As a brand with a 135-year history of car manufacturing, Mercedes-Benz understands the word "luxury" deeply into the marrow. However, when luxury meets electrification, what kind of spark will collide? This time Mercedes-Benz gave its answer - the Mercedes-Benz EQS with the name "S".
It can be said that the launch of each generation of S-Class marks the opening of a new era for Mercedes-Benz, and the era of EQS is also the era when Mercedes-Benz began the process of electrification. Therefore, Mercedes-Benz EQS is naturally not willing to be like the previous EQ series, just become an electric version of the S-class, but to become the "S-class" of the entire electric vehicle market.
It can be seen that the "origin" of Mercedes-Benz EQS is destined to be not ordinary, it was born on the new EVA electric drive platform, which is an electric vehicle created by a truly pure electric platform, and it is also the first integration of electric and luxury in the true sense of Mercedes-Benz. Previously, Mercedes-Benz EQS has officially announced the price, a total of 4 models have been launched, the price range is 107.96-151.86 million yuan. Let's follow Titanium Media and experience the charm of this electric luxury flagship model!
Avant-garde aesthetics around aerodynamic performance
Despite its deep ties to the S-Class sedan, the EQS is a pure electric luxury model based on the forward development of the pure electric platform, so it will naturally be significantly different from the traditional fuel vehicle at the design level. Mercedes-Benz EQS adopts the aesthetic elements of the VISION AVTR concept car, and this is also the main idea of Mercedes-Benz for the design of future models - a bow body, an arc to the end.
The root cause of this design is to reduce the drag coefficient of the body, mercedes-Benz EQS has carried out thousands of wind tunnel simulations, each calculation using 700 central processing units, the drag coefficient as low as 0.20, becoming the world's lowest wind resistance coefficient of production model. The windward area of the front face is 2.51 square meters, and the effective air resistance area is only 0.5 square meters.
The "seamless" body aesthetic is also a design focus of this EQS, which is mainly reflected in the seamless design of reducing body seams and different components. For example, the design of the A-pillar refers to the principle of transition between different parts of the aircraft, which greatly reduces the air resistance between the windshield and the A-pillar.
However, in the era when the mileage of electric vehicles has not yet reached the era of qualitative changes caused by quantitative changes, the wind resistance coefficient has become a key factor in the endurance of electric manufacturers. But everything has pros and cons, on the basis of optimizing aerodynamics, the design ideas of the whole vehicle line are often more solidified. Whether it is a new car-making force or a traditional car company, the phenomenon of homogenization is difficult to avoid.
The same is true of the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which resembles a waterdrop-like soft and full line that has also lost a lot of "S-class" luxury and elegance. In terms of a short intuitive experience, the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz EQS under this new design concept is difficult to see as a million-dollar luxury electric vehicle.
Of course, this is also reasonable, EQS is mercedes-Benz's real sense of the electric field of pioneering work, coupled with its million-level luxury electric vehicle positioning, the design level naturally has a long way to go. At the same time, consumers do not have a mature standard for this level of electric vehicles, and the change of subjective impressions also requires the accumulation of time.
After looking at the overall modeling, let's take a look at the body size of the Mercedes-Benz EQS. As the industry's first large-scale pure electric luxury car, The Length, Width and Height of The Mercedes-Benz EQS are 5216/1926/1512mm, respectively, due to the lack of engine constraints, the wheelbase is also up to 3210mm, and the rear space experience is quite comfortable.
However, would such a long body be quite inconvenient to drive in the city? For this reason, the EQS is also prepared for this purpose, and its standard rear wheel steering function angle can reach 4.5 degrees, which improves the handling and dynamic performance of the EQS. For vehicles produced from 2022 onwards, users can also opt for rear wheel steering with a steering angle of up to 10 degrees, or they can be activated later via OTA remote online upgrades. This allows the EQS to achieve a turning diameter of 10.9 meters, giving it the dexterity of a compact car.
In terms of luminaires, the digital meteor shower headlights of the Mercedes-Benz EQS are in line with the S-Class sedan, and are also equipped with DIGITAL LIGHT technology. This technology not only selectively reduces the glare effect of other traffic participants, but also allows the vehicle's headlights to project road signs or other graphics, such as zebra crossings, stop signs, guide lines, etc., to improve the safety of the vehicle at night.
Artificial intelligence plus MBUX super screen
It can be said that the MBUX super screen, which was first equipped on the Mercedes-Benz model, has become the core of EQS interior design. The oversized curved screen, which is 1.41 meters wide, runs almost through the A-pillars on both sides and fits perfectly with custom Corning Gorilla Glass. Three high-definition screens with a resolution of up to 209 PPI bring a very delicate visual effect, and the tactile feedback from the 12 sensors below the screen also makes the operation clearer and more accurate.
And the screen on the co-pilot side also has a very interesting function, it can rely on the intelligent lock logic of the camera, detect the driver's line of sight, combined with whether the steering wheel is rotated, the driver turns his head to observe the time and other factors, will actively reduce the brightness of the co-pilot side screen to ensure the safety of driving. That is to say, if the co-pilot uses the entertainment function of the screen, the driver cannot "peep", which shows that the designer really takes pains to drive safely.
Mercedes-Benz EQS also adopts the industry's first "zero-level interface", which always places the most core functions at the top of the screen, greatly simplifying the user's operation. The implementation of this function is based on the self-learning ability of the MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system, and the "Mind Reading Assistant" can push up to 16 customized functional services in many aspects of infotainment, comfort and other vehicle functions.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS has up to 350 sensors capable of measuring perceived distance, speed, acceleration, lighting conditions, rainfall and temperature, seat usage, as well as the driver's eyelid movements or the language of passengers. This allows you to learn and understand the habits of the owner and make predictions, providing navigation support, seat heating, opening massage, adjusting the 64-color ambient lighting system and other functions for passengers in the car according to different situations.
As for the luxury of the interior, there is no need to repeat it, and the words "Mercedes-Benz S-Class" alone are enough to explain everything. AMG style kit or electric art kit, Nappa leather seats, pressure-sensitive buttons with Parisian stud decoration, new air shield, Berlin Sound surround sound system, shoulder and neck heating system, hot stone massage and much more, you can fully trust the standard of Mercedes-Benz in this regard.
Exclusive electric platform to create, 849 km long endurance
What is the biggest difference between EQS and the previous EQ series? Naturally, the Mercedes-Benz EQS is based on the forward development of the EVA platform, which is also a platform specially designed by Mercedes-Benz for large pure electric models. In the future, the platform will also have three models: EQE, EQS SUV and EQE SUV. Of course, Mercedes-Benz also has a corresponding compact and medium-sized car platform MMA, through these two platforms, Mercedes-Benz will complete the full coverage of different sizes of pure electric vehicle models in the future.
After looking at the platform, we talk about the EQS itself, the new car has two power combinations of EQS 450+ and EQS 580 4MATIC, equipped with single and dual motors, respectively, with 333 hp (245 kW) and 517 hp (380 kW), and the CRUIC has a cruising range of 849 km, 813 km and 720 km under CLTC conditions. And Mercedes-Benz EQS series adopts two kinds of drive systems, rear drive and four-wheel drive, and both the front and rear axles are equipped with eATS electric drivetrains.
In terms of battery technology, the Mercedes-Benz EQS is equipped with a 400-volt high-voltage battery system, which can replenish the power from 10% to 80% in 48 minutes in 110 kW DC charging mode, and from 10% to 80% in up to 37 minutes under specific charging power conditions. In terms of battery chemistry, the cobalt content in the cathodes of the new EQS cells has been reduced to 10%.
Finally, in terms of driving experience, compared with the sporty Porsche Taycan, the most intuitive feeling that the EQS gives us is that it is close to the sedate and advanced sense of the S-class. Despite its 0-100km/h acceleration of 4.4 seconds, power control is still handy.
The power output, body feedback and foot action matching are quite delicate, coupled with the chassis tuning that is in line with the S level and the unique quiet advantages of the electric vehicle, it can be said that in terms of driving experience, both the power performance of the electric vehicle and the smooth control of the S level are taken into account, and the combination of tightness will not cause people to feel uncomfortable.
Write at the end
Mercedes-Benz is working to achieve carbon neutrality in the lineup of new passenger cars in the future. Unexpectedly, the EQS, as a flagship model, was born at Mercedes-Benz's first carbon-neutral factory, Plant 56, with up to 287 components of the vehicle applying a total of 82.3 kilograms of recycled materials, perfectly blending the two slightly conflicting concepts of environmental protection and luxury.
It can be said that Mercedes-Benz EQS is a product designed and built based on the concept of sustainability, and also reflects mercedes-Benz's sustainable layout of the whole industry chain from production to supply chain. At this point, we also do see the determination of Mercedes-Benz, EQS not only to do the S-class in the field of electric, but also to bring Mercedes-Benz into the era of pure electricity, luxury and sustainable development.
(This article was first published on the Titanium Media App, author/often laughs)