Electric ‘S’paceship

The EQS is Mercedes’ first vehicle based on its all-new electric car platform and is positioned in parallel with the S-Class. We drove the very variant that Mercedes will be making in India

- Yogendra Pratap

While Mercedes-EQ has already launched electric cars, the EQS, again the flagship of the electric range that corresponds to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, is the first custom built electric car from the Stuttgart-based company and is made on its new all-electric architecture. In size, it is very similar to the S-Class, with the German version that we drove being just 28mm narrower and 73mm shorter, though with a wheelbase that is just 6mm shorter. However the EQS is distinctive with its cab-forward design, bow-like silhouette with a fastback style at the rear and the black panel at the front. I am sure that the cabin is at least as spacious if not more, also due to the cab-forward design. Mercedes designers say that for the EQS they have worked on a philosophy of sensual purity combined with progressive luxury and arrived at the final form by using generously sculpted surfaces, reduced joints and seamless transitions. The headlights too have been specially crafted for the electric car with a DRL signet of three light dots connected to each other by a light band. The overall shape of the car and the various design elements lead it to the best co-efficient of drag ever seen on a production car of 0.20.