If they only represent a tiny market share, especially in electric vehicles, large luxury sedans remain very important for premium brands. They allow Mercedes, BMW and even Audi to demonstrate their know-how, with numerous innovations which sometimes result in more accessible models.
This segment is therefore the prerogative of German premium brands and the latter have no intention of abandoning it with the arrival of electric cars. If Audi does not yet offer a production version of its Grandsphere concept, Mercedes and BMW are already engaged in a fierce rivalry in the electric limousine segment.
While Mercedes has chosen to make its EQS a full-fledged model in its range, as an electric counterpart to the S-Class, BMW recently launched the i7, an electric version that shares the bodywork and platform of the new Series 7.
The EQS joins the ranks
The EQS offered a futuristic style very close to its little sister EQE, but which was not necessarily unanimous. Mercedes is therefore trying to correct the situation with its mid-career restyling, which aims to bring it back into the ranks. With the new Electric Art finish, it adopts a more classic grille where the brand’s star migrates onto the hood, like on an S-Class (excluding the AMG S 63 E Performance version). The front, which needs to be reinvented on electric models, here mimics that of Mercedes with internal combustion engines.
For the rest, the exterior developments are quite subtle and aim to make the EQS more elegant, at least for this Electric Art finish, in particular with new rims.
Inside, the large Hyperscreen panel which includes several screens is now delivered as standard, whereas it was previously priced at more than €8,500.
The rest of the developments aim to improve finishes and comfort, particularly at the rear. In the absence of a Maybach version, which the EQS SUV has recently benefited from, the sedan allows you to check the Rear Comfort Pack Plus option with executive seats at €3,900, which now includes a footrest for the right-hand passenger, who can move forward the seat in front of him to gain even more space.
Also note that the driver, or rather the driver, will now be able to benefit from the automatic lane change function. When the level 2 autonomous driving system is activated, the car can overtake another vehicle on the highway without the driver’s approval, over a speed range of 80 to 140 km/h. “The responsibility for driving the vehicle always rests with the driver”recalls Mercedes, which specifies that “Lane changes must therefore be constantly monitored”.
The update of the Mercedes EQS is not just aesthetic. The electric sedan thus sees the capacity of its battery increase from 108.4 to 118 useful kWh. This is huge and allows the two-wheel drive EQS 450+ to claim up to 822 km of range.
On the other hand, the fast charging capabilities of the EQS and its 400 V architecture still cap at only 200 kW. That’s not much for such a big battery.
The restyled EQS can be ordered from April 25, 2024. Good news, despite all these improvements, Mercedes is announcing unchanged entry-level prices. The EQS currently starts at a very high price of precisely €135,849.99, or more than €20,000 more than an S-Class. The rival BMW i7 is priced from €128,500 .