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JesMB posted an article featuring WLTP differences between wheels for the EQS 450+. While I'm not sure how well this will translate to EPA ratings (which will likely be lower than real world use anyways) but interesting nonetheless.
The EQS 450+ covers 422 miles in the latest Edmunds EV Range test, 72 miles more than the EPA's rating. This is the longest range that any EV Edmunds has tested thus far, 77 miles ahead of the next best range.
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS is not the first electric vehicle from Mercedes-Benz. That honor belongs to the 1906 Mercedes Electrique. But the EQS is definitely the brand's latest EV, and although we've never range-tested an Electrique, we imagine the EQS is a bit more efficient.
Roughly the size of an S-Class, the EQS is M-B's electric flagship, ushering in a new generation of gas-free models. For this test, we got our hands on an EQS 450+, which comes standard with a single electric motor driving the rear wheels to the tune of 329 horsepower and 419 lb-ft of torque. It's fed by a lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 107.8 kilowatt-hours — and the EPA says it's capable of traveling 350 miles on a single charge.
But how would the EQS 450+ perform on our real-world EV range loop? We were quite interested to find out.
Testing the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ in the real world
Edmunds tests every new electric vehicle on the same real-world driving loop to see just how far it can travel from a full charge down to zero miles remaining. If you scroll through our EV range leaderboard, you'll see that most EVs have matched or exceeded their EPA range estimates in our testing. Much of that has to do with our ability to test in near-ideal conditions year-round.
Our EQS 450+ test car was surprisingly light on options. Options can add weight and sometimes introduce additional types of inefficiencies, so this particular EQS was primed for our test. It was equipped with the standard 20-inch wheels with "range-optimized summer tires" (Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, 255/45 R20) at all four corners, inflated to the factory-recommended pressure of 41 psi. Our test car weighed in at 5,500 pounds on the nose, which is exceptionally heavy for a sedan — to put that figure in context, the last S-Class we tested weighed in at 5,069 pounds.
Over the course of a lengthy 12-hour stint in the EQS 450+ at an average temperature of 67 degrees, we managed to travel a total of 422 cheek-numbing miles. That's 72 miles more than the EPA estimate, an improvement of more than 20%. This stunning performance lands the EQS 450+ in first place on our leaderboard, and not by a whisker. The previous leaders from Tesla now trail the Benz by a whopping 77 miles.
So how much did those 422 miles cost?
While the total range of a vehicle continues to dominate the EV conversation and will likely be a popular talking point for the EQS, energy consumption is an important factor as well. Energy consumption is what determines how much your miles will cost you. The unit of measurement for consumption, the kilowatt-hour, can be thought of as the EV equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. Just like gas, the price of electricityvaries depending on where you live. For example, you'll pay about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour in Washington as of this writing, whereas in Hawaii it'll run you about 33 cents.
So, what can 2022 Mercedes-Benz owners expect to pay at "the pump"? After charging the battery back to full, which took about 20 hours on our Level 2 charger, we calculated an Edmunds consumption rate of 29.5 kWh/100 miles, which is 15.7% more efficient than the EPA estimate of 35 kWh/100 miles. If we lived in Hawaii, our 422-mile trip in the EQS would have cost us $41.08, while if we lived in Washington, that same trip would cost just $12.45.
If we compare the EQS to a similarly sized EV we drove recently, the far more powerful tri-motor Tesla Model S Plaid, the same 422 miles would have cost $44.70 in Hawaii and $13.55 in Washington. It's mighty impressive that the quickest vehicle Edmunds has ever tested only costs another dollar or three per charge than the relatively sedate EQS, although to be fair, the Plaid starts at about $25,000 more.
How about a gasoline-powered equivalent? Well, since the EQS is essentially an electric S-Class, we figured we'd compare it against the latest version of that venerable model. The S 500 is powered by a thoroughly modern inline-six that's both supercharged and turbocharged and employs a 48-volt mild hybrid system. It requires premium fuel and is estimated to return a respectable 24 mpg in combined driving. Driving it for 422 miles would have set us back $84.40 in Hawaii ($4.80 per gallon) and $74.91 in Washington ($4.26 per gallon) at current prices, assuming we got the S 500's combined mpg.
Based on these numbers, you could save an estimated $1,026 per year in Hawaii and around $1,490 per year in Washington by driving an EQS 450+ for 10,000 miles a year instead of the S 500. The S 500 does enjoy a slight speed advantage, though, what with 429 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque at its disposal. And any S-Class has far more accommodating rear cabin seating.
For more information on how we test EV range and how each vehicle performed, we invite you to visit our Real World vs. EPA testing page, which includes both our EV range leaderboard and a table with detailed test results. Our EV range leaderboard is embeddable and will automatically update every time we add a new vehicle.
Edmunds Says
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS overdelivers when it comes to range and efficiency, which is a positive sign for Mercedes-Benz's new EV portfolio. We're looking forward to comparing different specifications of EQS models to get a clear picture of range and efficiency across the board. For our latest comprehensive ratings of all electric vehicles, head over to Edmunds' EV rankings page.
Didn’t know where to post this but I thought some members would be curious. Got to take a quick look at the Lucid in person today.
Very nice car inside and out. I like the exterior a lot, very sleek and modern while being different while also not being too in your face. The greenhouse out the back though is not very big as the rear deck sit high and the roof is lower. Trunk and frunk are huge (no pics) and can even fit two sets of clubs in the frunk alone! The roof lining on this model is not going to be on production models, as it was a pre-production model. Production vehicles will feature a silver/aluminum look.
Interior was very nice, had a nice mix of Napa Leather, Suede/Alcantara, as well as interesting textured fabrics. Very modern and contemporary look, and is a little more unique than the typical leather and wood trim you see in most cars. Didn’t get to play with any of the technology but it looked nice and crisp. I really liked the switchgear as well. The door latch toggles feel nice, as do the toggle switches on the steering wheel for volume/menus and the physical controls for common HVAC controls such as temperature and fan speed are a nice touch in addition to the touchscreen. Like other I do wish the front seats could be a different color, but I didn’t mind the grey/beige mix as seen on display here. Build quality of this particular model also felt nice. Rear space is huge! Legroom is very similar to an S-Class despite the exterior dimensions being closer to the E. One thing I did notice is that the rear seat area does not feature as much suede or trim as the front. Still nice amount of leather, but the front is definitely more luxurious.
Overall I wish Lucid good luck and hope that they are successful. More cool cars the better.
The base model at $77,400 and 400 miles of range will be hard to beat. Plus at 195.9 inches its not too big. Assuming not too many toothing issues it will be the one to beat. That said the EQS will be the choice of the cost is no object crowd.
The base model at $77,400 and 400 miles of range will be hard to beat. Plus at 195.9 inches its not too big. Assuming not too many toothing issues it will be the one to beat. That said the EQS will be the choice of the cost is no object crowd.
Once these guys reach scale production, I think the Tesla Model S will be a tough sell. This is a very nice car.
The EQS 450+ covers 422 miles in the latest Edmunds EV Range test, 72 miles more than the EPA's rating. This is the longest range that any EV Edmunds has tested thus far, 77 miles ahead of the next best range.
I posted somewhere on this forum a few weeks ago that a test drive of the EQS580 by a professional a few weeks ago that the range was considerably more than the EPA estimate. He mentioned that he was driving it very aggressively and in his view the range is well over 400 miles. So, this Edmunds review of the range seems reasonable.
The EQS 450+ covers 422 miles in the latest Edmunds EV Range test, 72 miles more than the EPA's rating. This is the longest range that any EV Edmunds has tested thus far, 77 miles ahead of the next best range.
Thanks for posting.
I still find it interesting that the EPA ratings are consistently below the real life performance of German EV's and consistently above on Teslas...
If you think back to when gas mileage numbers were first added to new car stickers, manufacturers worked to game the system for the highest possible numbers. Tesla probably knows the most about this since they've been around the longest in the BEV space ...
Why is there no mention of the EQS on this article? Is it too early? As I posted above, in the real world driving the EQS actually has a considerably greater range than that issued by the EPA.
Why is there no mention of the EQS on this article? Is it too early? As I posted above, in the real world driving the EQS actually has a considerably greater range than that issued by the EPA.
They told me at my demo ride in Boston that it opens but contains lots of electronics, brake fluid and the hepa filter, etc. Showed me a picture similar to these on his iPad. So if Mercedes’ has all these electronics etc in the frunk, where do other manufacturers put all this stuff? When he said it opens I wasn’t sure if he meant only by service or whether the consumer has access to it as well. I would hope so.
They told me at my demo ride in Boston that it opens but contains lots of electronics, brake fluid and the hepa filter, etc. Showed me a picture similar to these on his iPad. So if Mercedes’ has all these electronics etc in the frunk, where do other manufacturers put all this stuff? When he said it opens I wasn’t sure if he meant only by service or whether the consumer has access to it as well. I would hope so.
A friend of mine took those pictures and sent me it. He told me he has to use a special tool to open it (or at least he said that because he couldn't share what he uses to open it but...) anyways, it is not difficult but all technicians at the dealerships will be trained on how to open it, otherwise as you can see it is not meant to be opened by the customer and the customer don't really need to open it anyways to begin with.
If that filter wasn't in the way then it would be a good size frunk (in my opinion) but honestly the rear trunk is huge enough anyways (also just imo).
If that filter wasn't in the way then it would be a good size frunk (in my opinion) but honestly the rear trunk is huge enough anyways (also just imo).
Exactly. That's about the size of the Tesla frunk on its vehicles. All the same stuff is stuffed around it. Just not the gigantic HEPA filter.
Honestly even without the HEPA filter the space doesn't really look large enough for much use, and apparently BenzBlogger also said there is a "High Voltage Cable" under the hood that Benz does not want customers messing with as well. Having seen the EQS trunk in person, it should be more than enough for plenty.
Honestly even without the HEPA filter the space doesn't really look large enough for much use, and apparently BenzBlogger also said there is a "High Voltage Cable" under the hood that Benz does not want customers messing with as well. Having seen the EQS trunk in person, it should be more than enough for plenty.
The high voltage cable is a genuine concern you are absolutely right but even if that cable isn't there, there is no point opening it up anyways with the HEPA filter there. It doesn't look like there are confidential things that MB wants to hide in there either, looks just like other electric cars under the hood. If I remembered correctly, MB specifically mentioned that the reason why they don't let people open the hood was because "clean air matters" and they went on talking about how important that HEPA filter is. So that makes me wonder, if the HEPA filter was made as an option and not standard in less polluted countries and that the high voltage cable you mentioned is tucked away with an insulating cover and that only specific tools can be used to open it, would MB ever let people use the frunk (even though it isn't that big)? That frunk for example was used to store charging cables in different electric vehicles. Instead of being stored in the trunk that may get damaged by other things stored there.
Last edited by W205C43PFL; Nov 21, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
Off topic, but the EQS may get a new competitor for 2024 from Polestar (Volvo). The new Polestar 5 is based on the Precept Concept which has been teased as a Sleek Electric GT Flagship for the company.
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