Page 64 - Sharp Summer 2021

In the Beginning WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT IS THE MERCEDES- Benz EQS. It’s the brand’s very first all-electric
vehicle to be sold in Canada. It’s the tip of the We dissect the details of Mercedes-Benz’s first spear, the first of many EVs to come from the legendary
all-electric vehicle to be sold in Canada
by MATT BUBBERS
brand. First impressions count, and Mercedes has pulled out all the stops for its new electric flagship.
SLIPPERY CHARACTER
The EQS looks the way it does — smooth as a pebble — in order to maximize its possible driving range. If it were shaped like a barn door, it would require excess energy to push through the wind at 120 km/h. No, the EQS is designed to slip through the air, almost invisible to the wind. Mercedes claims this is the most aerodynamic car in the world. We can believe it.
NEXT-LEVEL LUXURIES
Mercedes created a variety of soundscapes — interactive “sound experiences” — for the driver to choose from. For example, ambient cabin lights change colour when you adjust the temperature. The car’s digital headlights can project information onto the street, or even shine a spotlight on a pedes- trian standing by the roadside. Over-the-air updates mean the car will learn new tricks over time.
YOU LIKE SCREENS?
Mercedes turned the entire dashboard
into an enormous wall-to-wall sheet of curved glass that houses multiple touch- screens for both driver and passenger. There’s never been anything like it.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
A 15-minute stop at a capable fast-charger will grant the EQS an extra 300 km of driving range. Wait half an hour and the battery will have recharged from 10 to 80 per cent.
IT’S WATCHING YOU
Since the car can track the driver’s gaze, it’s able to intuit what you’re try- ing to do. The EQS knows, for example, which rearview mirror you’re trying to adjust based on where you’re looking. Smarter tech means less digging through menus trying to find what you’re looking for.
SURPRISE
It may be big, but it’s not slow. Dual electric motors provide all-wheel drive and output a combined 516 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque. That’ll get the EQS from 0–100 km/h in 4.3 seconds. That’s pretty spry for a luxury limo.
COMING SOON
The EQS arrives in Canada this fall. Soon after, Mercedes will offer up
a mid-size EQE sedan and two new all-electric SUVs, all built on the same dedicated EV architecture as the EQS. This is just a taste of what’s to come.
AMG
You didn’t think the power-mad engineers at AMG would leave the EQS alone, did you? The skunk- works in Affalterbach is rumoured to have a 750 horsepower EQS AMG in the works.
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SUMMER 2021
RANGE
700 kilometres. (For all you EV geeks, that’s a WLTP rating.)
CARS