Mercedes-Benz EQS Review 2024

The Mercedes EQS is the German brand peacocking its electric car expertise. In many ways, it's one of the best electric vehicles you can buy, with an impressive range and little in the way of compromise. Its high list price means it'll be out of reach for many of us – but it does preview some of the tech we'll soon be seeing in more affordable electric cars like the upcoming Mercedes EQE.

Locking horns with the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan, the Mercedes EQS is a luxurious electric car with a six-figure price tag. Even the most affordable Mercedes EQS 450+ AMG Line is around £102,000. If you want a fast one (that's the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53), it'll cost you more than £157,000.

Still, what would you expect for a car that's basically an electric S-Class? With its 108kWh battery, the EQS has a range of up to 453 miles (depending on which model you go for), while it can be charged at speeds of up to 200kW. That means plugging in for just 15 minutes will add around 186 miles of extra range.

Unlike its competitors, the Mercedes EQS doesn't try to be sporty. The Mercedes EQS 450+ doesn't even try to be that fast – it'll schlep to 62mph in 6.2 seconds. Quick enough for surprising a hot hatch, but a Tesla accelerates with a little more urgency.

The pleasure comes from sitting back and letting the EQS do its thing. It totally isolates you from the outside; it's impossible not to feel utterly relaxed after a long journey in the EQS. The ride quality is impressive for a heavy electric vehicle, while flicking to one of the sportier drive modes sharpens up the handling (although it's never going to be as agile as the Porsche Taycan).

Rear-wheel steering is standard across the range (although the wheels turn more on pricier models), so it's actually quite easy to negotiate a tight car park in the EQS. There's lots of other technology on hand to make your life easier, too, including surround-view cameras and automatic emergency braking systems.

The cabin is divine. Incredibly comfortable, while the infotainment is suitably futuristic for a flagship electric car. You can even get a hyperscreen display running across the width of the dashboard.

It's also surprisingly practical. We say 'surprisingly'... it clearly isn't a small car, so obviously that translates to lots of room inside. But there's more room for rear-seat passengers than in an Audi e-tron GT. And its hatchback boot opening makes loading easier – you can even drop the rear seats for those Ikea trips.

The Mercedes EQS is one of the most useable, most luxurious and most impressive electric cars we've driven. It's impossible to ignore how stupendously expensive it is but, if you're ready to make the jump into an EV and nothing less than the best will do, the Mercedes EQS is a pretty convincing choice.

Measuring in at more than five metres long, you'd be right to assume the Mercedes EQS is quite a spacious car. There's certainly loads of space in the front, while rear-seat passengers will be treated to the kind of luxurious treatment you'd expect in a car like this. Headroom and legroom are both plentiful, while the optional rear luxury lounge package adds electrically-adjustable reclining rear seats for the ultimate in VIP comfort.

It also has a big boot, capable of carrying 610 litres of luggage (or 1770 litres if you drop the rear seats). With its wide opening, it's more useable than the Audi e-tron GT, but the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is ultimately more versatile. Unlike a Tesla Model S, you won't find a useful storage compartment underneath the bonnet, but you can always stash your charging cables away under the false boot floor.

While a Tesla Model S might be slightly more practical than the Mercedes EQS, the German car wins easily when it comes to interior quality. It feels exceptionally well made, while there are plenty of soft-touch materials and pleasant finishes. There's no hard or flimsy plastic to be found anywhere in the cabin.

The Mercedes EQS comes as standard with a large 12.8-inch touchscreen display on the dashboard. It's an easy system to use with fast responses, sharp graphics and intuitive menu layouts. Sure, things like the climate control buttons are incorporated into the infotainment, but they're not particularly distracting to use on the move. And you can always just shout 'hey Mercedes' to wake up the clever voice-activated personal assistant.

There's also a 12.3-inch digital display behind the steering wheel, as well as a head-up display projecting useful data onto the windscreen – including clever augmented-reality navigation directions in the form of arrows pointing in the direction you need to go.

For the ultimate in futuristic infotainment, the optional hyperscreen is a huge touchscreen display running along the width of the dashboard. It gives your passenger something to play with, while really giving the cabin an extra element of wow factor.

From launch, the Mercedes EQS 450+ AMG Line is the entry-level model in the range, with a price tag of £102,160. That's a lot of money, especially as you can pick up an Audi e-tron for a more affordable (it's all relative...) £82,865 or a Porsche Taycan for £72,850. A diesel Mercedes S-Class could be yours for around £83,000.

A budget of £109,160 will get you a Mercedes EQS 450+ AMG Line Premium or Luxury model, while you'll need £116,160 for an EQS AMG Line Premium Plus or Exclusive Luxury.

The high performance Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4Matic is even pricier, with a list price of £157,160 in both Night Edition or Touring guises.

Both the Mercedes EQS 450+ and Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 use the same 108kWh battery pack. Plug the car in at home (using a 7kW home wallbox) and it'll take around 15 hours to fully charge, costing around £20 (depending on your home electricity tariff). You can charge the Mercedes EQS by plugging it into a three-pin socket, but it'll take about two days to charge it fully.

A 50kW rapid charger will top the EQS up from 0 to 80 per cent in around two hours, while the fastest rate it can be charged (if you can find a suitable charger) is 200kW. That'll top the EQS up to 80 per cent in around half an hour.

Official WLTP range figures for the Mercedes EQS range from 358 miles (for the AMG EQS 53) to an impressive 453 miles (for the EQS 450+ AMG Line). In an attempt to rival Tesla's excellent Supercharger network, Mercedes provides a three-year free subscription to Mercedes me Charge with the EQS. This gives you access to green charging from many public charging providers, including a one-year subscription to IONITY with free rapid charging. That'll save you a pretty penny if you regularly charge away from home.

Electricity costs aside, the running costs of the EQS ought to be pretty low. There's no VED (road tax) to pay, for example. Watch out for insurance, though – EVs can be pricier than equivalent petrol or diesel models to insure, and the EQS is in insurance group 50.

Although the Mercedes EQS can't completely hide its fairly monumental dimensions, it does have a few tricks up its sleeve to help. One of the most impressive of which is the rear wheels, which can turn up to 4.5-degrees on entry-level AMG Line models and 10 degrees on higher-spec versions. It still doesn't have the turning circle of a London taxi, but it does help when you're trying to tackle a tight car park.

Out on the open road, the Mercedes EQS feels softer than the Porsche Taycan, with slightly wallowier body control and light steering. It handles bumps in the road well for a heavy electric car while you can always fiddle about with the drive modes if you'd prefer it felt a little sharper.

We've only sampled the Mercedes EQS 450+, which sends power exclusively to the rear wheels. There's loads of grip, though, and even giving it a boot full out of a damp junction isn't a recipe for spinning into the landscape.

You can currently buy the Mercedes EQS with the choice of two powertrains. The first is the Mercedes EQS 450+, which uses a single electric motor to produce 333PS. It's quick enough – but not stupendously so – accelerating to 62mph from a standstill in 6.2 seconds. In typical electric vehicle form, though, this feels effortless. Torque is available from the second you touch the accelerator... you don't have to wait for the revs to build or for the automatic gearbox to drop down a cog, it just goes.

If you want a Mercedes EQS that's going to impress your Tesla-driving mates, you'll need to the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4Matic+. This adds an extra electric motor to produce a combined 658PS. It'll accelerate to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds, while top speed is limited to 155mph.

Where the EQS really impresses, though, is its refinement. There probably isn't a quieter, more cosseting car you can travel in. Obviously there's no engine noise, but there's barely a whine from the electric motor(s). And you won't notice much in the way of wind or road noise, either, even with the huge 21- or 22-inch alloy wheels.

There's a wide range of driver-assistance tech available in the Mercedes EQS, but it's not all standard across the range. Look for one with the driving assistance package plus for things like the active steering assist (which will keep you in the centre of your lane), as well as active braking assist (which can apply the brakes to prevent a collision if necessary) and evasive steering assist (which can help you swerve around an object in front of your car).

Euro NCAP gave the Mercedes EQS a five-star safety rating when it was tested in 2021.

Both the Mercedes EQS 450+ and the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4Matic+ can tow a trailer (braked or unbraked) weighing up to 750kg. If you want to tow something heavier, take a look at an SUV alternative such as the Audi e-tron or Tesla Model X.

EQS 450+ AMG Line models come as standard with 20-inch alloy wheels; AMG Line body styling elements in high-gloss black and chrome; 4.5-degree rear-axle steering; panoramic sunroof; full leather upholstery; heated seats front and rear; a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel in Nappa leather; 12.3-inch driver display; MBUX multimedia system with 12.8-inch OLED central display; Driving Assistance Package and MBUX augmented navigation.

AMG Line Premium adds 21-inch AMG multi-spoke alloy wheels; Digital Light with Light Band; interior active ambient lighting; acoustic privacy glass; a 360-degree camera; Driving Assistance Plus; and a Burmester® surround-sound system. AMG Line Premium models are available for an extra £7000 over AMG Line trim.

Costing £7000 more than AMG Line Premium, AMG Line Premium Plus brings a head-up display; remote parking functionality; and the gesture-controlled MBUX interior assistant.

EQS 450+ Luxury models feature equipment levels equal to the AMG Line Premium trim, but replace the sporty focus with a more classic style. This includes all new Microcloud Artico upholstery combined with ship-deck wood; comfort seats with comfort headrests and a heated steering wheel; and 22-inch alloy wheels. EQS 450+ Luxury trim is aligned pricing-wise with AMG Line Premium trim, costing £7000 more than AMG Line cars.

Exclusive Luxury trim adds multi-contour massage seats with climate control; an air balance package; and Nappa leather upholstery. Exclusive Luxury costs an extra £7000 over Luxury-spec vehicles.

The optional Rear Luxury Lounge package is also available on the Exclusive Luxury model line. Costing £3995, it includes electrically adjustable rear seats with massage functions; comfort rear armrest with wireless smartphone charging and Android tablet; climate control for rear seats; Mercedes interior assistant; additional USB ports and adaptive interior lighting.