![]() It’s also exceptionally aero efficient: its drag co-efficient is just 0.26 (in its cleanest set-up). The EQS SUV has so much mass it was never going to be a design doozy, although it does transfer lots of the EQS’s design thinking (though we actually prefer the EQE): the surfacing is strong, there’s a smoothness to the overall form, and the shutlines and joints have all been minimised. Mercedes has toyed for years with the ‘mono-box’ form on its concept cars, and it works on something that’s like a renegade from Blade Runner 2049. Packaging that third row of seats is a challenge (see also what happens to the Land Rover Defender when so configured). The chassis uses steel and aluminium, with hot-formed steel used in critical load paths in the A and D pillars. The battery modules are housed in an energy absorbing structure and there’s also a double-walled base plate. It sits in a crash-protected area in the underbody, embedded in the structure with an extruded aluminium profile to the side. The battery’s total capacity is a substantial 108.4 kWh, and it’s packaged within the floorpan. This is obviously an important consideration in terms of sustainability. #Panoply designs softwareMercedes has developed the batteries, and the software that has oversight on them, in-house, and claims that their cobalt content has been reduced to less than 10 per cent. The SUV uses the same lithium ion battery pack as the EQS saloon, with up to 12 modules and pouch cells. The motor on the rear axle has a six-phase design (the not-for-the UK EQS SUV 450 + is a single motor set-up), and there’s all sorts of thermal cleverness in the batteries’ cooling circuits. The 4Matic cars are dual-motor and all-wheel drive the electric motors are permanently excited synchronous ones which have a higher power density, greater efficiency, and higher power constancy. These are claimed figures, mind, and we all know what the real world disparity can be. The UK is in line for two versions at launch: the EQS 450 4Matic, which averages between 2.5 and 3.1 miles per kWh for a claimed range of 378 miles, and has the equivalent of 355bhp and 590lb ft of torque, and/or the EQS 580 4Matic whose 536bhp output and 632lb ft sees the overall efficiency drop just a fraction. #Panoply designs fullThe EQS SUV is also stealing a march on key rivals like the Bentley Bentayga and Range Rover, for whom full electrification is a way off yet. For now, the emphasis is on electric mobility, intelligent resource conservation and making in-roads on the circular economy. Mercedes’ Ambition 2039 is targeting full CO2 neutrality by that year – including decarbonising the supplier network and vetting the cobalt mines – and the EQXX concept shows that lighter batteries and their myriad benefits are coming. Is this really the answer in embattled 2022?Ī saintly EV it may be, but try explaining that the next time Extinction Rebellion have glued themselves to the M25 or let your tyres down. ![]()
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