Mercedes Maybach EQS SUV Luxury Drive Experience

Mercedes has set the ball rolling for the ultra-luxury segment in the electric age by creating this car - the Maybach EQS SUV. The formula is the same as their approach to the ICE versions - take what is already a pretty large and luxurious electric SUV, and crank up the luxury quotient by adding lots of features, bling, and more Maybach logos than the eyes can count.

In terms of exterior design, the EQS Maybach is more crossover than an outright SUV. But make no mistake, it is still a large car and does have an imposing presence due to its length and large swathes of chrome all over. Up front, you get the large faux grille, the Maybach logo, and these large rectangular headlamps.

Move over to the side and you can witness the great length of the car, the thing that gives it its presence. As a part of the deal, you also get chrome door handles, dual-tone colour scheme, and massive 21-inch wheels. In fact, along with this retro pattern, you can have two other designs for the EQS Maybach that offer a similar appeal.

If the side felt a bit underwhelming, then the rear becomes exciting once again, thanks to multiple elements like connected tail lamps, chrome badging, and the glasshouse which slopes forward and adds to the crossover roofline.

We begin with the rear seat package where you get two individual spaces quilted out in the finest leather, and many high-quality plastics for the all-touch surfaces. Every click, every touch, and every movement feels special, making sure it's the finer details that will help the car stand out. Obviously, that is not enough to cut the mustard. For that, Mercedes has incorporated all of its past luxury tricks to really help the rear seat package stand out.

The seats are fully powered, will recline into a lounge, and have hot and cold massage functions. You also get the seat back screens running the MBUX infotainment system. Moreover, if you are lounged out but don't want to reach for the screen, then you get this Samsung tablet that does the same job as the main screens. Given the inner dimensions and the fact that you get your individual space because of how the cabin is designed, headroom and legroom are non-existent issues. The ICE version gets a fridge between both the rear occupants, but it’s a storage shelf here, which is still accessible the same way.

On that off-chance that you decide to get behind the wheel of an ultra-luxury car, the front-row experience is just as good as what you would get in the second row. You get the same quilted seats with the beige over black and silver colour scheme. The seats are spacious, comfortable, and electrically adjust in every manner possible, accompanied with a memory function. It’s a familiar space with many familiar elements from the other Mercedes-Benz ultra-luxury models and that was expected, given that the automaker needed to keep some level of familiarity with the car.

However, the big deal is the MBUX hyperscreen. It is a one-piece 56-inch unit running the automaker’s latest infotainment system, and is quite a big deal. The display is massive, easy to look at, and has high-quality graphics. The passenger-side display is smaller, but operates on the same system.

The Maybach EQS is powered by a 122kWh battery pack, offering a claimed range of 611km, and dual motors offering AWD. The motors produce 649bhp and 950Nm. You get all the Mercedes toys like drive modes, V2L, V2C, adjustable regen via the paddle shifters, and most importantly, a 0-100kmph time of 4.4 seconds! If all these sound incredible, then the biggest and best number on offer is a 300km range in just 20 minutes that is if you plug the car into a 200kW ultra-fast DC charger.

If the numbers were impressive, then how the car delivers them is equally so, especially in two departments, which are ride quality and outright grunt. Both these aspects are highly desirable in an ultra-luxury cruiser. You waft along in air comfort, gliding over every imperfection, bump, or pothole with little need to slow down. The NVH insulation is fantastic, with hardly any outside noise filtering into the cabin. In fact, it’s strange to see the world fly by outside, yet not let the surrounding lights and sounds affect you.

In fact, you would want to slow down only for the huge speed breakers or large potholes with jagged edges, primarily to avoid damaging the huge wheels. What’s more, is the fact that the rear-wheel steering makes the car manage to compact its size in the tightest situations, allowing you to manoeuvre that U-turn, or parallel park with a surprising amount of ease.

In terms of outright grunt, the numbers speak for themselves, and that’s despite the north of a two-tonne kerb weight that defines the car. You get a steady and unrelenting stream of acceleration when you press pedal to the metal, easily boosting the car past the 100kmph mark much faster than you would believe. However, the large powertrain accompanied with big batteries also exists, to give the car a hardcore cruising ability, topped with a bit of bragging rights.

If you are in the market for something large, extra luxurious, and with green credentials, then look no further than the Maybach EQS which ticks off every box, and perhaps even a few more if you really try hard. However, given its BEV nature, it is limited by the EV infrastructure of the country. While that’s improved significantly in the last few years, we still have a long way to go if you want a driving/user experience similar to what you would get with a car like the Maybach GLS. We also have to point out that you don’t get the option of a Bench second row, which is not a complaint as such, but more of an “If you go for this car, then these are the cards dealt to you”. At the time of writing this review, the Maybach EQS SUV was priced at Rs. 2.28 crore, and takes on cars like the Lotus Eletre and the Lamborghini Urus.

Photography: Kapil Angane