Mercedes-Benz announces EQS SUV, its first electric sport utility for the US

On Tuesday, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the EQS SUV, an all-electric seven-seater that shares a platform with the recently released luxury EQS sedan. When the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV goes on sale in the US later this year, it will go head to head with the BMW iX and the Model X.

The SUV is expected to retail for between $110,000 and $130,000 depending on the trim level. It will be the first electric SUV from the German automaker to reach the US.

The EQS SUV is simply a larger version of the EQS, with the same 56-inch pillar-to-pillar Hyperscreen, same 107.8kWh battery, and the same design language. Mercedes isn't saying how fast the EQS SUV is, but it is likely to be different.

The 450+ with rear-wheel drive and the dual- motor will be the two trims in the EQS sedan lineup. The rear-axle motor of the 450+ will give out 265 kilowatts of energy and 355 kilowatts of power. The front and rear-axle motors put out a combined 400kWh, for The Torque Shift function in the 4MATIC model ensures constant variable distribution of drive Torque between the rear and front electric motor.

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The 56-inch Hyperscreen is only available in the 4MATIC model. Those who choose the less expensive trim will still get a digital gauge cluster and a 12.8-inch portrait-style touchscreen. I was worried about the lack of physical knobs and the possibility of distraction when I tested the EQS sedan last year. The company claims drivers can find what they are looking for on the first layer of the screen without having to scroll through menus or use the voice assistant.

The size of the SUV is a big difference between the two. The EQS SUV is larger than a sedan. The sedan is over 7.8 inches taller than the SUV. The EQS SUV is larger than the Mercedes GLS-Class but smaller.

The SUV has off-roading capabilities that are different from the sedan. The EQS SUV will come with an offroad driving mode, which is designed for unpaved roads, inclines and terrain. Most people who buy this EV aren't the type to seek out challenging back-road drives.

The SUV will have Plug and Charge capabilities. The EQS SUV will be compatible with about 90 percent of the public charging stations in the US without the need to download an app or sign up for an individual charging service. Mercedes didn't give any information about the SUV architecture's voltage, but it did say that the battery will charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in 31 minutes. The peak output of the SUV is 265 kilowatts.

The description of the SUV's interior as "avant-garde" caught my eye, and it was similar to the Hyperscreen. I will leave it to the art critics to decide if that meets the standard.