• Large battery means long range but lengthy charging time
• We haven’t been able to replicate fast-charging claims
• Unlimited mileage warranty – with provisos

What are the running costs?

Gone are the days when an electric car was automatically dead cheap to run. Though there are still some dedicated domestic EV charging tariffs with super-low costs per kilowatt hour (kWh), if you’re forced to rely on the public charging network you’ll be paying a hefty amount to keep the EQS topped up.

Since this is an expensive car to buy in the first place, the charging cost is perhaps less of a concern to customers than the inconvenience of losing large chunks time waiting for that charging to finish. Even the 31 minutes Mercedes’ claims is possible for a 10-80% charge will feel like a long time to some potential buyers – and we found that even accessing powerful 350kW rapid chargers the EQS didn’t replenish its enormous 108.4kWh battery pack anywhere near that quickly.

Certainly, if you’re used to slinging petrol or diesel into a conventional S-Class, the EQS will require greater consideration. If you’ve got a 11kW wallbox at home – which requires a less common three-phase supply – it still needs 10 hours for a full charge; on a more common 7kW wallbox you’ll need 15 hours and 30 minutes.

Note also that the EQS is in the most expensive 50E insurance group.

View detailed Mercedes EQS specs

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Servicing and warranty

Servicing intervals for the Mercedes EQS are every 20,000 miles, with Mercedes ServiceCare plans available to spread the cost or allow you to pay upfront for a block of maintenance if that helps you budget.

The standard Mercedes EQS warranty is three years with unlimited mileage – with a 30 years of unlimited ‘perforation’ protection as well (so it shouldn’t rust). The battery is covered by a 10-year warranty, but this is limited to 155,000 miles. Extended warranty coverage is available from Mercedes at extra cost.

Reliability

• Lots of recalls already
• But no consistent reports of poor reliability
• Leave an owners’ review if you’ve got one

The EQS is still relatively new at the time of writing, so there’s not a great deal of reliability data to go on. However, Mercedes isn’t historically the most reliable of brands, and electric cars have a variable reputation as well. So while there have been no reports of screaming horrors with this car, it’s perhaps not a surprise that there have been eight official recalls in its first year of production…

The majority of these relate to electronic components not meeting specification. Which is presumably quite a frustrating experience on such an expensive vehicle. If you’ve got one and want to add your own thoughts, why not write a Parkers owners’ review to help guide others.