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By Jonathan Crouch

The Mercedes EQS SUV sets the standard for a whole future era of high-end full-electric large luxury Crossovers. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 61

If you want the ultimate large luxury SUV and it has to be all-electric and it has to seat seven, then you have to look at this car, the Mercedes EQS SUV. It's a lot more than just an EQS on steroids. The cabin is suitably futuristic, the drivetrains are potent, the technology's impressive -and of course, the prices are high.

Backgroundword count: 227

Having already developed the EQS full-electric large luxury saloon, you might think that it would have been pretty straightforward for Mercedes to create a trendy SUV version of the same design. Not a bit of it. Development of the EQS SUV took six years and 80% of the work that went into creating it was unrelated to the car's all-electric drivetrain. That of course was carried over unchanged, as was the basic EVA platform that all EQS and EQE models share. With everything else though, there was a lot of work needed to make a powertrain and structure designed for boardroom saloon work equally well for a higher, heavier 4WD SUV with up to seven seats. To create it, Mercedes leaned heavily on lessons learnt in the creation of their combustion powered GLS model. Blending this with EV technology developed for their EQXX concept car, which is based around the MMA platform that will underpin the next generation of all-electric Mercedes models. In the EQS SUV, the end result of all this is a more significant car than you might think, the first of what will be quite a few large exclusive SUVIP crossover high luxury models from the premium brands. Basically, this is the next stage on from a BMW iX. Perhaps a stepping stone to a Rolls-Royce Spectre EV. Got the picture? Here's the detail.

Driving Experienceword count: 314

This car is prodigiously heavy - up to 3,118kg - much of which is accounted for by the prodigiously large 118kWh battery all versions of this model now use. The mainstream variant choice kicks off with the 360hp EQS 450 4MATIC, which makes 62mph in 4.1s. Alternatively, there's the 544hp EQS 580 4MATIC, which improves that sprint time to just 4.7s. Both EQS SUV 4MATIC models claim a range of up to 401 miles and a top speed of 130mph. The other EQS SUV variant is for oligarchs only, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV. This has 658hp, gets to 62mph in 4.4s and offers a range of up to 369 miles. You might not expect the dual motor 4WD system fitted on all EQS SUV models to take this car far off piste; you'd be wrong actually. With the optional 'off-road' driving mode fitted, the air suspension rises by 25mm and primes the 4MATIC system for slippery terrain. The 360-degree camera system can also provide off-road graphics - and special images like the so-called 'transparent bonnet view', ideal when driving over rocky surfaces. There's four-wheel steering too, with the rear wheels able to turn by up to 10-degrees. Which at parking speeds means an extraordinarily tight turning circle for a large SUV. Go faster and you should find that the car's ability to vary the amount of drive to each individual wheel depending on the grip available makes it feel more agile through the turns than the huge kerb weight would lead you to expect it to be. When cruising, the air suspension's ride height falls at above 74mph, which improves aerodynamic efficiency and ups the driving range. Refinement and luxury are central to the EQS SUV, which means special acoustic foams as well as rubber insulation of the electric drive units have been used to reduce interior cabin noise to a near whisper.

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