If it wasn't for the exterior design, I would have ordered an EQS today. I like the EQS more than the i7 generally speaking but the exterior is turn off. However, keep in mind that they recently announced some really neat upgrades for the 2025 model year.

I also like the EQS because it has decent range that's actually makes the car usable especially for 2025. The i7 has truly useless range. and yes I mean truly useless, for highway driving for the average driver here in the US. Adding winter range drop to highways and u literally get a useless car for highway trips. The EQS gets decent range now, and most users reported MORE range that Mbenz claimed range unlike i7 wherein most owners reported same range but much less on highways... if you get the 2025 450+ then u would have even more tange, but personally I'd only take the 580 no matter what.

The interior is excellent, I love the seat in the EQS. We use the rear seats a lot in our car as my wife and I go for long trips a lot, and the rear seats in the i7 were a joke and also looked like a joke design wise. The rear seats in the EQS with the executive package were just awesome to say the least. Unfortunetly exterior design is critical for me as a car guy, and the exterior design was a turn off, at least still looks better than the i7. It looks more settled/lower on the ground, has sharp rear really, and the hatch-back design is excellent, but the front along with the i7 they both get the ugliest looking luxury cars available today, absolutely laughable design by the Germans. I would still consider the EQS one day if the MBUX gets better down the road, but the hyper screen is still not bad design wise. I'd rather get an EQS instead of a W223 only for the drivetrain but the W223 interior is more premium so it's a tough decision and I don't see myself ever going back to ICE car as my daily-drive.

 

I’m talking EQS SUV, I believe you are talking EQS sedan, right? Leave it to the Germans to make the nomenclature confusing.

 

How is the rear seat on the EQS sedan better than the i7? I don’t get that at all…all the reviews I have read and watched also list the rear seat being superior in the i7 as one of the main reasons they prefer it, and MB has focused on the rear seat as one of the main areas of the EQS that needs attention.

As for range, a 350 mile roadtrip in the i7 requires a 25 minute stop to arrive with 25% SoC at my destination, that seems pretty good to me.

 

On looks alone the EQS is a no brainer compared to the I7.

 

Totally the opposite for me, I think the i7 is much better looking

 

How can I say this diplomatically...? If you make a list of the most aesthetically pleasing cars from this time period, 20 years from now, neither will be on that list.

 

Rear seat space on the G12 is better than both. The i7 is a holistically better luxury car than a loaded EQS580 SUV. I have both and they’re not directly comparable in terms of refinement. However, MBUX is holistically better than iDrive8.5. The i7 is better in terms of being an insulating luxury car.

 

There has been some talk on different threads about the MB screen sizing and placement being less advantageous because you had to look down more compared to the older MB setups, or that in other brands. Not true in practice. It's easier to take in information and parse it with the bigger canvas, even if you do have to look down a little more. I have little doubt that BMW will continue to iterate ID with good results; but you can't update the shape, size, and location of the screen, with a software update.

The layout of MBUX is significantly better sorted out. You have a more logical menu tree, a better operating paradigm with zero layer, less clutter, and with the extra space MB is better able to place buttons so they're easier to locate and touch on the roll.

In the real world, once set up, you don't get in either GUI very often. In both systems, it's better to do things like entering destinations into the navigation with voice, and they both do well at speech recognition.

I would not choose MBUX or ID based on the GUI, after setup you don't get in there enough to make it a primary consideration.

 

Rear seat in the G12 was HUGE, bigger than the S Class let alone the EQS or i7.

 

I don’t disagree. Honestly the only thing I find sort of problematic about the 7 is the front. The rest of it I really like, I like the traditional sedan roofline for example…and the front as grown on me to where I like it okay.

The EQS both sedan and SUV I just really dislike the entire vehicle, the shape, all of it.

 

No question, it's the front that creates the challenge.

 

Just get a dark color and that hides the weird shapes and black trim in the front…

 

The same neighbor that had, at least for a little while, the 760i, now has a chalkish color XM with red trim. I think the 760i may have just been a loaner.

The XM looks weird and unsightly in photos to me, but in person it’s not that bad, although I only see the sides of his since he parks it in his driveway. It’s the front that looks weird to me on the XM, same with the 7. But it’s certainly unique and stands out in the crowd. Its bigger than I thought as well.

 

It's nice inside but the packaging is poor and there is less room in there than you would think.

As to the black, it's the only color you can buy a BMW in right now. Outside of a few exceptions like the M8, they've all got bits you want to hide nowadays.

 

I think both the XM and the 7 look much better in person than they do in pictures

The way I have decided to describe the 7 is, it’s not beautiful but it’s cool looking. My S560 is beautiful, but it’s not cool looking.

 

True, better in person. It's not unusual for me to do the opposite as well, like a car in pictures, but not in the metal.

Although the 7 and XM are different cases: The 7 is a good car betrayed by the front end styling, the XM competes poorly in it's class and is actually slower than the X5M. Even if the latter were handsome, it would still lose in a objective comparison to others you might buy instead. The former would not.

 

My apologies for the too long post:

Alright, the EQS SUV is a decent vehicle, but it’s not an S Class and like the EQS sedan and the GLS, not even close, which really is a shame, because it COULD be. The electric drive, to me, is absolutely stunning. The ultra smooth, amazingly linear acceleration is intoxicating. On ribbon smooth roads, the ride quality is great, but as soon as the road becomes less than perfect, the 21” wheels, huge tires & SUV type suspension remind you that you are not driving a luxury sedan. Just going into sharp driveway aprons or hitting speed bumps makes the SUV feel like a pick up—albeit a “luxury” pick up.

Driving this EQS SUV, a question I have had for sometime now, keeps popping into my mind: “With the very heavy battery at chassis level, to offset the higher roof, WHY can’t they build a vehicle that is as utilitarian as a typical SUV, but built for city & highway driving ONLY—with zero off-road capabilities—that drives, rides & handles almost identical to an EV luxury sedan?” I think they can do it and some company WILL do it. You heard it here first.

This EQS450 4-Matic is a somewhat basic example, but it does have the Hyperscreen, which my wife immediately took to, so that is a huge plus and I must admit that with the nav map, the huge screen really is impressive. The interior has too many hard surfaces and even if you get the Nappa leather, it’s not much better. Unfortunately, you cannot get the Exclusive Nappa as you can in the W223 and to me, the difference is day & night. Driving this late model MB has brought back my frustration with the steering wheel controls, warnings to adjust the steering wheel with the six dots, and—believe it or not—as I sat it the drivers seat, I could not get the door handle to extend for my approaching wife and I had to actually lean over and physically pull the interior door handle to let her in. I think these computer operated vehicles actually talk to each other and I guess my reputation proceeds me within the MB mainframe systems, so this vehicle was getting its licks in with me.

Anyway, things about the EQS SUV are impressive, but as available, it’s not for me. I might actually like the EQS Maybach, but it really is too gaudy & too expensive for me and if you want a black interior instead of some beige color, they make you buy a $25K upgrade package. Remember when “Basic Black” was the no cost, standard interior color? Geeze!

I will admit to being a naysayer regarding EV’s, mostly based of driving & riding in Tesla cars, which I never felt comfortable in. I felt the same way after test driving an EQS450+ sedan when they first came out. However, over the past few months, I have come to realize just how amazing electric propulsion can be when it is part of a vehicle that has been designed to ensconce the occupants in a very luxurious and ultra comfortable environment, such as the I7. Still thinking about that one.

 

OH, OH, and I forgot one more thing about the EQS SUV: For 2024, the brilliant minds at MB, probably only MBUSA, have made the Illuminated Running Boards standard equipment. Our daughter just loves the running boards on her GLS, but at 6’1”, I have always found the MB running boards to be uncomfortable to use, in the way and an absolute nuisance. It was never an issue before, as they have ALWAYS been optional. Now, even if I wanted a new EQS SUV, I’d be stuck with the running boards. Luxury is having something the way YOU want it, not the way some bean counter decides you SHOULD have it.

 

Agree, the XM is just a poor effort all around. Unlike the 7 the interior is even a let down.

@Streamliner , your thoughts are the same as mine. The EQS could have been great but really is a missed opportunity. What we need is a true EV S Class.

 

Isn’t possible to cancel their operation via the settings menu, in a way they won’t automatically extend?

 

I believe they are fixed and in no way retractable.

 

Check out the new Macan EV.

 

I’ve thought about it, but I just cannot imagine the Macan EV being all that comfortable. That said, I will try to test drive one.

Today, I give back my EQS450 4-Matic SUV and pick up my S560. I’m still impressed with the SUV. It comes SO close and could easily be SO much better. Why they didn’t offer customers the REALLY great options like Exclusive Nappa, 4D High End audio and—dare I say—a fabulous suspension option like MBC, who knows? I guess that as far as EV’s have come in just the last two or three years, they really are still in their “childhood,” if not in their infancy. I can’t help but believe we are in for amazingly incredible automotive innovations in the very near future—and they will be ELECTRIFYING!

 

I suppose I’m fully qualified as an old curmudgeon by now and I can appreciate those who prefer to have a vehicle with luxury. However I have always wondered if I was a minority of one who would like an S Class without all the “bells and whistles” and is just a “ Turnpike Cruiser”. For example, let’s remove the dozen or more electronic “do dads” that do nothing except lie in wait for their inevitable failure, electronic side shades and their like, ditto touch screens out, turbos, gone, run-flats gone. I’m not going so far as to put in a 6-speed manual, but the E350 I had built back in the day with a 5 speed was a treat. Take the money saved on “granny” options and put it in a special engine option with real long-life non-plastic lines, hoses and internals and configured to be worked on without Watson by your side. And, no, AMG engines are not even close at this point, way too many failures caused by cheap parts and requiring an engine-out to repair.

So you say, why don’t you just go somewhere else where this might be possible or step down a model. Well, fair point, but I’m 6’5” and I prefer a car where passengers can sit in the back an not feel like they’re on the way to a prison camp and I have this Mercedes bias about safety. I know how they’re built and I have much, much more experience than average on actual survival experiences with MB. If I’m going to be at risk with all the wackos on the road these days, I’m going to be in the three pointed star.

 

I would say you are clearly in the minority. If thats what their customers wanted, thats what they would make. The reality is most luxury buyers want technology and they want features.