No more can we say that the electric 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS is good for big screens and nothing else — because it has a big range, too. We’re talking an estimated 478 miles per charge on the European WLPT test cycle, which is more than the Tesla Model S can currently manage. That’s pretty exceptional. You could drive from Tijuana, Mexico to Modesto, California and still have some battery left to spare.
Range anxiety is a big turn-off when it comes to electric vehicles, since most EVs are getting around 200 to 300 miles of range at most. With slow charging networks and a still-questionable infrastructure, you’re kind of just asking for consumers to complain. Which seems to be the reason why Mercedes is going big with the EQS.
Mercedes announced last summer that it intended the EQS to have a longer range than most other EVs on the market, but the confirmation didn’t come until yesterday, when Mercedes published a press release diving into the sedan’s details. Along with the range, there are also quite a few neat details to discover:
- Top speed limited to 130 mph
- An output of up to 385 kW
- 470 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque
- Multiple powertrain options
- Higher-density lithium ion battery with sophisticated thermal management
- Shorter charge times
- Crash-protected battery
- The most aerodynamic production car ever made, with a drag coefficient of 0.20
Of course, Europe’s standards for testing the range of electric cars is significantly different from that of the United States’ EPA measurements—so what the actual range figures are remain to be seen. We’re still expecting it to be a higher-end model compared to most of the other EVs on the road.
Whatever the case, the EQS promises an almost astounding level of new technologies that should up the electric game in a big way — especially if the batteries Mercedes has developed are as compact and efficient as it claims.