CARS OF THE WORLD

Mercedes-Benz EQS 2022.

The electric flagship Mercedes-Benz EQS: all the details.

The teaser program is over and the electric S-Class is finally fully declassified. Mercedes-Benz EQS (body code — V297) is the first production model on the new modular platform MEA (Modular Electric Architecture), created especially for electric trains.

It has not so much in common with the existing «bogies», the traction battery housing is included in the power structure of the body, front and rear subframes are attached to it.

Subsequently, this platform will form the basis of many battery-powered Mercedes of different classes, but the company decided to start with the flagship.

To prevent the EQS from being perceived as a battery-powered S-Class, the designers and engineers used a different look.

The electric Mercedes EQS is not a sedan, but a five-door liftback with a large boot lid. The volume of the compartment is from 610 to 1770 liters.

The wheelbase is stretched as much as possible, the body overhangs are kept short, and the interior is pushed forward.

There is only one length option (5216 mm), which is located just between the short (5179 mm) and long (5289 mm) S-class options. In width (1926 mm) and height (1512 mm), the electric car almost repeats the «Esca».

Liftback Mercedes-Benz EQS became the owner of the lowest drag coefficient Cd among serial cars — only 0.2 versus 0.22 for the S-class.

The electric car has a streamlined wedge-shaped silhouette, a smooth bottom, recessed door handles, aerodynamically optimized wheels (19 to 22 inches in diameter) and many small tweaks.

And in addition, such a low aerodynamic resistance helps to reduce wind noise in the cabin, because this is especially important for an initially quiet electric car.

Mercedes EQS has frameless doors, and for a surcharge they can be equipped with an electric drive, which is activated both from the passenger compartment and remotely from the remote control.

Optional headlamps Digital Light can “paint” prompts for the driver in the form of arrows and symbols on the road.

Each headlight has three powerful diodes and a matrix of 1.3 million micromirrors, which control the electronics to create an «image»: a total of 2.6 million pixels.

The main decoration of the interior is the MBUX Hyperscreen front panel, which is a solid glass surface across the entire width of the cabin (141 cm), combines three displays and ventilation deflectors, but does not have physical buttons and switches.

Also in this «hyperscreen» are built-in contour lighting elements of the cabin. Glass with an area of ​​2432 cm2 has bends, the shape of which is set during the manufacturing process at a temperature of 650 degrees to avoid distortion.

There is a 12.3-inch dash screen in front of the driver, a 17.7-inch touchscreen in the center, and another 12.3-inch touchscreen display is located in front of the passenger and contains the corresponding functionality.

If the passenger seat is not occupied, a splash screen is displayed on this screen.

The center and passenger screens are made using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology and have increased contrast. 12 actuators are installed under the glass of the «hyperscreen» to provide feedback (clicks or vibration after pressing), and its intensity depends on the force of pressing the screen.

Eight processors and 24 GB of RAM are responsible for the operation of the entire system.

The interface of the media system provides for the so-called zero layer: at the top of the screen, all the main sections of the menu are always collected to provide quick access.

Several hot keys are grouped on the touchpad around the car start button: this block is located in the center tunnel. There is also a projection screen in front of the driver.

The developers also promise «artificial intelligence», that is, a self-learning program: multimedia will be able to offer certain functions that the driver or passenger periodically turns to.

However, MBUX Hyperscreen is not a cheap option. And the basic interior of the Mercedes-Benz EQS electric car looks almost the same as that of the S-class: a separate instrument screen (12.3 inches) is installed in front of the driver, and a vertical media system tablet with a diagonal of 12.8 inches is installed in the center.

In this case, the car start button and all hot keys are located on the front panel.

In terms of equipment, the EQS will not be inferior to the S-class: heating and ventilation of all seats, various massage programs, a panoramic roof (with two sections), a Burmester audio system with a power of 710 watts (15 speakers), as well as a media system for rear passengers (two screens of 11, 6 inches and a removable tablet in the armrest).

There is a Drive Pilot system, that is, an autopilot of the second level, and the car parker meets even the fourth level of autonomy: if there is a sensor system in a closed parking lot, then the car can go to the parking lot in a completely autonomous mode.

Finally, in the menu, you can activate two special driving presets with severely limited capabilities — for novice drivers and service.

The electric vehicle has air suspension and a fully steerable chassis as standard. Like the S-Class, the rear wheels can turn up to 4.5 degrees.

For a fee, the swing angle can be increased to an impressive ten degrees, and this option can be ordered not only when buying a car, but also during operation!

Mercedes EQS allows you to «buy» new functions online and activate them through the on-board media system (with a free trial period).

Increasing the steering angle of the rear wheels will reduce the turning circle by one meter — from 11.9 to 10.9 meters.

The opening range consists of only two modifications, which, however, should become the most demanded.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ has one electric motor on the rear axle that produces 333 hp. and 568 Nm.

The traction battery capacity is 107.8 kWh, while Tesla has a maximum of 100 kWh, and Porsche and Audi offer no more than 93.4 kWh.

Although the US-Chinese sedan Lucid Air promises 113 kWh. It is stated that the «four hundred and fiftieth» weighing 2480 kg can travel up to 770 km on a single charge, but the indicator in the combined WLTP cycle is a more realistic 530 km.

An alternative is the all-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4Matic with two electric motors and a peak output of 523 hp. and 855 Nm. Such a liftback has a similar battery, pulls 2585 kg on the scales, and its cruising range is almost 500 km in the combined WLTP cycle.

In both modifications, the speed limiter is set to 210 km / h, and the acceleration time to «hundreds» is 6.2 and 4.3 s, respectively.

The plans include both a simpler version with a 90-kilowatt battery, and an extreme version of the AMG with a capacity of 761 hp.

However, the electrical system of Mercedes is not the most advanced. If the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT have an 800-volt traction power grid, then here it is 400-volt (like Tesla’s).

And the maximum charging power is 200 kW (for a DC device) versus 250-270 kW for the main competitors.

From such a terminal, you can replenish the charge for a run of 300 km in 15 minutes. Of course, recuperative charging is provided: its efficiency can be changed with petals under the steering wheel, maximum — 290 kW for the twin-engine version.

And liftbacks for the Japanese market have the ability to connect external power consumers to the car.

The production of Mercedes-Benz EQS electric vehicles is organized in the same Factory 56 plant in Sindelfingen, where the new S-Class is made.

European and American dealers will have cars by autumn. EQS will also enter the Russian market, and it will be the first electric Mercedes in our range.

But we will only offer the all-wheel drive EQS 580 4Matic, and the start of sales is scheduled for the end of the year.