in

Electrified Luxury

Is this the future of electrified luxury, or luxurious electricity? Mercedes is hoping the Vision EQS concept will do for their electric range what the S-Class did for almost the whole car industry. After all, this is where all tech is going to trickle down from.

Given Jaguar’s making the next XJ electric, the luxury car market may be going silent — and possibly autonomous. But while the EQS comes equipped with Level 3 autonomy, it’ll still be very much driveable. Mercedes promises decent handling, good performance, and an arse whooping coming the way of Tesla.
This isn’t ludicrous speed quick, but accommodating. Peaks of 350 kW and 560lb ft are spread across both axles for torque-vectored all-wheel drive, allowing a brisk 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. Range is roughly 640km on a half-hour charge.
Inside there’s your standard head scratching concept features; seats that look sexy but are shaped only for a supermodel’s comfort, and so many screens you’ll think you’re working security. But it’s the use of recycled bottles on the dashboard and ocean waste in the headlining that will keep Greenpeace happy. Planet protestors will hate the exterior, given it’s lit up like a Christmas tree. Up front, 188 LEDs help give signals to other road users while round the back there are 229 star-shaped lights across the rear.
The battle against Tesla for dominance is well on. Current competitors include Audi e-tron and Porsche Taycan, so cars like the EQS are only going to maximise the offensive. The future of electrified luxury is looking bright indeed — especially with all those LEDs.

BY BILL VARETIMIDIS

For the full article grab the February 2020 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.

Total Body Conditioning

Mara Teigan