First Look: 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580

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There’s radical and then there’s utterly radical — the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 coming to Canada more than qualifies as the latter.

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It not only opens the next chapter for the EQ brand; it effectively puts the rest of the electrified world on notice that your piffling 400 kilometres of driving range is just not good enough moving forward.

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It’s all part of Benz’s bold Ambition 2039 initiative, which will put a carbon-neutral fleet on the road within 20 years.

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For now, the EQS 580 arrives with one of the sleekest profiles (a co-efficient of drag of 0.20 no less!) and a look that says futuristic — sadly, Canada will not get the flashy two-tone paint finish, though.

The radically different exterior design is supported by an interior that’s no less futuristic. The key is the optional Hyperscreen — the format opens up a stretch of sculpted glass that stretches from door to door, or 1,422 millimetres. It’s divided into three separate displays — the instrumentation cluster and a screen designed for the front passenger. The largest section in the middle is dedicated to the MBUX infotainment system.

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This system is based on a zero-layer principle, which means up to six functions are available without having to delve into a second menu. The system is also smart enough it learns, using adaptive software, from the driver and makes suggestions about the content and layout. Fear not; if you sit in the back seat, there are another pair of entertainment screens and a tablet to control things.

On the safety front, the EQS gets all of Mercedes’ Intelligent Drive features including an Attention Assist function that uses a camera to “look at the driver’s eye movements” using a camera. The mind-numbing part is it has no fewer than 350 sensors that study everything from the driver to weather conditions. When it senses an issue, it can, using the digital LED headlamp technology with its 2.6-million-pixel resolution, shine guide markings or warning symbols on the road ahead.

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The really big news is what sits beneath the sheet metal. In Canada, the EQS 580 will be offered one way — with a 107.8-kilowatt-hour battery. This monster delivers an unprecedented 700 kilometres of electric driving!

The other plus is when plugged into the right DC fast-charger, the EQS 580 accepts a charge in 31 minutes. It also takes on a charge good enough for 300 km of driving in just 15 minutes. That pretty much overcomes the biggest electric hurdle — prolonged charge times!

In Canada, the EQS 580 comes with three years of Mercedes me Charge and Green Charging, which gives customers access to public charging stations from coast to coast. One of the MBUX features is a visual cue that lets the driver know if there is enough juice in the battery to get home without having to recharge.

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The battery powers two electric motors. This gives the driver access to 516 horsepower, 630 pound-feet of torque from rev one, and a run to 100 kilometres an hour from zero of 4.3 seconds, so it will be no slouch. The two-motor model also delivers an electric version of Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive. The really good news is a performance version is in the works — it will pack a 750-hp punch!

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To help keep the battery alive, there are different regenerative braking modes. The automated intelligent mode looks after everything; however, the driver can still use paddle shifters to change the setting from mild regen to a one-pedal drive. The handling also promises to be just as sharp with a fully adaptive suspension and a rear-wheel steering setup that can turn the wheels by as much as 4.5 degrees. This drastically cuts the turning circle — at 10.9 metres, it’s less than a C-Class needs.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 really does push the envelope in every direction, be it styling, use of touch-screen technology, or the distance offered on a single battery charge. Of all of this innovation, it’s the thought of a 750-hp version that really does whet the appetite, though. It all comes together to give the electric vehicle world a new standard and benchmark.