A BIGGER ELECTRIC ISOLATION BUBBLE

Mercedes-EQ EQS-Class SUV I FIRST LOOK

- FRANK MARKUS

We recently we rode shotgun in a heavily camouflaged 2023 Mercedes-EQ EQS SUV prototype. Now we've clapped our peepers on the production model's sheet metal in a studio, crawled around and under this burly beauty, and struggled to digest 62 pages of press bumf. Here are the highlights.

The EQS SUV is an 8.4-inch-taller, three-row version of the EQS sedan-an SUV "top hat" perched on the same rolling chassis. Taller seating allows the length to be bobbed by 5.5 inches, but you get the same exact battery pack and essentially the same motors and suspension. You also gain 11 cubic feet more cargo volume with the rear seats down (74 versus 63).

It's not, however, an electric GLS-Class. Mercedes is prioritizing efficiency über alles for its EQ subbrand, which it sees as the more profitable way to deliver the range that customers demand. Therefore, relative to the conventionally powered, similarly-sized GLS, the EQS SUV sits on an entirely different platform, and its wheelbase is 3.0 inches longer (matching the EQS sedan's) while overall length is 3.2 inches shorter.

In the name of minimizing frontal area, the bodywork also shrinks 2.8 inches in width and a significant 4.2 inches in height. But with no giant engine under the hood, the A-pillars move forward, reclaiming some interior space.