LF Says: ★★★★
As an automotive journalist, I am accustomed to fast cars. Even then, the first time with the throttle pinned in the EQS 53 AMG Mercedes is an experience akin to an extreme roller coaster ride ever. You are pulled back onto your seat as your mind scrambles to process how rapidly the scenery is blurring beside you and then you get to see absurd numbers pull up on the digital display in front of you. The EQS 53 AMG is a new kind of supersonic fast that pulverizes your perception of speed with such ferocious intensity that you need a few minutes to calm down after having a go in it.
The performance luxury car category is changing and electricity is the main catalyst here. For AMG, the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz, the thought of making a battery powered performance car seemed challenging, but it has created one – albeit with a different sense of what 'performance' is.
At the heart of the matter lies a performance oriented electrical powertrain with two motors along with AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive. The car I was driving had the 'AMG DYNAMIC PLUS package', which sees the maximum output rising to 560 kW (761 hp) in RACE START mode with boost function. The maximum motor torque is then up to 1020 Nm. That is a ridiculous amount of power, and as a result, it rockets to 100 km/h in a scant 3.4 seconds. That is faster than some supercars, and honestly, as fast as your brain can take or maybe more than that.
Then it also gets an AMG sound experience which brings a somewhat strange noise to authenticate the driving experience. Noise aside, the EQS 53 AMG is just too fast and makes supercars with their two doors look very silly indeed.
The EQS 53 AMG does not try to replicate Its V8 powered siblings. It embraces what electricity can do, and pushes the performance envelope while expanding the brief of a performance car.
Despite being a larger car, the EQS 53 is an achievement of sorts in terms of managing to have the cachet of a ballet dancer with its handling abilities. The steering is quick and it feels fast along with a sense of agility which a performance car should give its driver. There is a myriad of technologies on-board including a sophisticated air suspension which makes the car soft on one hand yet also quick with a change of character within a second. Modern cars are so advanced that they change their personalities with various modes and the EQS 53 AMG has its 'Jekyll and Hyde' trait as well. You can potter around in comfort in total silence while shame supercars at the track when you fancy it.
The cabin is also a sensory overload with its gigantic 56 inch ‘Hyperscreen’ which occupies the entire dashboard while looking like a cockpit straight from Star Trek. The MBUX infotainment system isn’t your usual in-car navigation as it ‘knows’ you and adjusts the car according to your tastes while planning the fastest routes with charging stations in mind. Of course, being a luxury AMG Mercedes, you get all of the cherry picked ingredients, including a Burmester audio system which rivals a concert hall, along with AMG design cues like a sportier steering wheel.
The EQS 53 AMG does not try to replicate Its V8 powered siblings. It embraces what electricity can do, and pushes the performance envelope while expanding the brief of a performance car. If this is the future of fast motoring, then enthusiasts can rest easy!
LF Says: ★★★★
