View Photos of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV

View Photos of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV

Mercedes-Benz got off to a bold start in the EV segment, launching its EQ subbrand with the futuristic-looking EQS four-door. But in a world awash with utility vehicles, it was only a matter of time before an SUV version joined the lineup. Enter the 2023 EQS SUV. With base prices ranging from $105,450 to $127,000—the same as the low-roof EQS—the EQS SUV is a sumptuous people mover that operates in near silence. Think of it as an electric GLS-class that’s 3.2 inches shorter overall but with a 3.0-inch-longer wheelbase. The practicalities of SUV use mean that it swaps the lozenge-shaped exterior of its four-door counterpart for a more conventional, upright design that potential buyers should find comfortably familiar. That it also can swallow up to seven occupants via an optional third row of seats won’t hurt.

As the first SUV to be built on the company’s EVO 2 platform—a job that takes place at Mercedes’s plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama—the EQS SUV rides on the same 126.4-inch wheelbase as the EQS sedan and shares its power units and floor-mounted battery pack, which has slightly more capacity in the SUV at 108.4 kWh. The standard EQS450+ model has a single motor on its rear axle that’s good for 355 horsepower and 419 pound-feet of torque. An all-wheel-drive 450 4Matic version adds a front-axle motor that ups the combined torque figure to 590 pound-feet without changing the total pony count. Topping the lineup is the dual-motor EQS580 4Matic with its 536 horses and 633 pound-feet. Three trim levels—Premium, Exclusive, and Pinnacle—vary the degree of technology and opulence, but all feel appropriately rich inside.

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