When you want the best or nothing in the EV space, the Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC SUV has you covered.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has essentially got the entire electric lineup represented in Malaysia, from the compact EQA to the high-performance electric AMG models. I’ve tested quite a few electric Benz vehicles, and while the standard EQE 350+ without the air suspension is the one that makes the most sense in the Malaysian market, I would point to the EQS SUV as being the one that best exemplifies what the brand can do at the top end.
I found the EQS sedan to have one too many suspension quirks to be praise worthy but the EQE SUV and EQS SUV siblings were close to faultless in terms of comfort and dynamics. The EQE SUV I took for a trip to Penang earlier this year and found to be a great all-rounder. I subsequently was offered the EQS SUV in 580 4MATIC form but couldn’t find the time to squeeze a review out until the news cycle quietened down.
Essentially the EQS SUV takes the best elements of the EQE SUV and goes a few rungs up in terms of space, utility and equipment. There are some objective similarities between the two electric SUVs and some differences that are small enough to ignore. Strangely enough the sizable gap in horsepower, battery capacity and DC charging speeds are all, practically-speaking, negated.
The 134hp gap would have been astronomical in a petrol vehicle, but it doesn’t translate to a meaningful performance increase as the EQS has to overcome an additional 250kg of weight thanks to additional seats and battery cells. You barely feel the difference between the 4.6 second century sprint time of this luxury SUV over the 4.9 second time of the EQE 500.
The faster charging speed is also only there to make up for having to charge a larger battery pack. The battery pack does deliver an additional 61km of range on paper and this can make all the difference on an interstate trip, but whether it’s worth the weight and cost it adds to the equation is debatable. Still, a 613km WLTP range rating is something absolutely befitting a flagship premium electric SUV, so I think it was the sensible thing to do for Mercedes-Benz. After 2 years of test driving EVs, Mercedes-Benz products have consistently been the LEAST range-anxiety inducing in my experience.
It’s down to a combination of efficient motors, a relaxed driving character that doesn’t egg you on to push the car too hard, extremely large battery packs and very fast charging. Customers will also appreciate the other charging benefits thrown in with ownership which go beyond just free charging credits.
Performance
The EQS 580 4MATIC SUV is an A+ performer in every conceivable metric. It’s capable and dynamic in a pinch but naturally relaxed and comfortable over the worst of Malaysian road surfaces even on 22″ relatively low-profile tyres. In a way it’s a bit of an engineering marvel, but it may not be exactly what you expect out of a flagship Benz vehicle as it puts some utilitarian considerations ahead of pure opulence – that appears to be reserved for the Maybach sub-brand nowadays.
Yes, there’s still an air of luxury here, but the EQS SUV has to balance that out with some practical considerations. Being a fairly large SUV, customers will expect a third row of seats for the youngest child and domestic helper. That is exactly what you get here, so the middle row of seats electrically ‘collapses’ forward to reveal two smaller seats around back. You wouldn’t expect this sort of thing in an S-Class but that’s a different sort of vehicle for a different sort of customer.
The EQS SUV is pampering and great to drive or be driven in. It’s also very tech focused and avantgarde in its design philosophy. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia have specified the car with the Electric Art trim, meaning there aren’t any ‘AMG’ elements in the vehicle and I actually find that to be the right approach for this particular type of vehicle. Even though there aren’t sporty intentions to the package of the EQS SUV, it’s certainly capable of handling some hard driving but will struggle in tighter roads. The car weighs nearly 3 tonnes with two adults in it, so you can’t expect miracles. What I do I expect is competency and you absolutely get it here instead of clumsiness in the sedan EQ models.
Design
It’s hard to not have an opinion on the EQ design direction.
Mercedes-Benz went for the melted bar of soap look with door mounted wing mirrors and retractable door handles for the sake of aerodynamics.
On this SUV form, the extra room to play with makes for fewer awkward angles, but the long front overhang and short rear overhang make the EQS SUV fall into the uncanny valley when viewed from the side.
The prestige gap is sufficiently long though, so it still comes across as a very upmarket product.
Being a Mercedes-Benz design, the details matter.
Love it or hate it, every square inch of the EQS SUV stands up to scrutiny.
Inside, the seats are super ergonomic and come with additional headrest cushions for those in the front two rows. Those all the way in front get treated to the full Hyperscreen experience. This cabin really comes alive at night with its OLED elements presenting deep inky blacks and the ambient lighting creating a futuristic aura.
You may not be a fan of this approach and the number of glossy surfaces to keep clean but there’s also some traditional elements here that have been reimagined for the ‘luxury car of the future’. The wood inlays are a good example. They curve with the shape of the armrests and have little three-pointed stars in them. A really inspired look if you ask me.
In the glove box, you’ll find a Mercedes-Benz-curated scent to relax the mood in the car.
A rather strangely placed command island houses most of the physical and capacitive controls essential to the functions of the car and media player.
That being said, for a majority of the functions, you will have to touch, swipe or speak with the MBUX interface. As futuristic and clean as the experience is, we are personally fans of fixed physical buttons with tactile switches and nice materials.
You still get a few of those, but they’ve become rare in the current crop of Mercedes-Benz electric products.
Passengers in the middle row are well taken care of in the EQS SUV 580 4MATIC.
Rear seat amenities are many and even the sunroof stretches all the way behind the headrests.
The centre armrest unit is large and functional and brings down the centre headrest with it as well. It opens up to reveal cupholders, a storage area, a wireless charging pad and a tablet as well (removed from our test unit).
Digital air cond controls are present for the two rear individual climate zones.
The rear door opens wide, making ingress and egress super easy – great for access to the 3rd row too.
It’s a little tight all the way in the rear, but there are enough creature comforts for short-to-medium distance trips here.
Cupholders, storage bins, armrests. air cond vents and even a reading light.
With all seats occupied, the luggage space is minuscule at under 195L and there isn’t a frunk (or an easy way to open the bonnet for that matter) so this is not the car to take a family of 7 road-tripping with unless everyone packs ultra light.
With the rearmost seats folded, the boot is cavernous with an extendable tonneau cover.
In a pinch you can fold all the rear seats down electrically and move some small furniture.
All-in-all, the EQS 580 4MATIC SUV kind of does it all, maximising utility, performance, comfort and luxury while also going hard in terms of EV specs with its 100+kWh battery, 22kW AC charging and 200kW DC charging. Despite its versatility and top scoring points, it’s an RM700,000 electric vehicle, which means it targets 0.0001% of the Malaysian car buying market – a very specific niche indeed. But if you want an electric vehicle that delivers on the ‘best or nothing’ promise, the EQS 580 4MATIC is your best bet.
2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC SUV Specifications
Motor: Dual Permanently Excited Synchronous Electric Motors, AWD
Battery Capacity: 108.4 kWh
Range: 613km
Max power: 536 hp
Max torque: 858 Nm
Top Speed: 210 km/h
0-100 km/h: 4.6 seconds
Price: RM699,888
