First Drives: Mercedes-Benz S-Class To EQS

Electrifying Luxury From The Inside out 

The Mercedes-Benz EQS, a new luxury sedan, will be the first all-electric Mercedes sold in North America, an introduction of the long awaited EQ line of electrified Mercedes models. Eventually everything will EQed as most of Mercedes cars go electric along with the industry. How the iconic German luxury brand sets its tone stateside with its first model matters. The future of its brand heritage is at stake.

Once there were plans to start selling the Euro-centric EQC to American, a more modest small SUV that’s perfectly nice for weekend jaunts and the shifting taste of the mass luxe market. Yet, the direction has shifted sharply as Mercedes makes its statement where the most expensive, exclusive and cutting edge tech is housed: its century old six-figure S-Class sedan. In the last few months, I’ve driven both.

PS to EQS: An Automotive Time Machine

The S-Class has serious roots, dating back to the 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS, a time when cars were a chic engineering and style phenomenon. Since it was relaunch in 2055, Mercedes has sold 60,000 of these luxury schooners. In spring, I drove a preproduction Mercedes-Benz EQS, which felt like a little glimpse into the future of the oldest automaker, and it was easy to forget how long the company has been making fine motorcars in such a contemporary context. Automakers will show cars wrapped that aren’t quite ready for primetime, as they sign off on final detail. By leaving them cloaked, design nuance is for the imagination. The proof was in the massive hyper screen that gave me Tron vibes. Here’s how I think of the EQS: It’s an S-Class with a supreme amount of digital customization, and all of the whistles one would associate with top-of-the-line Mercedes that happens to run on all electric power. The Tesla Model may have serious competition from EQS.

A couple months later, I spent two days 2022 Mercedes-Benz S Class, on the road from Brookly to Rhode Island and back. I quickly realized the current S-Class is how we get to EQS. Much is riding on the welcome reception of the EQS luxury sedan, but first the S-Class has to live up to its name.

CUSTOM TECH

Long ago, I wrote an essay on the future of automotive luxury.  Automotive designers and engineers live in the future. At the time, personal customization seemed to be the path forward. Then came Tesla, and everything shifted to EVS, ride-sharing giant, and the market became further scattered as self-driving buzz became the buzz of the car industry. But really, customization is still a the center of all the new technologies being introduced. The options are there for the taking, exemplified in this glorious long vehicle, that starts at $110,000. There’s even a bit of custom thinking applied to the engine, and a hybrid-light motor. There’s a self-driving system that gives control to the car in small ways if you choose it, an indicator of the autonomous options to come. Think of the S-Class as a car that does the work for the driver, enhanced by eye-tracking and facial recognition cameras that monitor alertness. It’s infotainment system has all of the gusto to get there in what it call the MBUX system. It has natural-language processing capabilities, and the ability to sync up with smart home devices. It has the new standard-bearers required of connected cars including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and wireless charging. It was introduced last year and named World Luxury Car of the Year, a jury that I sit on that helped reward it. Spicy tech is a must for new luxury.

Alicia Keys shows off the EQS interior. PHOTO: Mercedes-Benz

The Vibe

The coolest S-Class buyers I know travel far in the car with kids and big dogs. If they opt for a new S-Class, they’ll all ride swell in the uber comfortable interior. There is something first class feeling about that cabin, from the front to the back. Even thinking back to the seats, brings on the strong desire for a backseat window-side nap in cushy pillow like seats. Then there are more optional 11.6-inch screens for entertainment and snazzy LED interior lighting.

S for Speed

It’s plenty of fast for a big yachty-car, zooming up to 60 miles per hour in 4 seconds, which is about the amount of time it takes to say “I love you.” The handling is graceful, but it takes a certain amount of gusto to steer a full-size sedan. On my drive, I ended up in the overly-congested i-95 corridor. If you’re stuck in horrible traffic, a smooth-handling S-Class helps. In this messy traffic, the S-Class takes up big space on the road. A big car requires a big V8 engine. Fuel economy is about 26 miles per gallon.

Safe and sound

It might take space up on the road, but when it comes to staying safe with all the girth, every safety feature is standard. Here’s the laundry list of forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability. It also self parks.

Safety certainly matters, but when it comes to sound, every ride is better with a banging system. For S-Class here are two optional Burmester sound systems custom developed for Mercedes. Both are delish, but producers will prefer the 4D sound system that pushes 1750 watts of sine wave power through the body through beautifully designed speakers, accented by LED lights.

Stepping Stones with a Capital S

It’s a dire moment as the world copes with greenhouse gases, and cars can’t be made quickly enough to keep up with the lagging chip shortage. The future, whatever it brings, is coming fast, but somehow still feels a long way off. But even it when it arrives, not everyone will able to easily accommodate electric. S is here and now, and every bit as important to the Mercedes vision.