Mercedes-Benz has finally pulled off the camouflage of its 2022 EQS electric sedan, and the two-tone paint job will certainly raise interesting questions. The German carmaker still masters several key details, such as pricing, but as we said earlier, the EQS is a bold break from the current crop of minimalist electric vehicles with its large battery, large information display and rich interior.
When it arrives at dealerships in the fall of 2021, the EQS will be the first Mercedes long-distance EV available in the U.S., defeating the EQC compact SUV, which has been delayed indefinitely. As such, it will be the first of nine other cars the carmaker wants to release by 2022. And as a relative of the segment-determining S-Class, there is a lot of riding on the EQS and the company’s high stakes to define the luxury EV market.
The edge got the chance to drive with the EQS last week, so we’ve seen a lot of what Mercedes is announcing today up close. These include the automatic front and rear doors, the 56-inch hyper-screen with the company’s MBUX infotainment system, the augmented reality head-screen and the various other luxury vehicle returns that were essential and redundant in equal parts.
This is our first look at the exterior details of the EQS, as Mercedes previously supervised the front and rear sections. The all-digital front end we saw with the Vision EQS concept car is over, replaced by a ‘black radiator grille’ with ‘three-dimensional star pattern’ that also appears in Mercedes’ AMG range.
The headlights are connected to each other by a light bar, a design that is becoming popular among cars in different brands. There is no hood trim as with the S-Class, but the EQS did keep the air vents on either side of the grille, which avoided the flat, airless face of the Tesla Model 3 and other motor vehicles.
The two-tone paint scheme on the photos offered by Mercedes is definitely a choice, and it can be divisive, depending on your opinion on the dueling of exterior colors. However, this is not entirely out of the blue: Mercedes offers a two-tone finish on its Maybach S-Class. And there is something to be said for an attempt to think outside the monochromatic box. However, this is not the only finish offered, and a quick trip to Mercedes’ online configurator will definitely reveal other options.
The EQS is available in two trim levels: the rear-wheel drive EQS 450+ and the twin-engine 580 4MATIC with four-wheel drive. Frustratingly, Mercedes did not disclose pricing information for any variant, although we would expect both to sell more than six figures. (By comparison, the base model of the S-Class costs $ 110,000.) Both models have a 107.8kWh battery pack, although Mercedes said they also plan to sell a version with a smaller 90kWh battery. . .
Built on a brand new electric vehicle architecture for Mercedes, the EQS is expected to reach 770 kilometers – or 478 miles – based on the European WLTP cycle. The number is likely to drop if it is eventually tested by the US EPA, although it may still wear the longest Tesla Model S. Regardless, it is very diverse for daily driving or even medium to longer rides and will definitely set the standard for the luxury EV market.
Of course, EVs still represent a small fraction of overall car sales, and luxury vehicles alone will not encourage the mass adoption that policymakers will have to begin to move away from gas-powered polluting cars. But with the right combination of power, range and affordability, Mercedes and other automakers will have their work cut out for them as we move closer to an all-electric future.
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