Name: New Mercedes EQS models and Specifications
Brand: Mercedes

eqs-350-215kw-amg-line-premium-96kwh-4dr-auto

EQS 350 215kW

EQS 450+ 265kW

This is the entry-level trim, but it doesn’t feel it, which is just as well given how much it still costs. As standard, you get 20in alloy wheels, air suspension, a panoramic glass sunroof, keyless entry and start, heated front and rear seats, and electric adjustment for the front seats and steering wheel. Meanwhile, driver aids include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, a blind-spot monitoring system and a rear-view camera.

AMG Line

Business Class

Saloon

Mercedes’ line-up is vast – ranging from the A-Class family hatchback through to staple saloons such as the C-Class and E-Class, and onwards towards multiple SUVs, luxury saloons and even sports cars. Coupés and convertibles are thrown into the mix as well.

As one of the ‘big three’ German brands, Mercedes most often finds itself competing with Audi and BMW but more recently has found itself fending off Jaguar and Volvo, too.

Mercedes models are known for comfort. One example of this is the E-Class, because while the Audi A6 has a plusher interior and the BMW 5 Series handles better, the E-Class is probably the most comfortable for a long motorway journey.

MERCEDES-BENZ

EQS 450+ 265kW Business Class 118kWh 4dr Auto

eqs-450-265kw-business-class-118kwh-4dr-auto

EQS 350 215kW AMG Line Premium 96kWh 4dr Auto

EQS 350 215kW AMG Line Premium+ 96kWh 4dr Auto

EQS 350 215kW Business Class 96kWh 4dr Auto

eqs-350-215kw-business-class-96kwh-4dr-auto

EQS 450+ 265kW AMG Line Premium 118kWh 4dr Auto

eqs-450-265kw-amg-line-premium-118kwh-4dr-auto

EQS 450+ 265kW AMG Line Premium+ 118kWh 4dr Auto

Mercedes EQS

Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

The Mercedes EQS is significantly more expensive than the conventionally powered <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/s-class/saloon/review/n17355">Mercedes S-Class</a>&nbsp;so you’ll have to cover an awful lot of miles for it to pay off financially as a private buy.

On the other hand, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-company-cars/n22605">company car</a> drivers can massively reduce their <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/company-car-tax-guide/n9352">BIK tax bill</a> by choosing&nbsp;an <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/electric-cars/n17000">electric car</a>. Plus, the EQS is exempt from the London Congestion Charge, and will still be able to chauffeur people into city centres long after petrol rivals have been banned.

As a bonus, all EQS models come with a year’s worth of free rapid charging at Ionity stations, although these are nowhere near as widespread as <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/tesla-superchargers-everything-you-need-to-know/n26239">Tesla&nbsp;Superchargers</a>.&nbsp;

The 450+ and AMG 53 models both have&nbsp;a battery capacity of around 108kWh and can be charged at a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/fastest-charging-electric-cars/n26105">maximum charging rate</a> of 200kW, so they can be topped up from 10-80% in as little as 31 minutes. A 7.4kW <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-home-ev-chargers/n25830">home EV charger</a> will take their batteries from 10-100% in 15 hours 30 minutes.

While there are seven EQS trims to choose from (five for the 450+ and two for the AMG 53)&nbsp;we’d recommend sticking with the cheapest model, the 450+AMG Line. It&nbsp;comes with a long list of features, including 20in alloy wheels, a panoramic glass sunroof, keyless entry and start, heated front and rear seats, and ambient interior lighting with a choice of 64 colours.

Standard driver aids include automatic emergency braking (<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">AEB</a>), lane-keeping assist and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/what-is-cruise-control-and-should-you-have-it-on-your-next-car/n26822">adaptive cruise control</a>&nbsp;in addition to the blind-spot monitoring system and rear-view camera. What’s more, the EQS is one of the safest cars yet tested by <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n19724">Euro NCAP</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;not only receiving its maximum five-star rating, but also scoring more than 90% for adult and child occupant protection.

On the other hand, Mercedes didn’t perform particularly well in our 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/most-reliable-cars/n27337">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>&nbsp;– finishing 22nd out of 31&nbsp;brands.

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As is the norm with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/electric-cars/n17000">electric cars</a>&nbsp;the Mercedes EQS delivers near-instant acceleration when you put your foot down, but it doesn’t quite push you back into your seat like an <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/e-tron-gt/saloon/review/n22728">Audi E-tron GT</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i7/saloon/review/n25141">BMW i7</a>&nbsp;or a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/porsche/taycan/saloon/review/n20184">Porsche Taycan</a>.

Where the base models of those cars will hit 62mph from rest in around five seconds, the 450+ EQS takes 6.2 seconds. That's respectable, but not scintillating.&nbsp;

If you do want to be scintillated,&nbsp;take a look at the AMG 53, which delivers supercar-rivalling performance, with 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds. Even in Comfort mode, with just one its front motor&nbsp;pulling you forwards, it feels sprightly, but in Sport or Sport+ mode, with both motors in action, acceleration is truly savage.&nbsp;

While the EQS has plenty of grip in the bends, its steering is inconsistently weighted, the brakes are nonlinear and even the AMG 53 can’t shrug off its considerable weight in the way the E-tron GT and the Taycan do. This is a car that feels most at home cruising in a straight line.

At motorway speeds, wind, road and electric motor noise are kept to a minimum, and you can talk quietly and your passengers will hear you clearly. And in a&nbsp;city, this enormous <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/luxury-cars/n17020">luxury car</a> is more manoeuvrable than you'd expect thanks to the standard four-wheel steering. The back wheels can turn by up to 4.5 degrees on entry-level AMG Line trim and 10 degrees on higher-spec models.

Ride comfort&nbsp;is where the EQS stumbles. Its soft suspension is comfortable on a smooth motorway, but around town it lacks control, thumping and pinging off potholes and expansion joints. The i7 is simply in another league when it comes to smoothing out rough surfaces, as is a conventional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/s-class/saloon/review/n17355">Mercedes S-Class</a>.&nbsp;

As for electric range, the 450+ version's official figure is more than 450 miles, while the&nbsp;i7 can "only"&nbsp;manage 387 miles and the Taycan is limited to around 300 miles with its biggest battery option. The EQS AMG 53 has a very respectable 357-mile official range.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

http://example.com

eqs-350-215kw

eqs-450-265kw

It’s not just potential buyers of the Mercedes EQS who should be interested in reading this review, but rather every prospective Mercedes buyer for the next decade or more.

You see, S-badged Mercedes&nbsp;cars have always previewed dazzling new technology that will later filter down to cheaper models in the company's line-up – and the EQS luxury <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/electric-cars/n17000">electric car</a> continues that tradition.

In addition, while the&nbsp;EQA, EQB, EQC and EQV are also fully electric, they sit on modified underpinnings of petrol and diesel-engined Mercs, whereas the EQS (like the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/eqe/saloon/review/n25101">Mercedes EQE</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/eqs/estate/review/n25731">Mercedes EQS SUV</a>) is&nbsp;bespoke.

The EQS, then, is both a taste of the future and – in theory, at least – an example of what Mercedes engineers can do when they build a car without making any compromises.

Two variants are available. The EQS 450+ produces 328bhp and has an official range of more than 450 miles between charges. The more powerful EQS AMG 53 gets a whopping 649bhp for truly impressive performance, but its range&nbsp;is more modest.

Read on as we&nbsp;rate the Mercedes EQS in all the important areas against rivals including the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/e-tron-gt/saloon/review/n22728">Audi E-tron GT</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i7/saloon/review/n25141">BMW i7</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/porsche/taycan/saloon/review/n20184">Porsche Taycan</a>.

The Mercedes EQS gets an electrically adjustable driver’s seat as standard (including four-way lumbar adjustment) and a steering wheel that powers in and out, as well as up and down. Handily, the seat and wheel have memory functions to make it easy to restore your preferred settings if someone else drives the car.

Despite all that, the driving position isn’t as good as the one in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/s-class/saloon/review/n17355">Mercedes S-Class</a>. You sit closer to the floor in the EQS, which means your knees are higher relative to your hips, and your legs get less support from the seat base. Indeed, some of our testers suffered from cramp after an hour or so behind the wheel.

Visibility could be better too, with the EQS’s swoopy roofline and steeply raked windscreen pillars causing some issues. Fortunately, that's mitigated by the presence of front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera. A blind-spot monitoring system is included as standard too.

Directly in front of the driver, there’s a 12.3in digital driver's display&nbsp;that’s clear, easy to read and able to display a wide variety of information. It would be even more user-friendly if the control pads on the steering wheel were a little less sensitive. They allow you to switch between menus and control many of the car’s functions, but are too easy to hit accidentally.

Almost everything else is operated using a large, portrait-oriented&nbsp;touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard (it's almost identical to the S-Class's).

The menus are fairly easy to use after a bit of practice, and the system includes augmented-reality sat-nav (where the direction arrows appear to be on the road), and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a> and<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193"> Apple CarPlay</a> smartphone mirroring. You get a voice-control system designed to recognise natural commands, although it can be a bit hit and miss.

For more wow factor you can upgrade the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-car-infotainment-systems-tested-and-rated/n21269">infotainment system</a> to what&nbsp;Mercedes calls the Hyperscreen. This expensive option combines three screens spanning the dashboard – the driver’s display, a larger 17.7in touchscreen and a second, 12.3in touchscreen in front of the passenger.

When combined with the optional Mercedes Me service, the Hyperscreen allows the driver and front passenger to be logged into different profiles, and allows the passenger to use the internet, arrange their personal calendar or adjust certain car settings. To help minimise distractions to the driver, the passenger screen only switches on when the EQS detects someone in the seat – the rest of the time it appears as a&nbsp;clock.

Hyperscreen doesn’t fix the issue of the EQS having no physical buttons or dials to adjust the climate control and other settings, which is fiddlier than it could be. The layout results in the driver’s instrument panel being positioned at an awkward angle, so the steering wheel obstructs the top section of the screen if it’s set too low.

The infotainment in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i7/saloon/review/n25141">BMW i7</a> is far less distracting to use because you can control it using the iDrive dial between the front seats.

The interior of the EQS is rather glamorous thanks to the big screens, piano-black trim and ambient lighting, but it doesn’t as well screwed together as you'd hope.

The drive mode selectors on the steering wheel wobble when pushed, the window switches don’t feel particularly well damped&nbsp;and the ambient lighting row on the doors and dashboard of our press car&nbsp;don’t line up correctly. The i7 feels&nbsp;better made inside.

The EQS is an impressive electric luxury car with a good range but interior space and quality are a bit underwhelming

The Mercedes EQS is a big, wide car, and that translates into generous space upfront, despite its swoopy roofline.

While it’s roomier in the rear than the<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/e-tron-gt/saloon/review/n22728"> Audi E-tron GT</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/porsche/taycan/saloon/review/n20184">Porsche Taycan</a> it’s not as relaxing as the<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/s-class/saloon/review/n17355"> Mercedes S-Class</a> or <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i7/saloon/review/n25141">BMW i7</a> to travel in the back of, because the EQS’s standard rear seats place you in an oddly upright position.

Mercedes does offer an optional Rear Seat Comfort Package, which brings individually reclining seats with a wide range of massage programmes. However, the bases are still rather short and lacking in support.

The EQS has a hatchback-style tailgate, which makes it easier to load up with bulky luggage than the e-tron GT, the S-Class, the i7 or the Taycan. The boot is a useful shape, and its 610-litre capacity gives you 60 litres more volume than the S-Class, and far more than the E-tron GT and Taycan boots.

We can’t imagine many people will use their EQS for trips to Ikea or the local recycling centre, but if you do have such duties in mind, you’ll be pleased to know that the rear seat backs fold down in a versatile 40/20/40 split.

If practicality is a priority, take a look at our review of the closely related <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/electric-suvs/n23038">electric SUV</a> model, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/eqs/estate/review/n25731">Mercedes EQS SUV</a>.

OUR PICK

amg-line

business-class

The Mercedes EQS impresses when it comes to range and refinement, but it doesn’t quite live up to its "electric S-Class" billing. Not only does it not ride as well as a traditional S-Class but it also suffers from cramped rear seats and an average interior quality. So while there's no denying that its long range and zero emissions make it an alluring choice for business users, the same can be said for the BMW i7. And that car makes no compromises when it comes to comfort. 

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test </li> <li>Quick charging times and compatibility with the most ubiquitous types of public charging points </li> <li>Priced to be within the grasp of more than just the privileged few </li> <li>As with any car, ride comfort, practicality and ownership costs can’t be ignored</li></ul>

We define an electric car as one that runs purely on battery power and has no tailpipe to puff out nasty chemicals.

The best of the breed offer sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test cycle.

Electric

<h2>What we're looking for </h2><ul><li>Long range and ultra-fast charging capability</li> <li>Luxurious and comfortable interior</li> <li>Smooth ride and capable handling</li> <li>Lots of high-tech driver aids</li> <li>Strong performance and great refinement</li></ul>

Large Electric

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plush ride and the ability to cruise in near-silence </li> <li>Powerful and efficient engine</li> <li>Space for passengers to stretch out in the rear seats</li> <li>Exquisite materials and build quality</li> <li>Endless luxuries on the options list</li> <li>Sensible fuel and tax bills</li></ul>

If you’re in the market for a luxury car, you’ll be after a sumptuous interior, a ride that can soak up the worst of the UK’s pockmarked roads and supreme refinement that allows you to travel at speed in near-silence.

Mercedes EQS review

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