The Mercedes Benz EQS 450+ is easily one of, if not the most luxurious, premium electric vehicles available today. When it comes to electric vehicles, the driving range, as well as the ability to recharge quickly, are two features that need to be considered when labeling a vehicle “premium”.
The rear-wheel-drive Mercedes EQS 450+ has a combined EPA range rating of 350 miles per charge, which is more than any EV available today except for the Tesla Model S, Tesla Model 3, and the Lucid Air. The EPA stopped publishing the highway range ratings for EVs recently, or we would have used that number for comparison.
However, we’ve been hearing reports from various sources that the EQS 450+ can easily outperform its EPA range rating, even when driven at highway speeds. Here at InsideEVs, we don’t just take the EPA range rating or test results from other sources. We put all the electric vehicles through our standardized 70-mph highway range test and recently, it was the EQS’s turn.
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We actually ran into a little issue at the beginning of the range test when we got stuck in a traffic slowdown for about 1.5 miles. It took us about 20 minutes to get past the construction work before we could resume driving at 70 mph. That really didn’t affect the range test much, if anything, it may have robbed the EQS of a mile or two as the consumption rate in that segment was slightly higher than the rest of the trip.
| Segment Of The Test | Efficiency | Miles Driven | Total Miles |
| 100% to 75% | 3.46 mi/kWh | 92 | 92 |
| 75% to 50% | 3.58 mi/kWh | 101 | 193 |
| 50% to 25% | 3.58 mi/kWh | 97 | 290 |
| 25% to 0% | 3.67 mi/kWh | 105 | 395 |
We turned off the highway to where the charging station was located after driving 391 miles and at 1% state of charge and drove the remaining 4 miles at about 50 mph. The state of charge read 0% when we ended the test, but the car’s range estimator display said there were two more miles of range left. Since we drove the final 4 miles at about 50 mph, sacrificing those last 2 miles seemed like a fair tradeoff.
We’re impressed with the results. The EQS 450+ beat its combined EPA range rating by 45 miles (13%). Nearly 400 miles of highway cruising range is second only to the Lucid Air Dream Edition which finished our range test in November with an amazing 500 miles.
We’re currently in the process of arranging a rental of a 2022 Model S (non Plaid) with the 19″ Tempest Wheels. That vehicle is EPA range rated at 405 miles so the EQS may not hold the 2nd place title for long.
About our 70 MPH range tests
We want to make it clear our range tests aren’t perfect. There are variables simply out of our control like wind, traffic, and weather. However, we do our best to control what we can.
We always set the tires to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure, crosscheck the speedometer with a GPS for accuracy, place the vehicle in eco-driving mode, DC fast charge up to 100 percent, and enter the highway either immediately or within a couple of miles. We then drive at a constant 70 mph and in long loops so we end up either where we started, or very close by.
Driving conditions, temperature, and topography will affect an EVs driving range and our 70-mph range tests serve only as a guideline of approximately what you should expect if you drive the same EV under similar conditions.