Mercedes-Benz EQS: Driving the priceless new electric car

The German giant has shown off its electric future with a priceless electric car that has some features that need to be seen to be believed.

You can’t put a dollar figure on the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS concept. There’s only one example, the meticulously crafted machine that was the star of the Frankfurt motor show last September.

This rolling sculpture is here to show us the future of Mercedes — in design, power, and cabin space — and we’ve driven it on Australian soil.

It looks unreal in the metal, impressing in daylight with those 24-inch wheels, the single curve anchoring its smooth silhouette and two-tone floating bodywork.

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS is a one of a kind concept car showing the brand’s future luxury electric car.

Darkness reveals its true beauty. There is the all-around beltline of cobalt illumination cleaving the silver and black body sections plus the brake lamps comprising 229 individual star lights and the front grille made from 940 LEDs floating in a three-dimensional space surrounding the famous badge.

The EQS makes 350kW and 760Nm from its electric motors.

New “digital light” headlamps are particularly special. Made from LED bezels spinning at 2000rpm, the lights are capable of changing their appearance, displaying messages and illuminating the path ahead in creative new ways.

The boot and bonnet panels are precision-machined from enormous aluminium ingots and the side panels are carbon-fibre and Plexiglas pieces custom-moulded at considerable expense. Each wheel takes master craftsmen a month to create.

So there’s a sense of trepidation as I climb into a surprisingly stark cockpit.

The EQS has head-turning futuristic looks.

Mercedes reckons people will be sick of obvious slab-like touchscreens in the near future, so the EQS delivers infotainment through roof-mounted projectors beaming into the cabin. Flat surfaces near the centre and side armrests become touch-sensitive control pads for an environment unlike any car on sale today.

There are nods to sustainability in headlining made of plastic plucked from the ocean and faux-leather seat material woven from recycled bottles.

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS in Melbourne.

Driver and passengers occupy reclined seats between the low roofline and battery pack under the floor.

A hidden panel in the centre console reveals awkward plastic buttons for its electric drive. I press drive, release the electric parking brake and ease on to the concrete apron at Essendon Airport.

The official line is that 350kW are on hand to turn the front and rear axles but steady progress suggests much of the power has been quarantined.

The EQS has a small steering wheel.

Noisy electric motors sound like the sort of battery-powered ride-on cars enjoyed in cul-de-sacs by suburban kids, contrasting with the impressive work of engineers who hush production models.

The aviation-inspired steering yoke isn’t practical given the concept’s slow steering. I cross my arms then need a moment to unfurl limbs and add more lock to keep the big car on course.

Lack of ventilation makes it feel muggy and the suspension — if there is any — is surprisingly stiff. The omission of unsightly practicalities such as window seals makes progress in the EQS a draughty experience.

Teh EQS interior is a lot different from what we are used to.

Look past this and you see what this car means for the brand.

For starters, it’s a sedan, not an SUV. This brand is blessedly committed to conventional four-door machines and the Vision EQS will be the basis for an electric limousine to sell in parallel to the S-Class flagship.

Protesters outside the Frankfurt show called on car makers and buyers to turn their backs on comparatively heavy and thirsty high-riding crossovers. Mercedes might be listening.

The presence of the steering device is also reassuring, as Mercedes recognises it needs to build cars people want to drive in order to convince them to spend money.

So autonomous driving is less of a priority in passenger cars which will keep adding game-changing safety features without denying the driver a wheel.

New architecture underpinning the EQS will form the basis for other dedicated electric cars, including a smaller sedan similar in size to the E-Class.

The first electric Mercedes, the EQC, was a quick adaptation of its best-selling GLC luxury SUV. Future models will be built in the same manner as Tesla’s Model S, Audi’s e-Tron GT and the Porsche Taycan, which combine dedicated electric platforms with huge battery capacity and powerful motors.

We can’t wait to drive them. Especially if they look like this.

Mercedes-Benz EQS vitals

On sale: Before 2025 in production trim

Cost: Priceless. Many millions, if you factor in research and development.

Power: Twin electric motors, 350kW/760Nm combined

Range: 700km

Charging time: 20 minutes (for 80 per cent or 560km)