Testing the tech of the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 electric SUV
India’s priciest EV SUV claims to bring cutting-edge tech and a never-seen-before battery range. Does it succeed?
The biggest pain point for luxury car buyers is that the electrification of luxury mobility is bringing an undesired volume of digital displays to cars. Inside the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450, one of India’s most expensive electric SUVs, this norm isn’t different—but as you start living with it, you realize that luxury in the AI age will take shape in varying forms.
For instance, on an airport pickup run, I found myself waiting for 30 minutes. Fidgeting through the massive 18-inch central infotainment display, I found a game of air hockey in the system. It was unexpected, but the MBUX interface’s simplicity made it super easy to discover its features.
While the old editions of the S-Class, the flagship strata of Mercedes-Benz, had an air of grandeur with their veneer finishes, the new model—launched in India this January—seeks to make do with one of the sleekest display finishes of the industry. It also offers a 12-inch passenger infotainment screen to the front, which, albeit interesting, you may not find to be of the most frequent use.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 is also equipped with the German marque’s own AI assistant. It can be activated at the touch of a button from the steering wheel, or through a simple “Hey Mercedes" command. You can use it to roll down the rear window or open the roof sun blind, or even adjust air conditioning or tweak your playlist. All of these features work well, and thankfully, the assistant does not have too many accidental prompt registrations.
As you start to live with the car, you’d realize that you will use the voice assistant for basic purposes more often than not—it is simply an easier way to do things. Coming to the drive, the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450’s driver assist systems work well to maintain lanes autonomously, but collision avoidance—which is essentially for adaptive cruise control to work on highways—is a risk in city traffic, and must be disabled.
Frankly, the car does well here on well-marked, empty highways but India’s lack of on-road driving discipline means drivers will mostly keep it switched off. The overload of technology does come with the staples of a traditional Mercedes-Benz, such as a 64-colour LED ambient lighting system, and a 15-speaker Burmester 3D surround sound system.
The star of the show, however, is the massive battery, and over 850 Newton-metres (Nm) of torque that the EQS 450 delivers. At over 3 tonnes, it is incredible that a luxurious living room on wheels shows acceleration that is typical to electric vehicles. The eventual effect is of a car that handles steady, rides with the typical softness of the S-Class’ suspension, and can still be nimble in peak traffic. But, the icing on the cake is near 800 kilometers of range. This gives you room to drive for a full week in the city at work without charging.
In our experience, the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 has the best range that any electric cars offer in India. Just for that, the electric SUV version of the famed ‘best car in the world’ stands atop all other offerings in its class.
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