Mprog

My only real concern is acceleration (not drag racing … more about being able to pass other cars with enough ease). My perspective is skewed because I daily a Tesla Plaid, and basically everything now feels slow compared to that violence-mobile. My wife thought the 450 was “quick enough” but I’m wondering if anyone could comment on the power level for everyday driving.

I’m looking to purchase an EQS in the next week, and am quite excited by the car, they’re really great.

Thanks a lot!

rbourge

I've not been up against a plaid but my 580 leaves everything way behind when the light turns green. In the sport mode it blasts past with ease when passing on a 2-lane. If you are not planning to race, the EQS should be just fine for sanity based driving. Despite the wait for delivery and price I have no regrets. Luxuriousness far better than Tesla.

stealth.pilot

The issue with the 450 for me isn’t the power but the lack of AWD. I’m not a fan of rear drive EVs. They just don’t have the same traction, and especially in heavy rain.

I haven’t had a rear wheel drive car in a few years, and I’m not going back now.

Mprog

That's a good point. I live in SF Bay Area, where we get less rain than we used to unfortunately... But worth considering. Thanks!

c4004matic

You will notice that the 450 has much better traction than regular RWD cars.​​​​​​​1- The motor's weight is on the driving axle.​​​​​​​2- On Mercedes EQS, the traction control seems to predict the future since it works instantly to any amount of slip. The same thing applies to the ABS. You barely know when the systems are active. Its all very slick indeed.​​​​​​​I drove the 450 on a frigid day on roads with occasional icy patches on summer tires, and had zero issues.

superswiss

Traction will likely not be an issue for the most part. As stated above. One benefit of electric powertrains is that they can instantly detect loss of traction and instantly adjust the motor torque as opposed to an ICE. I haven't driven a 450, but even the 580 wasn't mind blowing. It's a very heavy car at 5600 lbs, so 329 hp to move 5600 lbs won't give you all that much passing power. Thinking back to 300 hp cars I've owned in the past that were below 4000 lbs, they felt underpowered on rural Cali highways where legal passing zones are limited. Trying to pass a procession of day dreamers not sticking to the 55 mph speed limit was always an issue at those power levels and that was with much lighter cars.

c4004matic

The 450 is far from underpowered. It's as fast as the fastest Honda Accord, a car no one would classify as underpowered. The expectations of speed are quite simply idiotic. The 580 is as fast as a 2006 Corvette Z06. Stupid fast......​​​​​​​12.2 at the quarter. All these comparisons to cars which are one trick ponies like the Plaid are idiotic. No one compares the S580 to an Aventador do they?

superswiss

It all comes down to what you are used to. The 2006 Z06 is a 3.5 sec 0-60 car, that's 0.6 seconds faster than the 580, so no. That may not sound like much to you, but it's a different world. If power didn't matter, car manufacturers wouldn't be selling these high powered cars. You may not understand the concept of passing power. 1/4 mile doesn't tell you that. I'm not necessarily condoning this and if anyone just wants to drive like Ms. Daisy that's fine. But here's the thing. OP asked about passing power. If you are stuck behind 4, 5 cars and the lead car is doing 35 mph in a 55 mph zone (not unusually around here on the two lane highways) and you only get about a 0.5 mile passing zone every 10 or so miles, then unless you can pass them all at once, it's pointless to even attempt a pass. Now I'm not saying you should do this as technically passing more than one car at a time on a two lane road is illegal, but not all of us have the nerve bumbling along behind a day dreamer. You are not gonna do this in a Honda Accord, and you are likely not gonna do it in a 450. I'm just responding to OP's concern of passing power. It may not matter to you, but that's a different subject.

c4004matic

The 450 is far from underpowered. It's as fast as the fastest Honda Accord, a car no one would classify as underpowered. The expectations of speed are quite simply idiotic. The 580 is as fast as a 2006 Corvette Z06. Stupid fast......12.2 at the quarter. All these comparisons to cars which are one trick ponies like the Plaid are idiotic. No one compares the S580 to an Aventador do they?

c4004matic

in fact the 580 is a 3.7 sec car and the 1/4 at 12.​​​​​​​2 at 113mph almost identical to a Z06 of that vintage.

Mprog

My question was really about practical day to day driving, does anyone find the 450 to be insufficient. It wasn't a comparative match between car x and car y, which is crazy these days because cars have gotten FAST (my Plaid being a good example, although it comes at the cost of having to fix creaking noises with electrical tape!)

Any feedback from 450 owners about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction would be most appreciated.

superswiss

I'm going off the official MB spec, which is what MB guarantees and according to that the 580 does 4.1 sec 0-60. US based magazines measure 0-60 differently. They do what's called a rollout, and it discards the first foot of travel. European car manufacturers measure true 0-60, which is the time it takes from a complete stop. I know what a 3.7 sec from a complete stop car feels like. That's what my current AMG does, and the 580 is not a 3.7 sec car. Anyway, OP asked about the 450, which has almost 200 hp less. The 580 is plenty fast.

c4004matic

The 450 runs a 5.9 sec 0-60. Faster than essentially all ICE midsize bread and butter sedans. The 580 essentially mirrors the speed of a 2006 E55. It also beats the same vintage E 63 to the quarter. EV are stupid fast. Furthermore, there is th AMG version..... monster torque with no shifting makes for acceleration that for all purposes is limited only by tire adhesion.Again the EQS was not built to be a dragster its built to be a luxury sedan.The target was the acceleration of the S580. The EQS 580 not only meets its gas sibling its slightly faster!

njtransit215

Coming from an AWD e-tron to an RWD 450+, I have found no difference in my own driving experience. The e-tron has a similar 0-60 time. I live in California so YMMV

superswiss

Yeah, don't get me wrong. These are academic discussions and personal preference. For tooling around everyday a 450 will be plenty, but it ultimately comes down to personal expectations. My biggest issue with the EQS is not really the performance, but the weight and size. It's a land yacht that weighs more than some SUVs. RWS helps, but don't expect to find street parking in SF large enough.

c4004matic

Let's be clear: The 450 is amply powered for day-to-day driving. As long as getting beat by Subaru STi's doesn't give you an inferiority complexI don't think that will be an issue with pretty much anyone buying this vehicle. Forget about the weight, too. Unless you are looking to throw your EQS into a road course race, you will never notice it weighs as much as an F150. The car is very nimble. Again, it's meant to emulate the driving experience of an S class. The EQS actually handles more adroitly than the S class, but of course, it's not a Taycan, nor is it mean to be. Coming from an E43 AMG, I loved it. Smooth, silent, unperturbed by the road, feels like a tank. Wafts unbothered for 100's of miles at a time, a true member (at least up front) of the Sonderklasse.The rear seat is a little Spartan, but a more limo-like version will follow too.

njtransit215

I wish my dog got some use out of the pinnacle trim rear seats I have. I was going to go with exclusive trim but the one I bought off the lot has Pinnacle and the executive rear seat package. He has long fur so he does love the ventilated seats back there. Don't think he feels the same about getting a massage back there...

hlothery

My 450 is definitely adequately powered. (BTW, my last two cars were BMW M4 and M550) It has more power and better traction than my 2014 E350, which anyone would agree was adequately powered. You're not goint to win drag races, but daily driving is a breeze, with no issues whatsoever, in astounding luxury. Not sure 0.6 seconds matters much to most folks. The 450 is a fantastic car, and I'm certain I will have no more issue with rear wheel drive than I did in any of my past cars (only AWD was the M550), and certainly less so than the M4, which couldn't seem to stop wheel spinning. I have found noting to be dissatisfied about. Love this car.

ua549

For me top speed doesn't equate to adequate power. I measure adequate power as passing power - going from 60 mph to 80 mph for passing on two lane roads. I have yet to drive an EQS but the 450+ may have the same problem my E300 has when it comes to passing power. It is missing!

c4004matic

instea of pinnacle I ordered the winter package. Warm butt and thats it.​​​​​​​

Wolfman

In all fairness, our old 2015 S550 was going 4.5sec. to 60 and was no speed demon by any measure. The W222 is a rather relaxed car, so mentioning the 450 with 5.9 to 60 makes it pretty slow. Mentioning 15 year old cars doesn't make it quicker; the instant torque will just make it feel that way during the first few hundred feet.

c4004matic

Compared to what? 90% of the cars on the road cannot do 6 seconds to 60. Calling the 450 slow is an internet pipi measuring thing that has no basis on reality.Same thing as harping on the Plaid, 99% of Teslas are not Plaids.

superswiss

Yes, that's what I was trying to get at, but I think it flew over some heads. 60-80 mph is very different from 0-60 or 1/4 mile. European car magazines often measure these various pulls, because they are important for daily driving whereas US magazines mainly focus on 0-60 and 1/4 mile that isn't very relevant.

c4004matic

Again much faster than an ICE car of similar spec. No kickdown, no revving, 100% of power instantly available at any speed. It cuts any semi to size in the blink of an eye.There is no "power band". Power, and thus acceleration is virtually the same at any speed.

superswiss

Yes, that's all partly true, but ultimately the acceleration is determined by how much power the car makes. A 300 hp car will accelerate slower from 60-80, then a 500 hp car. Even if the 300hp car is an EV, and the 500 hp is an ICE with a fast transmission, the latter will have more passing power, especially if the driver downshifts into the proper gear before attempting the passing maneuver, so kickdown won't even be a factor, and a 100-200ms upshift is nothing. Acceleration all comes down to horsepower, and even an electric motor has a power curve, because Power = Torque * RPM. An electric motor has instant torque, but not instant power. Power increases with RPM, and because most EVs have a single gear ratio, power increases with speed, whereas in an ICE you can downshift at any speed and make peak horsepower, so an EV only makes full power at top speed. I don't think people are aware of this, because it's not really noticeable as the faster you go, the more power you need to cut through the air.

The power needs increase exponentially, though, because doubling the speed requires four times the power, but EVs increase power linearly with speed and this is why most EVs fall flat at higher speeds.