Tesla inaugurated the super high-range luxury sedan segment with the Model S and has largely dominated it since. The new Lucid Air is mounting a stiff challenge, however; according to and now bests Tesla on the range front. And for a minute there, it looked like the all-new Mercedes EQS was set to join that competition with a range of around 400 miles. We say “looked like,” though, because the EPA numbers are in for the EQS — and they aren’t quite as killer as the enthusiastic first estimate.
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The single-motor Mercedes EQS 450+, which has the lowest drag coefficient of any road car, earned a rating for 350 miles of range under EPA testing. That’s more than 50 miles less than EPA rating for the Tesla Model S Long Range, which starts around $18,000 cheaper. And it was only 10 miles more than the more powerful dual-motor EQS 580.
That said, 350 miles of range is still very impressive. The EQS is still 100 miles ahead of what European rivals like Audi, Porsche and Polestar have managed in EPA testing. BMW is targeting 300 miles for the new i4 sedan.
In addition, EPA numbers may be underestimating the real-world range for the EQS. We’ve seen the Porsche Taycan, for instance, outperform what its EPA testing number would suggest in real-world situations. Indeed, most recent EVs have managed to match or exceed their EPA ratings — except Tesla’s models, that is, which generally have shown difficulty achieving the ranges the feds say they can do.
Besides, getting 350 miles versus 400 likely matter more for publicity than having any ramifications for real-life EQS buyers. 350 miles is well beyond the threshold that would inspire range anxiety. Most EQS buyers will have a house where they will keep the vehicle fully charged overnight on a Level 2 charger anyway. The difference between having 350 miles of range and 400 will probably come up rarely — if ever.