we are in Now get back to electric cars as we were when, in 2015, Samsung pushed Wi-Fi into its washers. The tech company was so intrigued by the ability to add an internet connection to a device you had to physically interact with, nullifying absolutely any need for remote control, that it put it down anyway, hailing the questionable move as the start of a true “smart home.”
In truth, it was nothing but intelligence. Samsung didn’t even make it a washer and dryer, so when the occasional unstable app connects to the machine and informs you with a decidedly unhelpful message that your little ones are now clean, you can’t do absolutely anything with that info apart from being bothered that they were just sitting there in the sink in a block solid stable.
Just because you can now technically do something doesn’t mean you should. It’s best that electric car design these days stick to that wisdom, especially when it comes to in-car technology. Which brings us straight to Mercedes’ all-electric luxury car, the EQS. Lots of technology has been thrown into this car, and frankly, I don’t know where to start, so let’s move on to the digital load later and start with the specs.
Aiming to acquire the likes of the Audi e-tron GT, Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan, EQS is Mercedes’ statement of intent for future electric cars. It has confirmed, after all, that it will offer EVs in every segment by 2025, and then make its entire range fully electric by the end of the decade.
2022 EQS.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz AGDesigned more as an executive limousine than a sports car, it has the largest battery ever installed for a production car (107.8 kWh), meaning it offers a WLTP-rated range of 484 miles beating Tesla. That range is backed by the fact that it’s rear-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive, and a 0.20 drag coefficient (which Merc claims makes it the most aerodynamic car in the world). Despite having only two electric wheels, the 5.2-meter-long, 2.5-tonne, 333-horsepower behemoth can hit 62 mph in 6.2 seconds and then go on to hit 130 mph.
The driving luxury element is evident at low speeds, where the EQS is impressively near-silent, with the slightest hint of wind noise appearing when you pass 80mph. The driving experience is suitably enjoyable, with stylish bags and a quiet ride. The bumps in the road surface are easily absorbed. The seams in the concrete will be seen rather than felt. Multiple levels of regenerative braking, including a “Smart Recovery” setting that uses EQS’s different cameras and computers to determine when power is returned to the battery, meaning the brakes hardly need to be touched. This is doubly lucky, because the feel of the brakes here is not the best.
Interestingly, despite the weight of that hefty battery, the EQS is agile and light to steering, with little body roll thanks to its low center of gravity. But the overall feel is to be enthusiastic rather than hyper-engaged—that’s the point of this electric car, in all fairness.
As for battery management, if you can find a 200kW charger, it will charge the car from 10 to 80 percent in just 32 minutes. Useful note: On long trips, doing this car is faster two 80 percent charges from one to 100 percent fully. This doesn’t come close to a Kia’s EV6, or matches a Taycan or Audi e-tron GT, keep in mind. Then consider that this $100,000 car costs $41,500 more than a Kia. At this price level, and given that the EQS is built on Merc’s first custom electrical engineering, you’d rightly expect your charging capability to be better than that of a Kia or Hyundai. Recharging via a 7kW home charging box takes just over 17 hours, but if you can take advantage of the onboard EQS charger of 22kW, that drops to five hours and 45 minutes.
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