Mercedes EQS 580 India Review: Does The Luxury EV Set Benchmarks?

Mercedes’ onslaught into the electric space continues and as promised, the company now added the EQS 580 to the line-up. Now Siddharth already drove the car in Germany, but this time around I got a chance to drive it on Indian roads. And even though India gets the car with the same spec, there’s a lot to talk about, because, well, it’s an electric car that is made in India.

Locally made to global spec, the Mercedes EQS 580 shares the final assembly line with the S-Class, Maybach S-Class, & E-Class

Mercedes EQS 580: First Luxury EV To Be Made In India

Yes, the EQS 580 will be assembled in India and ours is the only country after Germany, to be able to have local production. The EQS 580 will have a whole new assembly line on which it will be built, but the final assembly line will be shared with the S-Class, Maybach S-Class and the E-Class. So, yes, it’s in a very elite company, but while the others are cars with an internal combustion engine, the EQS 580 is an all-electric car.

The EQS has a drag co-efficient of 0.2 cd, which makes it one of the most aerodynamic cars in the world

Mercedes EQS 580: Design

The EQS 580 is streamlined and it has the same dimensions as the AMG EQS 53 4Matic that I drove recently. It’s beautiful, elegant and gorgeous to look at. One look at it and you’ll know that this one has aerodynamics written all over it. There aren’t many cuts or creases that you notice on the car and that’s the beauty of it. The EQS 580 is stunning and we don’t have an iota of the doubt when Mercedes claims it to be one of the most aerodynamic cars in the world with a co-efficient drag of 0.2d. It’s the tail lamps that really get your attention because of the pattern inside it. The spiral pattern is nothing short of amazing to look at. One look at that in traffic (and you can notice it from a distance) and you know there’s an EQS.

The massive Hyperscreen is the party piece on the EQS 580 that brings a lot of functionality with a brilliant UI

Mercedes EQS 580: Cabin And Interior

While the AMG variant gets a sporty cabin, the EQS 580, is more about luxury and opulence. The cabin is available in two colours, brown and beige and grey and brown. The one we had was grey and brown and my only problem with it was that it was a dust magnet. I am afraid, there will be a lot of cleaning up to do especially during the rainy season because the mud and muck will make their mark there. But the attention grabber is the 56-inch Hyperscreen. We of course needed more time with the Hyperscreen because the functionalities run as deep as a rabbit hole. There is much to be explored because there are so many apps that help you out on a daily basis that you need to live with the car for a few days to experience it. You also get the Mercedes me connectivity features, which we have seen in most of the new cars from Mercedes-Benz India. The rear seat too is a good place to be in.

The cabin offers an airy feel and the rear seats offer great under-thigh support too

There’s good enough knee room, under-thigh support is great and because of the massive glass area, that surrounds you, the cabin is airy and appears bigger. But the rear seats do not get massage seat functions, they do get the ventilation function and you can even recline the back to a more comfortable position. But Mercedes is of the opinion that with all that the EQS has to offer, consumers will want to drive it and not be driven by it. Hmmm! I don’t buy that explanation.

The EQS sprints from 0-100 kmph in just 4.3 seconds, silently!

Mercedes EQS 580: How Does It Drive?

The big USP that Mercedes-Benz will tom-tom about is the all-electric range that the car has 857 km on a single charge and this figure is ARAI certified. This makes it the EV with the longest range. It gets a 107.8 kWh battery pack which punches out 516 bhp and there’s 855 Nm of torque on offer from the word go. 0 to 100 kmph is done in just 4.3 seconds and it’s quick and silent too. There are driving modes you can toggle with if you want to enhance the way you drive. The Sport mode will, of course, be very spirited and yes enjoyable too but it does affect the range as the kilometres plummet.

The long wheelbase on the EQS 580 translates to the belly scraping too often

Mercedes EQS 580: Ride And Handling

Given that the rains had just battered the roads, I was definitely curious to know how the EQS would fair on bad roads and does it have enough ground clearance. Well, frankly, I had to gingerly drive it across some of the speed bumps. You can raise the suspension by 15 mm but well, that’s the only help you get. Given the long wheelbase, the EQS 580’s belly does scrape and it’s an uneasy feeling when you take it over the bumps. But the suspension does its job.

The Airmatic suspension is sublime and even on bad roads, it absolutely keeps the passengers in comfort mode. There’s no lateral movement inside and even if you encounter a bad pothole, the EQS takes it in its stride. Now the Airmatic suspension will be standard for the first 500 customers of the EQS after which I feel it will be available as an option, but Mercedes-Benz India says that it will be dependent on the response they get from the consumers.

The air suspension does the job well in terms of ride quality and raises the car by 15 mm

Mercedes EQS 580: Safety

On the Safety front, there’s a lot this car offers. It’s got a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, 9 airbags are standard and of course Level 2 ADAS technology, and yes, it works very well even in India.

The EQS 580 is a luxurious EV which will enjoy driving as often as being driven in

Mercedes EQS 580: Verdict

The company has already received a phenomenal response to the AMG 53 version of the EQS and all the cars have been sold out. Priced at Rs. 1.55 crore the EQS is less expensive than the S-Class and that’s part of the strategy. Mercedes wants Indian consumers to view the EQS, not as an electric version of the S-Class, but as a luxurious EV which will make them want to drive it and have fun too.

Given that the company has received strong demand for the EQS, we think that it’s made a case for the car here in India whether it’s a car that should be driven and not driven in. Well, that’s where my opinion sways, because if you buy a car that costs over Rs. 1 crore, then I want to sit in the back and relax and not be bothered with the traffic conditions or anything else the road throws at me.

So, for me, it’s still the EV version of the S-Class and like the ICE version, manages to set benchmarks in its segment. 

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