Mercedes-AMG EQS

The blueprint for Mercedes' traditional flagship saloon gets an electric reinvention

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MODEL TESTED EQS 53 4MATIC+ NIGHT EDITION

Price £157,160 Power 649bhp Torque 701lb ft. 0-60mph 3.6sec 30-70mph in fourth na Fuel economy 2.4mpkWh CO₂ emissions Og/km 70-Omph 58.6m

We like

Effortless long-distance manners are underpinned by generous driving range

Immense performance unfolds only in the context of unflappable chassis dynamics

We don't like

Low-speed refinement doesn't always live up to the luxury EV brief.

It's no S-Class It handles neatly but lacks the ability to engage its driver when the moment arises

You wouldn’t think that an outfit as traditional as Mercedes would come to specialise in brave conquest models designed to fight on new class fronts. However, not only is it debatable just how ‘traditional’ modern Mercedes is, but it’s also a measure of the ferocious competition in the car industry that, aside from the torrent of crossovers introduced since the ML SUV broke new ground in 1998, the firm has launched at least three bona fide and entirely separate conquest models in the past decade.

First there was the Mk3 A-Class, intended to take sales from the Volkswagen Golf. Then there was the Mercedes-AMG GT, aimed at turning the heads of Porsche 911 buyers. Now we find out how the third conquest special devised in Stuttgart will fare: the all-electric EQS flagship saloon, launched to take on the Tesla Model S.