COTY 2022 — Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 Review

If the future of motoring means more time with Mercedes’ first-ever all-electric AMG, we’re all for it.

By Stephen Corby 20/09/2022

Turning up to Robb Report COTY testing has got to be tough for an electric car, even one as visually impressive and unmissable as the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53.

All the other kids are loud, braying and belligerent—and one of them, the lurid Lamborghini, is damn near deafening—while the most the Merc can manage, at least from outside of the car, is the slight menacing hum-boom sci-fi sound it makes when you lock the doors.

Honestly, it’s a bit like inviting Celine Dion on stage to sing with a super group made up of AC/DC, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, and then turning her microphone off (mind you, never a bad idea where Celine is involved).

And yet, after two days of intensely invigorating driving, and the discovery of the Benz’s secret weapon of seduction—Launch Contro —the EQS had not gone flat, despite some cynics’ predictions, nor had it fallen flat with the assembled judges.

Indeed, on more than one occasion, people approached me with widened eyes to stammer something along the lines of: “WOW. Ohmygod! Have you driven that thing?”

What’s impressive about the EQS is that it delivers everything you would expect from an enormous, luxury limousine with an electric drivetrain—effortless cruising, an S-Class suitable level of quiet and comfort, delectable massage seats, clever technology like the augmented-reality navigation—but so much more as well.

That’s because this EQS has been asked to be two very important vehicles at once—the first super-luxury saloon EV from Mercedes and the first AMG vehicle not to carry a stunning, shouty internal-combustion engine stamped with the proud signature of an intensely German engineer on its block.

The AMG badge, and the AMG buttons in the armrest and on the steering wheel, mean that this Mercedes is given two distinct personalities—Calm Chauffeur and Unhinged Speed Freak.

The EQS is enormous—at 5.2 metres long it’s significantly bigger than a Toyota LandCruiser, at 4.9 metres—and enormously heavy at 2.65 tonnes (a LandCruiser is about 400 kg lighter), which makes its performance seem almost implausible. It’s a bit like watching Meatloaf run 100 metres in 10 seconds flat.

Select the Sport+ mode, put one foot on the brake and flatten the throttle to the floor with the other, take a deep breath, press your weak, human neck back against the headrest and step off the brake. AMG’s weaponised Launch Control hurls you, and all of that Mercedes mass, to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.

Not so long ago, anything under four seconds was considered supercar territory. In something as impressively sized as the EQS, it is a deeply moving experience, one that you can’t quite believe is happening even while it is.

It’s a hugely impressive piece of engineering, combining twin synchronous permanent magnet motors with a 107.8 kWh lithium-ion battery (good for a claimed 511-kilometre range between charges) to provide 484 kW and an enormous 950 Nm.

Somehow, despite its dimensions but aided by the low centre of gravity that having all that battery under the floor provides (and the added bonus of not having to counteract an enormous lump of metal under the bonnet), the EQS even manages to handle well, and can be hustled through corners with surprising alacrity.

Then there are the special touches, like the synthesised engine noises you can choose for it to make in the cabin, and the low Star Wars-style sound it makes outside the car when you lock it, and the fabulous seats. It’s also difficult not to be impressed by its vast central screen, which Mercedes says is 141 centimetres wide in total (it’s actually three screens, with the driver and passenger getting a 12.3-inch one each, plus a massive 17.7-inch central one).

That leaves us with just one more number to consider, the price, which, at $328,400, is no small thing. It did not, however, stop several of our judges considering the new Mercedes very strongly in the category of Car I’d Actually Buy.

One thing that did it in was the cars around it—as exciting as the fake noises in the Mercedes were, every time someone drove past in the Lamborghini or the Ferrari, you couldn’t help think how sonically wonderful combustion-engined cars are. So too the lingering questioning of whether Australian roads and regions are set up for the incoming electric future. Can you easily take this car for a lengthy South Coast stretch? While we certainly managed it, there remains a mental barrier for some.

It’s fair to say that the EQS AMG more than earned its place at this year’s Robb Report Car of The Year and that it outperformed everyone’s expectations. And were there an award for Electric Car of the Year—well, this is it.

mercedes-benz.com.au

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