Mercedes-Benz EQS

Yahoo

09-05-2025

The limousine class has long been something of a technological vanguard for the automotive industry, and in one respect in particular – when it comes to the provision of outright electric range in EVs - it's preserving that status.
Some of the competitors of the updated Mercedes-Benz EQS – the subject of this road test – really are pushing the envelope when it comes to squeezing mileage into a big four-door saloon. The UK market may still be waiting for right-hand-drive versions of them, but for the past two years the Lucid Air has been offering North American buyers a range in excess of 500 miles, while China's Nio ET7, with its 150kWh semi-solid-state battery, has become the first electric production car to be certified for more than 1000km (621 miles) of range on a single charge.
So there's pressure on the likes of the EQS to keep up. Introduced in 2021, this was Stuttgart's memorable bid to respond to the Tesla Model S and successfully electrify much of its S-Class customer base. It has thus far failed to do that, consistently being outsold by its more traditional sibling, with global demand for both cars slackening far enough for their shared production line at Sindelfingen to dial down output from two shifts a day to only one.
Stand by to find out just how Mercedes has sought to boost this electric saloon's fortunes by bolstering its power reserves.
The main development to the EQS for the 2025 model year concerns battery capacity. Where previously there was only one, there are now two nickel-manganese-cobalt packs offered: the larger one extending to 118kWh of usable capacity, and the smaller one offering 96kWh and being fitted exclusively to the entry-level 350 model.
For the bigger battery, that's a hike of a little under 10% compared with what the car was launched with and raises its WLTP combined range to as high as 481 miles, depending on the model and optional equipment. Estimated by the North American EPA test cycle to be worth only 390 miles, however, that won't be enough to worry the likes of Lucid too much, but it's progress all the same – and about as much as any EV maker is likely to achieve at a mid-life facelift.
We opted to test an upper-trim Business Class version of the EQS 450+, which is a single-motor EV driven by a 356bhp, permanent magnet synchronous motor mounted adjacent to the rear axle. It's slightly more powerful than the equivalent launch model but still less potent than key competitors even in single-motor form. The Business Class trim adds 22in alloy wheels to the car, whose rolling resistance knocks the claimed range down a little, to 446 miles.
Like Mercedes' other bigger EVs, the EQS sits on the firm's EVA platform, and gets adaptive air suspension underneath front double-wishbone and rear multi-link axles. Four-wheel steering features as standard on all EQS derivatives, but on our test car its rear-wheel manipulation is up to 10deg – two or three times what similar systems from other manufacturers offer.
Our test car weighed 2608kg on the proving ground scales: slightly under Mercedes' official claim for it, but still likely to have at least as significant an impact on its true range and efficiency as the EQS's much-touted 0.20 drag coefficient.
There was plenty about the design of the EQS that, when the car first came along in 2021, made it seem like a tellingly direct riposte to the Tesla Model S – an EV that had been eating into S-Class sales in the US for several years.
But nothing did more so than Mercedes' Hyperscreen infotainment system, which made it look as if the car's entire fascia had been replaced by one gigantic touchscreen. Four years ago, of course, this was an optional feature, whereas now every EQS gets this system as standard. And, while you can decrease the brightness of the three display screens of which it is comprised, or turn at least two of them off entirely, its glare is certainly considerable when all are lit – and then exacerbated by that of the cabin's ambient light features, which can pulse and glow in different colours when the right setting is selected.
It's more than enough to mark this car out, for better or worse and in fully unapologetic terms, as a limousine for the digital age: a jilted lover's letter, clearly, to all those Mercedes S-Class exiles running a Model S. The rest of the EQS's cabin layout is more traditional, however, with a default four-seater passenger configuration and a big armrest console between the rear passengers that houses a removable tablet-style touchscreen remote for the car's main multimedia system and can be folded away to create an additional third back seat.
In the front, the driving position offers plenty of leg and elbow room, though it's tighter around your head, especially when getting in. The front seat and primary control layout are both very good, however; the former having abundant adjustment potential and all the expected heating and massage options.
In the back, Mercedes' optional Rear Seat Comfort Plus package matches the comfort level of the front seats. The reclining rear seat on the passenger side, which has a seat cushion that extends by 50mm and a floor-mounted footrest, isn't quite a 'sleeping seat' but would seem to offer at least some use for long-distance lounging. Unfortunately, Mercedes didn't fit that option to our test car, whose back seats were certainly spacious, luxurious and comfortable but didn't match the BMW i7 we tested in 2023 for first-class transatlantic passenger comfort (Mercedes does offer something comparable on its Maybach S-Class and GLS, and on the Maybach EQS SUV, it claims).
Boot space, however, is surprisingly good – with a liftback-style hatchback rear end granting very easy access to a particularly long loading volume in excess of 600 litres. If you were to undertake a long touring trip with plenty of luggage, the EQS would certainly be well prepared in that respect.
As imposing as it is, the EQS's Hyperscreen multimedia system isn't difficult to get on with. You can use the 'D-pad' controller on the left-hand spoke of the steering wheel as a cursor controller to navigate it if you prefer that to direct touchscreen input; there are physical menu shortcuts close to your left hand, to jump between important menu screens (ADAS, charging, parking cameras etc); and Mercedes provides an excellent top-level 'zero layer' navigation that's only ever one touch away.
That the car's ventilation controls are screen-based is a little irksome, but they are permanently displayed, accessible and not fiddly. There's also a permanent toggle button to turn off the speed alarm. The navigation system is easy to program, via your voice or fingertip input, and also easy to follow, with good support to find charging stations.
In the back row, meanwhile, our test car came with the MBUX rear-seat entertainment system, which grafts on a pair of 11.6in displays to the front seatbacks, as well as wireless headphones. Between these and the removable tablet remote, you can assume command of the car's main multimedia system from the back row, or select and stream your own entertainment online, with options for HDMI input from external devices as well.
As the middle-rung version of three EQS derivatives, with a dual-motor Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 version above it, the EQS 450+ has a well-judged performance level. It's not quite quick enough to feel like it's interested in playing to a sporting crowd, but it nonetheless meets a limousine's typical dynamic brief with a bit in hand. And its drivability is not only good but has improved over the past four years.
Our test car had chilly but dry test conditions. It addresses the road in a controlled, comfortable way even under full power, building up to full torque at least a little gradually from rest, and not even flirting with wheelspin. You can see that in our performance numbers, with 0-60mph taking about a second longer than 30-70mph or 50-80mph (modern EVs often show remarkable direct proportionality in these performance numbers).
Out on the road, however, the car motivates its mass very assuredly, and has the power in reserve you would expect of an expensive luxury option, whether for overtaking, climbing or just hurrying along when called to.
Mercedes provides paddle-shift control of regenerative braking, and this isn't linked to the selected drive mode, so the setting is always how you like it and as you left it. It works nicely both as an extra route towards driver involvement and to reassure you that you're driving as efficiently as possible, rather than wasting energy in unnecessary regen and acceleration, when range may be limited.
We were also impressed with the car's battery management – particularly that it showed little performance deterioration at low charge and didn't wilt in intensive running – and with its brake pedal feel, which gave a clear, tactile impression of the handover between regenerative and friction braking.
All EQS models get Mercedes' Driving Assistance Package Plus as standard, which gives them the full suite of active lane keeping, steering assistance and speed monitoring systems. As part of a feature new for the European market, it can now also use its various forwards- and rearwards-facing cameras to automatically overtake slower-moving vehicles on multi-lane highways, assuming it's safe to do so, although this isn't yet enabled for UK cars for legal reasons.
The assistance systems are simple to enable and disable via an easily accessed shortcut menu. The AEB system is well tuned and unintrusive around town, although it can be over-sensitive when manoeuvring. It intervened unnecessarily on two occasions when reversing, slamming on the brakes rather unpleasantly.
The EQS is certainly a big saloon car and yet, much of the time, at low speeds especially, it really doesn't handle like one. That's how the impact of its unusually bold four-wheel steering system is felt, which in an objective sense certainly makes for remarkably wieldy manoeuvrability for such a big car and short work indeed of getting in and out of parking spaces and executing three-point turns.
The system's subjective appeal is a little more complex. There is certainly some artificiality in the way the chassis' responsiveness picks up at very low speeds. When you pull out of a junction on full lock, or sweep into a driveway, the way the rear axle can suddenly seem to pivot around behind you can put you in mind of shopping trolley handling a little too clearly.
But it's a short-lived phenomenon, because at greater speed there's certainly no undermining this car's handling security or high-speed stability. It continues to steer through a light, filtered steering rack, which has just enough heft to suit its pacy directness off-centre.
The car is fairly softly sprung, as you would expect of a limousine, and while it maintains good lateral body control when cornering, it can begin to run short of control of pitch and heave near the national speed limit on country roads. Here, Sport mode better supports the car's considerable bulk than Comfort, and makes it more composed and steady, and though it means sacrificing a little ride isolation, better vertical body control can also make for better overall ride comfort here.
Our EQS 450+ test car had really impressive ride isolation on better surfaces. In this respect, the car feels like it has been refined and improved quite a lot since its introduction four years ago. Even on 22in wheels, it kept a commendably quiet cabin (58dBA at a 50mph cruise, compared with 60dBA for the BMW i7 xDrive60 M Sport and 61dBA for the Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid).
That hushed sense of distance from the road surface underneath you isn't quite ever-present, however. While they're less commonly occurring than in those early cars we drove several years ago, occasional thumps and jitters from the axles do still suggest the secondary ride isn't as perfectly controlled and resolved as it might be, and the quicker you go, the more common these incidences get.
Smaller wheels might help mitigate the phenomenon and soften the ride, as unlikely as modern Mercedes buyers may be to opt for them. But while Sport mode does evidently ramp up damping rates and better controls wheel movements, neither it nor Comfort can quite deliver the world-class out-of-town ride you would hope for here.
The EQS range now opens with an entry price just under £100,000, and extends to the far side of £200k for a range-topping Maybach 680 model. And that's broadly in line with what BMW charges for an i7.
With the addition of the 350 entry-level model and the improvement in standard equipment across the range, moreover, Mercedes can justifiably say it has made the car better value than it was originally – making it less prone to being undercut by emerging electric car brands and without, quite clearly, taking an axe to prices anywhere.
Having a 400V electrical architecture, the EQS also remains a little vulnerable to attack from those brands on rapid-charging speed. It hit a weighted average charging speed of 135kW, which puts it only just inside the top 15 results we have recorded since 2022. It's not an awful outcome: but a sub-£50,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5 charges quicker, which could be a problem for Mercedes.
A fairly creditable UK motorway touring efficiency of 2.6mpkWh (this is a big car, remember) makes for just over 300 miles of long-distance range – better than our BMW i7 xDrive 60 M Sport test car managed in 2023, though not by a huge margin. Perhaps not the sort of range that's likely to give Mercedes too many bragging rights, either.
Mercedes' efforts to accelerate the EQS towards greater commercial success in later life have certainly had a positive effect on the car. There are now moments of real accomplishment about its refinement and manoeuvrability, and the authoritative performance and excellent drivability you would expect of a luxury car. It is also now capable of more than 300 motorway miles on a charge, even in wintry conditions.
However, still higher levels of comfort, and much bigger strides in terms of efficiency and real-world range, are needed to conjure the aura of effortless superiority you would associate with 'an electric S-Class'. The technological razzmatazz of a 21st-century luxury icon certainly isn't in short supply. But the matching gravitas, substance and true sophistication remain slightly elusive.
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