The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV Gets Familiar Looks and 536 HP

 

Mercedes EQS: The star gives everything

While Tesla was despised by the competition half a decade ago, it is clear that the little thumb has now made quite a mess in the automotive world... Indeed, since the release of the Model 3 and the impact it had at the commercial level (but also and above all at the level of the capitalization of the brand which is now in full bubble), it is necessary to believe that all the brands were stung to the quick! Between various copies and the explosion in the number of electric cars (admittedly also driven by CO2 reduction objectives), we can say that Tesla has above all changed the automotive market through its influence and its ideas (more than through its sales in any case! ).

The original concept

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the existence of the Mercedes EQS, like the EQ lineage for that matter, is directly linked to the American brand. Who could have believed in such technical and stylistic metamorphoses of current Mercedes models? By establishing new codes, Tesla has freed up the historical brands which had more and more difficulty in renewing the very concept of the car (which was largely gathering dust). The answer was ultimately simple, it was simply necessary to cross between computers and cars, namely to digitize the human / machine interface and use the same fuel as our multimedia tools (from the lithium accumulator). And if it seems obvious today, it was Musk who dared to do it first (and by putting "all in"
German brands being used to "leading" the market, they seem to feel offended and humiliated by a small manufacturer coming out of nowhere.
More than an answer, we can say that Mercedes over-reacted to all this, the EQS being the ultimate proof. Indeed this model is not limited to being an electrified S-Class, it is downright a concentrate of all the energy that the brand could put into a model, probably even more than into a Project One...

The over-reaction is such that we cannot say that it is a competing model of the Model S, it is well above (price, services, size)! There is not even any competition against this kind of machine so to speak... The objective indeed seems to be to offer a car that surpasses everything that exists, with an excess that shows how much the brand has star had risen! For my part, I see it as a mark of weakness, because this over-reaction shows that the star was afraid (which is not a mark of confidence in itself).
5.21 meters, 108 kWh battery, digitalized dashboard to the maximum, the overbidding even becomes caricatural. So much so that one wonders what the commercial outlet will be, because apart from a few New Yorkers and wealthy Dubai residents living in large cities, it will not be easy to sell EQS. It therefore seems that this model is confined to remaining above all an image vehicle intended to prove the superiority of the brand (even if here we are talking more about one-upmanship than superiority ...), this in order to regain its letters of nobility.

Features

Several variations will be in the game, with two interiors: one that uses the instrumentation of the latest S-Class and another that offers this unprecedented three-screen dashboard.

The first two versions will have a choice of a 90 or 107.5 kWh battery, enough to cover 770 km for the largest according to Mercedes (so 500-550 terminals in reality in mixed at normal pace). It's tough even if it seems below what the future Model S Plaid and Cybertruck will offer at the top of the range. The Cx beats the Tesla models with no more than 0.2 of coefficient (however remains to know the sCx ...).

Style

With these unprecedented proportions, due to the loss of the constraints linked to thermal cars, we discover a very atypical style which is somewhat reminiscent in the mind of that of certain Rolls: very typical and statutory lines/proportions (playing on the disproportionate length of the bodies) and the bonnet/passenger compartment/overhang length ratio which differs from the usual bodies (not to mention the two-tone bodies typical of Rolls). Undoubtedly, the EQS marks the spirits with its very particular profile, but this one also helps a little with aerodynamics because of its shape which approaches that of a drop of water (which therefore remains optimal, although it can only be approached and not equaled for reasons of style).
On the other hand, we can largely rail against the stylistic choices at the level of the front and rear faces, with a glass grille typical of the EQ range. The latter simply has no aesthetic quality, because even if it remains subjective, at a certain stage it becomes objective!

The interior is faultless, both at the forefront without falling into the all-screen desktop monitor style. This is less the case for the entry-level version which integrates the screens less well (especially for the instrument cluster).
The quality of the materials is also less highlighted with all these flat and hard surfaces intended to incorporate digital panels, a trend that is becoming widespread.

Conclusion

As always Mercedes starts its new ranges from the top, it is still the case here where we can even say that we evolve at very high altitude... So much so that it is strange that it is not the Maybach badge which welcomed it (especially with the proposed two-tone livery). Would the star brand end up thinking that this coat of arms is bad luck?

The Maybach concept at Frankfurt 2017 showed us a bit of the way

This model is therefore not really intended to be sold, but rather to show us what we will find on the lower ranges. And if the EQA, EQB and EQC are still clumsy, it seems that we will end up seeing 100% electric platforms (and not the reuse of thermal platforms) more efficient and generous in kWh as is the case with this EQS. Because for the moment, what Mercedes offers us in all-electric is hardly very convincing in terms of efficiency and autonomy (in these precarious beginnings of public super-charging, it is more reassuring to have a large battery ), not to mention a dubious style that seems to clearly indicate the desire to limit the growth of this new segment.