We recently tested the Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid, and found it delightful, efficient and affordable. It’s pretty much the very affordable end of the electrification movement right now. In the middle, we have vehicles like the Volvo C40 recharge – bringing great fun and style at a slightly elevated price.
And finally, we have the premium EVs, which are growing by huge amounts. BMW, Mercedes and Audi are already experienced players in this sandbox. So, what’s state of the art EV Luxury look like today? That’s what we wondered, and that’s why we’re testing the 2023 Mercedes EQS. Let’s take a look!
Sophisticated and Low Key
This is a handsome vehicle that looks modern and fresh, while staying conversative and low key.
Sharing the chassis with the new EQE sedan, this is a large vehicle, with enough wheelbase for Mercedes to fit in three rows of seats.
Up front, there’s a massive grille-like area that Mercedes calls a “black panel” unit. We do love the three-dimensional star pattern that references the original star of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft company (impress your friends!), which was registered as a trademark in 1911 – pure Mercedes and looks elegant. The LED headlights are connected by a light band that runs the width of the front, while lower grille-style shapes add to an aggressive look.
The profile is sleek, with a sharply-raked A Pillar, and a high shoulder line that gives off a snug, sporty vibe, while fender flares add some visual muscle, along with some black cladding around the wheel arches. Helping to fill out the wheel wells on our tester were optional 21-inch AMG multi-spoke wheels. As large as those are, it looks like there’s plenty of room if you’d want to go even larger! One thing that stands out – literally – are the power door handles that glide out for you to grab on entry and pull in flush when you drive off or lock up. Fancy!
The rear is conservative, like the front, with a simple taillight band that sweeps the width of the vehicle, with a slight push-in of the rear hatch giving some visual depth. A contrasting lower fascia adds some SUV-ness, with two chrome areas that look exhaust ports…but of course, being and EV, it hasn’t got any!
Impossibly Luxurious
Inside is a jaw dropper.
Open the door, and the first thing that hits you is the sheer space – this is a large vehicle, and the EV platform emphasizes the lower floor, while the SUV body means plenty of headroom. Mercedes continues to be a leader in both design and quality of materials, and although this is not an inexpensive vehicle, you feel the money is well spent, with a mix of Space Grey leather, offset with Natural Grain Brown Magnolia that’s just a delight to the eye. Echoing the pattern on the front of the vehicle, the wood trim features Mercedes Benz Stars trim that just adds that perfect elegance you’d expect in a 5-star resort.
And any resort will give you the spa treatment – that includes massaging front seats, and on our tester an Executive Rear Seat Package, which included wireless charging, comfort headrests, and armrest with MBUX Tablet. Limousine comfort with loads of room. Our tester had the optional 3rd row seats, and really, they’re for kids only, and you’re tight for luggage space with them up. Drop that third row, however and you’ve got loads of room. You can also power lower the 2nd row and have a huge carrying capacity. With such a beautiful interior it’s hard to imagine someone loading plywood sheets or mulch, but it will easily swallow up to 4 bags of golf clubs with the rear seats down – the EQS is capable!
Back up front, you have a full digital display. If you’ve seen some commercials, you probably know that the EQS offers a 56-inch hyperscreen that spans across the entire dashboard, even giving the front passenger their own touchscreen. It looks amazing – well in the ads, since our tester didn’t have it.
Frankly we didn’t feel like we missed out. The standard 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and 12.8-inch OLED portrait display tablet are gorgeous, and set up and use is simple. Okay, we’d like a volume knob, but everything works seamlessly and easily. Another nice feature, instead of flipping through numerous pages, there are a few short cuts for key items like climate control, driver modes, etc. Better yet, you can just say “Hey Mercedes” and voice control many of the key features – even things like turning on the seat heaters, calling up media, etc.
Of course, being a Mercedes, we were spoiled with goodies, including an incredible sounding Burmeister Surround system – the speaker covers themselves are a work of art – panorama moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats, power 2nd row seats, MBUX augmented reality for Navigation and 64-color Ambient Lighting.
We also loved the Energizing Air Control Plus, the system is based on filtration, sensors, a display concept and air conditioning. The HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter has a very high filtration level to trap fine particles, micro particles, pollen and other substances entering with the outside air. Our tester always smelled sweet – like fresh linen when we got in. Resort, indeed!
The Promise of EV, delivered.
Driving also raises the bar.
Mercedes serves up two recipes for EV excitement here, the EQS 450 like our tester features a 355-horsepower motor with a massive 590 lb.-ft of torque. If you feel the need for super speed, there’s an EQS 580 with 536 hp, and 633 lb.-ft of torque. Wow!
Honestly, we were more than satisfied with the 450 – power is plentiful, and off the line all that torque makes for very rapid getaway, with no-muss and no fuss. It is simply limousine quiet and composed.
That passes over to the ride as well, with standard Airmatic Air damping suspension that keeps things buttery smooth, and adjustable ride height to help when you are going where the roads (or curbs) are less than perfectly smooth. Yes, you probably could do some light off-roading in the EQS, but we doubt many buyers will.
What they will do is negotiate traffic, shopping malls, freeways and more, and here, the EQS has some great tricks, the adaptive suspension can firm up for more invigorating driving that makes the big SUV surprisingly responsive and light to the touch. Another cool feature is rear axle steering – just enough to give the EQS quick responses and help scooting into tight parking spaces. And when it comes to parking, the 360-degree overhead parking view on the monitor makes it super easy.
One interesting fact was that although the press materials and website say our EQS should have a range between 285-305 miles. But our tester showed over 350 when fully charged. Not sure if it was an over-achiever or there was some spec anomaly – we’ll just say that you get plenty of range. Charging is excellent, with speeds up to 200 kW, you can get from 10 to 80 percent in just 31 minutes when hooked up to a compatible DC fast charger. Enough time to grab a quick lunch or workout!
If you have to ask…
Well, yes, we do. But in the rarified air of super luxury EV’s, the EQS strikes us as good value.
Our EQS 450 4MATIC started at $107,400. And like most European brands, you have a wide range of alluring options to make the vehicle just the way you like. Our tester had the Pinnacle Trim, which includes those lovely massaging front seats for $3,150, the Executive Rear Seat Package for $2,000, the AMG-Line Exterior Package for $2,200, and a list of goodies too long to include, but included everything from a 110V household charging cable to 21-inch AMG wheels, third row seats and more. Add in $1,150 for Destination, and we rang the bell at a cool $122,140.
If you don’t need that third row, the Audi e-tron would be on our shopping list. Coming in around $85,000, you still get a lot of prestige and European panache. The Genesis Electrified GV70 is a stylish choice and gives off a great luxury impression for a mere $75,000. Again, it’s a bit smaller, and in the Genesis, your range is around 200 miles which is significantly less. For pure prestige, it’s hard to beat a Benz.
Pure Mercedes-Benz luxury, quality, and effortless EV performance with great range, the 2023 Mercedes EQS 450+ SUV is EV motoring at its finest!
Ben Lewis grew up in Chicago, and after spending his formative years driving sideways in the winter – often intentionally – moved to sunny Southern California. He now enjoys sunny weather year-round — whether it is autocross driving, aerobatics, and learning to surf.