotainment and navigation, with the driver’s display in its usual place and another for the front passenger, by which they can control things like the massage seats — with several different kinds of massage possible. The front seats were also ‘climatised’, meaning they can be cooled as well as heated. The overall finish was pretty well what you’d expect. Superb.

Just to be nitpicking, I find the electric seat adjusting system in Mercs, a set of buttons in the doors laid out in a chair outline, a little awkward to operate.

But if I owned the car, I’d only have to set them once anyhow. A plus feature which I’ve never found in any other car are the soft cushions on the head restraints. They feel funny at first, but then they add that little extra sense of plush which befits what we’re in.

In terms of technologies for comfort, safety, and OTT, take it that the EQS is at Starship Enterprise level. Perhaps without the anti-missile shield, but including all the sensors and radars you could imagine needing.

The powertrain in the review car was the 333hp single electric motor driving the rear wheels — dual motor AWD versions are available. The 6.2s to 100km/h capability was once the province of loud supercars, but in this large luxury transport just provides eminently smooth acceleration.

You can have a manufactured engine sound if you want one, but why would you? — the essence of travelling in a Mercedes-Benz flagship is serenity, as far as I’m concerned. I took advantage of my time with the car to get in a couple of longish day trips, on motorway, country roads and laneways to the beach. The overall drive experience was ... well, sublime.

Well, it should be. In addition to the base price, there were €38,036 worth of extras on board the review car. The most significant was the nearly €18,000 for the Premium Plus Package which included enhanced sound, more driver assists, and a panoramic roof. The €12,213 for the Hyperscreen was also one I’d have to think about. Or maybe I wouldn’t, if I was in this buyer cohort anyhow.

VERDICT

What I liked: It was silent, serene, and sublime. The energy consumption of 19kWh/100km was very impressive for such a big car.

Price:  From €129,965; review car €168,001.