A day spent driving a pre-production 2022 Mercedes Benz EQS offered an up-close take a look at what the German automaker has been doing with the billions of {dollars} it has devoted to electrification.
The EQS is a meticulously designed flagship sedan that brings collectively the automaker’s MBUX infotainment system, a brand new electrical platform and developments in efficiency. It is an unapologetic pursuit to set a brand new benchmark for a full-size luxurious sedan that occurs to be electrical.
The luxurious electrical sedan is supposed to point out American shoppers what Mercedes can ship (and can) sooner or later with EVs. And the stakes are excessive. The German automaker is banking on a profitable rollout of the EQS in North America.
Image Credits: Mercedes-Benz
“It’s the beginning of a complete new era, because so far we had a completely flexible platform in place with hybrids, ICE, and BEVs,” mentioned Christophe Starzynski, head of the EQ model, who added that Mercedes will add three further electrical automobiles to its U.S. portfolio by 2025, together with the EQE and two further SUVs. “This is the first time that we really designed and developed and put all the technology in a battery electric vehicle.”
The EQS is the 17-foot lengthy flagship by-product of the S-Class, Mercedes-Benz’s top-of-the-line luxurious sedan that has a base worth of $110,000. (So far, pricing on EQS hasn’t been revealed.) It’s stocked with its greatest tech so far. While most prospects gained’t admire all of the doodads optioned on this automotive, they could get pleasure from realizing it’s all saved in that intensive infotainment cloud, or solely a software program replace away.
The first drive
A completely loaded EQS is such a leap ahead that it makes the brand new S Class already really feel of one other period.
The EQS 580 4Matic mannequin I examined got here spec’d out with the 56-inch Hyperscreen, head up show, acoustic glass, rear seat leisure and an air filtration system, which Starzynski mentioned pre-dates the pandemic, however naturally feels very of the second.
At writing, the automotive’s exterior particulars are underneath wraps till its reveal April 15. The model I examined was partially cloaked, so I can’t let you know a lot in regards to the sculpted nuances of its A pillar.
Image Credits: Mercedes-Benz
My five-year-old daughter accompanied me on the take a look at drive. We began on the Mercedes Manhattan dealership, the place EQS was displayed within the retailer window. As I approached the automotive, the driving force door mechanically swung open with nice fanfare. From the vantage level of her booster seat, my daughter performed with the rear display screen that hovered in entrance of her. She chosen ambient lighting in pink and purple hues for the cabin. Her high takeaway: “It’s a sparkly rainbow ride.”
The backseat expertise truly issues fairly a bit, as a result of EQS is chauffeur pleasant, a prereq for luxurious automobiles in China, the hub for EV gross sales for the following decade.
Image Credits: Mercedes-Benz
Meanwhile, up entrance, for a tall particular person like myself, the spacious driver seat — accented by the pillow that cradled the bottom of my neck — was one essentially the most comfy rides I’ve had. Once belted in, the automotive is all temper. Cue the lighting and sound design bells and whistles.
As a lot as I might admire the feeling of sonic silver waves to compensate for that faint EV whir, we quickly opted to blast the 5 yr outdated’s present favourite Barbie soundtrack from the billowing set of 15 Burmester audio system. (There are unlucky compromises concerned in bringing a 5 yr outdated alongside for the journey.)
Everything within the EQS emanates from the 56-inch Hyperscreen OLED, which is split into three separate shows spanning door-to-door. In particular person, it’s not as intrusive because it seems in photographs. Its elliptical contour has a gamer-like cockpit sensibility.
The MBUX features are housed on the primary 17.7-inch OLED display screen, to the suitable of the steering wheel. The passenger can choose to personalize their very own touchscreen, too. Inside the highly effective computation system is 24-gigabytes of RAM…
