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My wife and I took delivery of our 450 4matic yesterday. It was the first EQS SUV at our local dealership. We originally placed a custom order back in July with a scheduled build date of October 28th. The dealership called us on Friday to let us know they have their first EQS SUV in, and asked us to come by and take a test drive. When we drove it on Friday we realized it was almost a perfect match to our build plus/minus a few minor options. This one was available so we ended up taking delivery yesterday.
We did pay a small markup (yes I know, shame on me), however because we took delivery before January 1st, we are able to claim the $7500 tax credit. So essentially we split the tax credit savings with the dealer. Seems reasonable considering all of the crazy markup stories. Plus they gave us a decent offer on our trade-in which may not hold as much value in 2-3 months.
I'll continue to post a lot more feedback as I spend more time with the vehicle, but so far we are really impressed. I've had numerous EVs over the past 5 years (Model X, Taycan, E-tron SUV, Polestar 2) and currently have a Rivian R1T. This is our first Mercedes, but I'll be able to compare it to a lot of other premium EVs on the market.
Initial impression are this is in another league in terms of ride quality, comfort, and fit/finish. The user interface does have a learning curve. It's not as intuitive as Tesla's or Rivian's, but it is so much better than Audi or Porsche. The route planning is the best I've seen in an EV. The level 2 ADS (autopilot system) is easily as good as Tesla's if not better. The lane change is really smooth, and I love that it displays the path in front of you using the headlights when changing lanes.
The acceleration is on par with the Audi E-tron SUV, which is more than sufficient. The single pedal driving isn't as good as Rivian or Tesla, so I'm hoping they make some improvements with OTA updates. Rear wheel steering is so nice on a vehicle this size. Which by the way it is much bigger in person than the photos suggest. Folding down the rear seats is clunky and I don't like the way the middle row moves out of the way when accessing the third row. It forces the first row to move very close to the steering wheel. My wife wasn't too happy when our kids were jumping into the third row while she sat in the driver seat and got smooshed.
No comments on efficiency or charging yet but we do have some road trips coming up over the next few months. We are really eager to get cross-rails for the roof to carry our skis, but no word from Mercedes yet.
Overall Mercedes seems to have hit it out of the park. It's like they were developing a suite of electric vehicles in stealth mode and suddenly have a nice line up hitting the market which are very competitive with the best of the best.
Feel free to ask questions or requests for pictures etc.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by manitou202
My wife and I took delivery of our 450 4matic yesterday. It was the first EQS SUV at our local dealership. We originally placed a custom order back in July with a scheduled build date of October 28th. The dealership called us on Friday to let us know they have their first EQS SUV in, and asked us to come by and take a test drive. When we drove it on Friday we realized it was almost a perfect match to our build plus/minus a few minor options. This one was available so we ended up taking delivery yesterday.
We did pay a small markup (yes I know, shame on me), however because we took delivery before January 1st, we are able to claim the $7500 tax credit. So essentially we split the tax credit savings with the dealer. Seems reasonable considering all of the crazy markup stories. Plus they gave us a decent offer on our trade-in which may not hold as much value in 2-3 months.
I'll continue to post a lot more feedback as I spend more time with the vehicle, but so far we are really impressed. I've had numerous EVs over the past 5 years (Model X, Taycan, E-tron SUV, Polestar 2) and currently have a Rivian R1T. This is our first Mercedes, but I'll be able to compare it to a lot of other premium EVs on the market.
Initial impression are this is in another league in terms of ride quality, comfort, and fit/finish. The user interface does have a learning curve. It's not as intuitive as Tesla's or Rivian's, but it is so much better than Audi or Porsche. The route planning is the best I've seen in an EV. The level 2 ADS (autopilot system) is easily as good as Tesla's if not better. The lane change is really smooth, and I love that it displays the path in front of you using the headlights when changing lanes.
The acceleration is on par with the Audi E-tron SUV, which is more than sufficient. The single pedal driving isn't as good as Rivian or Tesla, so I'm hoping they make some improvements with OTA updates. Rear wheel steering is so nice on a vehicle this size. Which by the way it is much bigger in person than the photos suggest. Folding down the rear seats is clunky and I don't like the way the middle row moves out of the way when accessing the third row. It forces the first row to move very close to the steering wheel. My wife wasn't too happy when our kids were jumping into the third row while she sat in the driver seat and got smooshed.
No comments on efficiency or charging yet but we do have some road trips coming up over the next few months. We are really eager to get cross-rails for the roof to carry our skis, but no word from Mercedes yet.
Overall Mercedes seems to have hit it out of the park. It's like they were developing a suite of electric vehicles in stealth mode and suddenly have a nice line up hitting the market which are very competitive with the best of the best.
Feel free to ask questions or requests for pictures etc.
Thanks for sharing pictures and thank you for your impressions, congrats on your vehicle : )
“that it displays the path in front of you using the headlights when changing lanes.”
are you in the USA?
I'm in the US. The car has the advanced headlights (not sure what they are called) that can display animations on the ground or wall in front of you at startup. There are several animations in the menu options. Our car currently shows what looks like waves or falling rain and then projects the Mercedes Logo and says "EQS".
I don't believe the advanced high beam functions are activated (blocking out sections of the high beams for oncoming traffic), but the headlights are able to project an illuminated path on the road in front of you when changing lanes. So when you turn on your blinker to change lanes, an illuminated path that starts in front of the car and curves into the next lane is projected onto the road. I've never seen anything like it. This appears to only be active when using ADS.
Reading online it appears there are even more animations when navigation is active or adverse weather conditions. I have yet to experience any of these. This article mentions some of the other functions. This might be unique to the SUV only.
I'm in the US. The car has the advanced headlights (not sure what they are called) that can display animations on the ground or wall in front of you at startup. There are several animations in the menu options. Our car currently shows what looks like waves or falling rain and then projects the Mercedes Logo and says "EQS".
I don't believe the advanced high beam functions are activated (blocking out sections of the high beams for oncoming traffic), but the headlights are able to project an illuminated path on the road in front of you when changing lanes. So when you turn on your blinker to change lanes, an illuminated path that starts in front of the car and curves into the next lane is projected onto the road. I've never seen anything like it. This appears to only be active when using ADS.
Reading online it appears there are even more animations when navigation is active or adverse weather conditions. I have yet to experience any of these. This article mentions some of the other functions. This might be unique to the SUV only.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by yman182
awesome thank you! I thought all of that was not active in the US.
It wasn't but the good news was that they (USA) passed the legislation to amend it last year or so, so they have now allowed it, it isn't the full activation (as in the brightness and angle is restricted) but it is better than nothing. MB took advantage of that and started equipping it to their 2022 and 2023 model year vehicles. That said though, even for non supported vehicles, it is technically possible to enable the feature as the hardware was there just disabled with software (maybe other than GLE models where I heard the cornering light hardware itself isn't equipped but at least the high beam is so adaptive high beam assist plus can be enabled, North American vehicles)
Last edited by W205C43PFL; 10-06-2022 at 09:35 AM.
Can you comment on the braking/brake pedal movement that some have complained about?
Yes. It is my biggest complaint with the EQS. My wife doesn't seem to mind it, but it definitely bugs me. It's both the brake pedal and the throttle pedal. They change the position and sensitivity of each depending on the amount of regen selected, your speed, and which mode (sport or comfort) you are in. I prefer consistency so it's easier to predict.
I'm also not a fan of the one pedal driving when using the highest regen setting. It doesn't provide sufficient braking to completely drive with one pedal unless you really baby the car. Our Rivian has much more aggressive one pedal driving where it will even stop the car going down a fairly steep incline. I tried the "Intelligent Regen" as suggested by JoeMa, but I didn't like it either. I may resort to just driving with the normal regen setting for the moment which feels like a typical ICE vehicle.
None of these are deal breakers, just characteristics of the car I hope will improve. The rest of the vehicle more than makes up for these minor annoyances.
So even if you stay in a selected regen mode the pedal position and sensitivity will change? I can see how that is super annoying and potentially dangerous
Originally Posted by manitou202
Yes. It is my biggest complaint with the EQS. My wife doesn't seem to mind it, but it definitely bugs me. It's both the brake pedal and the throttle pedal. They change the position and sensitivity of each depending on the amount of regen selected, your speed, and which mode (sport or comfort) you are in. I prefer consistency so it's easier to predict.
I'm also not a fan of the one pedal driving when using the highest regen setting. It doesn't provide sufficient braking to completely drive with one pedal unless you really baby the car. Our Rivian has much more aggressive one pedal driving where it will even stop the car going down a fairly steep incline. I tried the "Intelligent Regen" as suggested by JoeMa, but I didn't like it either. I may resort to just driving with the normal regen setting for the moment which feels like a typical ICE vehicle.
None of these are deal breakers, just characteristics of the car I hope will improve. The rest of the vehicle more than makes up for these minor annoyances.
So even if you stay in a selected regen mode the pedal position and sensitivity will change? I can see how that is super annoying and potentially dangerous
It's not 'super annoying or dangerous', just different. I've been driving the car since Friday and I already adjusted to it. But take my word (or anyone else), test drive an EQS SUV for yourself and decide if it's for you.
Another observation. The phone app is one of the best I've seen with new EVs. Arguably as good as Tesla which was my previous favorite. You are able to get a lot of good information through the app, control many basic functions, heat/cool the vehicle, change the charging level, see where the vehicle is live on the map, set speed limits for other drivers, and it's very fast and responsive.
No phantom drain either.
Last edited by manitou202; 10-07-2022 at 04:38 PM.
Another observation. The phone app is one of the best I've seen with new EVs. Arguably as good as Tesla which was my previous favorite. You are able to get a lot of good information through the app, control many basic functions, heat/cool the vehicle, change the charging level, see where the vehicle is live on the map, set speed limits for other drivers, and it's very fast and responsive.
No phantom drain either.
I agree but I am surprised you can’t lock/unlock it via the app. That’s a miss IMO.
Some pictures of the route planning. Mercedes is definitely ahead of the game for build in route planning. I have yet to test in application, but it looks very promising.
Those buttons do not appear on my app. Do I need to enable it from the car? I’m using the new iPhone 14 Pro Max. I wonder if that has something to do with it?
I called Mercedes me and the concierge had never walk me through the identity verification part of the set up. Once I completed the identity verification, the buttons appeared.