2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS first drive review: Defining a segment
The upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS sets a high bar bar for large luxury EVs. A really, really high bar.
It's not every day a new car launch defines a segment. Most releases offer incremental improvements, minor tweaks and evolutions that move a vehicle class forward, maybe slightly outpacing the competition. But it's rare that something comes out that is truly defining a green field.
That's exactly what the Mercedes-Benz EQS is doing. This will be the first truly premium luxury electric sedan on the market, something striking at the luxe levels established by the S-Class. Nothing else on sale today or in the past offers the same mix of luxury, performance and range as this car. It will be one in a category of one.
If competition makes you better, it might be easy to think that a car with no rivals might be pretty mediocre. After spending a day behind the wheel of the EQS, I can assure you that it's nothing of the sort.
The details
For the full breakdown of the stats I'd advise you head on over to my first (virtual) ride report, which is full of numbers. But as a quick refresher, the EQS features a 107.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack offering an impressive 480 miles of range on the European WLTP test cycle. We don't know how it'll fare on the notoriously more difficult EPA cycle, but expect numbers closer to 400 miles.
The rear-wheel-drive flavor will feature a single electric motor at the back putting down 329 horsepower, while the dual-motor version you see pictured here makes 516 hp and 406 pound-feet of torque. And yes, all that power is ready for you from a standstill. Throttle response doesn't get better than an EV.
200-kilowatt charging means 186 miles of range can be added in just 15 minutes, so this is a car that not only will go a long, long way before needing juice, but will be ready to go again in the time it takes you to make a personal pit stop. Road trip? Yes, please.
A start button? How quaint.
Startup
It's a real luxury to have a door opened for you. Sure, opening a door isn't hard, closing one isn't much more of a challenge, but having it done for you sure is nice. Many owners of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class have people to do this for them. On the EQS, no personal assistants are required.
Like in the Tesla Model X, approach the sedan with the key fob in your pocket and the EQS will automatically pop the door for you. Slot in and step on the brake pedal, and it swings to a close. It is awfully nice -- when it works. I'd say in my day of testing I had a 30% success rate of having the door pop before I needed to reach for the door handle. But this is still a preproduction car, so I'm sure that will improve.
You still need to push on a start/stop button to turn the car on, something an increasing number of EVs have ditched. But beyond that, you'll be hard-pressed to find another button in the joint. It's capacitive all the way. From the volume control on the center console to even the overhead sun shade, damn near everything is controlled with a touch or a swipe.
Interestingly, the seat controls on the doors are still the traditional, physical Mercedes-Benz units, and thankfully there's still a drive mode selector stalk to the right of the steering wheel as well. But the most noticeable thing inside the car is that massive, amazing 56-inch Hyperscreen that stretches from gauge cluster to passenger compartment. It's actually three separate OLED displays stitched together to create a really remarkable effect.
More importantly, the layout is very well done, meaning you can toggle between navigation and media and settings quickly and easily. There's enough real estate here to leave commonly used controls floating above the map, and the car is smart enough to suggest what you might want to do. Always reach for the seat heater when you plop yourself down in the driver's seat? The car will figure it out and pop up a shortcut for you.
The rear-seat infotainment system is also connected, so you can share media and destinations from wherever you are. It's impressively well-integrated, but not as impressive as the massive heads-up display hiding on top of the dash.
The HUD seems to take up half of the windscreen and, while it offers you the typical speed and cruise control information, it uses augmented reality tech to make navigation a breeze. The system paints blue arrows over your next turn, which makes escaping from New York in the middle of rush hour a breeze. One missed turn in Manhattan at the wrong time can cost you an hour of your life, and thanks to the giant floating arrows, there's never a question about exactly where to go.
Having an augmented reality HUD is a real help when trying to escape the island of Manhattan during rush hour.
Driving
One area where I'm not quite so confident is the EQS's so-called intelligent regen mode. Here, the car relies on its sensors to adjust the amount of regenerative braking that is applied when you lift off the throttle. If you're out cruising down a hill, it'll let the car coast. If you're in traffic, however, it'll automatically ramp it up to make sure you stop in time -- even if the cruise control is disabled.
For me, a day behind the wheel isn't enough for me to learn to trust this system. On a few occasions the car didn't recognize traffic ahead of me, which sent me diving for the brakes. I much prefer to use the left paddle on the steering wheel to dial up maximum regen. This is a proper, one-pedal driving mode, which is what I like.
Toggling driving modes is just as easy, thanks to a pair of (yes, capacitive) arrows on the center console. Dial it up to Sport and the EQS is properly, remarkably quick off the line, surging forward with more alacrity than an AMG S-Class. Sure, an unbridled S63 will just keep going and going on the autobahn, but for spurts between traffic lights the EQS feels like an electric rocket ship.
Tap the arrow a few more times and the EQS slinks into Comfort mode, where it's just as supple and comfortable as an S-Class. It is, however, even quieter. This is truly a serene environment, and a superb soundstage for the 15-speaker, 710-watt Burmester sound system.
What mysteries lurk beneath that camo?
Questions remain
Despite this still being a preproduction prototype, I'm blown away by the EQS. This is a car the world's been waiting on for years, but it still exceeds my expectations. That said, there are still a few flies buzzing around that could spoil the soup.
For one thing, there isn't a formal EPA rating yet, and that'll be important to see how the EQS really stacks up against other EVs. Right now, I'll just say this car has more than enough range to banish anxiety.
More importantly, the EQS' price is still TBD. If it's a massive premium over a comparably equipped S-Class, that may turn off some buyers. And finally, the exterior design is still a big question mark. From what I can tell looking at the still-camouflaged prototype, expect something a bit more... humble than that bodacious EQS concept. Still, Mercedes-Benz says the EQS will be the most aerodynamic car on the road when it launches, with a 0.20 coefficient of drag.
All told, I can't wait to see the final thing.
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