Merc’s Electric Mega EQS SUV Does the Job
Mercedes’ EQS SUV delivers battery power at the top end of the spectrum, and it does a damn good job of it too.
The latest addition to Mercedes-EQ’s growing electric car line-up now fills that tiny gap left right up there in the mega-SUV niche. This one’s the electric S-class of SUVs. Basically. its an electric GLS. It comes brim packed with spec, luxury, abundant space, Intelligent MBUX connectivity and the option of a 7-seater cabin too.
Said to exemplify Mercedes-Benz’s sensual purity philosophy on state-of-the-art EQ EV architecture to deliver on luxury aspirations, its unique style also sets it apart from its combustion counterparts. EQS SUV also comes standard with Electric Art luxury lounge interior and Exterior package. That’s allegedly crafted as much by the wind, as it is by aesthetics. To define those gargantuan proportions.
Our EQS SUV 450+ landed on our driveway at a difficult time for EVS. New electric vehicle registrations were romping toward 25 percent of the German new car market when this one’s EQS Sedan sibling was first launched just over two years back. But alas, that’s all changed. All of a sudden, the e-market no longer seems the silver bullet it did back then.
If You Really Want a Battery Mega SUV…
So, if you really want a luxury electric SUV, meet your battery GLS Class. But if you want a hybrid, or a straight petrol V8, even an AMG 63 version, you will also find all of those in your local Mercedes dealership. There’s even Maybach version. So, unlike many carmakers blinded by EV visions of grandeur, Mercedes will make sure that will have that luxury of choice, no matter what drives it, for long, long time to come.
So what about this electric GLS? Essentially a re-bodied EQS sedan with a taller command driving position and much more space inside, the EQS SUV also shares similar electric powertrains with the four-door. This EQS 450+ has a rear-mounted 355 HP 419 lb.-ft asynchronous electric motor powering the rear wheels.
Powered by a 107.8 kWh lithium-ion battery with 26% higher energy content than the one used in the EQC, it has a claimed 305-mile WTLP range. In real life it will make 250 miles on a good day, as we found. Priced in line with the standard GLS 580, it has a 20 grand premium on the base gas model.
EQS SUV: Better Than You’d Expect Off-road
It comes standard with an adjustable air suspension and a rear-axle steering for surprising agility. Unlike the sedan, the SUV gets an intelligent Offroad driving mode that raises the suspension and alters powertrain behavior to make it surprisingly competent on light terrain.
Designed to ‘exceed the expectations of even its most demanding customers’, the aluminum bodied EQS is 3 inches shorter than the sedan at 201.9 ft long, but 2 in wider at 77.1 in wide and a full 7 inches taller at 67.6 inches. It rides on the same, long 126.4-inch wheelbase and so has even shorter overhangs.
You’re greeted by a flat black grille panel with angular headlights joined by a horizontal light bar. A fixed clamshell bonnet and unique one-bow roofline lead back to a tailgate. The wheels even have five vented plastic hub caps plugged between the spokes to deliver an exceptional 0.26 drag coefficient.
EQS SUV Gulps Big People Up With Ease
The biggest Merc EV also overcomes one of the sedan’s challenges for bigger, older guys and girls to climb into and out of. The SUV even allows a man with a hat easy enough access and egress.
A luxurious space once aboard, a high center console sets it apart and the flat floor also brings greater rear seat room than the gas cars. Our EQS SUV lacked Mercedes’ new triple digital display Hyperscreen, which is an option. But it still packed Merc’s latest generation MBUX ‘Hey Mercedes’ operating system. Sadly, it is woefully let down by a total lack of buttons and knobs.
It truth, this electric S-class of SUVs does a pretty damned decent job. It gets on with it in worryingly quiet and smooth style, beats Mercedes’ own claims of performance, and even trumps the Sedan on the drag strip. Handling, even off the road in this case, impressed, in spite of that bulk and heft. And we were intrigued by its regenerative abilities, and real-world range.
Top End EV SUV Power
Like all EVs, those driving distance claims seem to have been achieved down a very long mineshaft. And of course, it gets a quarter worse if it’s too cold, or too hot. That’s just another EV thing.
But the EQS SUV’s biggest party trick is that if you do not want an EV, Mercedes will not force it down your throat and happily sell you a petrol, diesel, or hybrid alternative. God help those carmakers who tagged their brand to the EV pole.
In its own right however this groundbreaking electric EQS SUV delivers battery power at the top end of the SUV spectrum if that’s what you really want. And it does a damn good job of it too.
ROAD TESTED: Mercedes-EQS 45+ SUV AMG Line Motor: 355 HP 419 lb.-ft synchronous electric Battery: 107.8 kWh lithium ion Drive: Direct, RWD TESTED: 0-40 mph: 2.69 sec 0-60 mph: 5.70 sec 0-80 mph: 7.85 sec 0-100 mph: 13.67 sec ¼-mile: 12.0 sec @ 119 mph 80-120 km/h: 3.84 sec 120-160 km/h: 5.81 sec CLAIMED: VMax: 120 mph Range: 305 miles LIST PRICE: $104,400 MSRP
Photos: Giordano Lupini