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We want a screen party in an electric car, we want six infotainment screens inside the car, and a pillar to pillar Hyperscreen that makes up the entirety of the dashboard.

We want the highest range and biggest battery on the road, the most features, all of the haptic capabilities possible, a Mercedes version of Siri for a voice-controlled user experience, augmented reality that projects 3D maps onto the front window, music streaming services, more than one option for ambient lighting, automatic doors, the softest headrests…

It’s the stunning and superfluous Mercedes-Benz EQS, which is perhaps the classiest electric car in the S-class.

Mercedes has lagged behind other automakers in the release of luxury electric cars but finally, they’ve brought in the EQS, which will be officially launched next year.

Here are more of the technical specs via The Verge:

• The EQS will sprint zero to 60 mph in a little over four seconds and will be top speed-limited to 130 mph.
• It will come in two battery sizes: 90kWh and 107.8kWh. By way of comparison, the most powerful Tesla, the long-range Model S, has a 100kWh battery.
• The 107.8kWh battery has an estimated range of up to 770 km (478.5 miles) based on the generous WLTP standard. (The EPA rated range will definitely be lower.)
• The 400-volt architecture is liquid-cooled through special cavities cast into the aluminum battery housing that automatically preheats or cools as needed to speed charging. This could be very useful in priming the battery before it charges, especially in winter temperatures.
• When plugged into a 200kWh fast charger, the EQS’s battery will add about 300 kilometers (186 miles) in 15 minutes. That’s faster than most of Mercedes’ competitors.
• It will be eligible for the Plug and Charge system, a technological concept initially introduced by ISO 15118, the international standard for charging EVs. That means the EQS will be compatible with about 90 percent of the public charging stations in the US without the need to download an app or sign up for an individual charging service.
• In electric vehicles, better aerodynamics equal improved range — so the bodywork is ultra-low drag. Mercedes claims the 0.20 drag coefficient as the best in the world.
• It will come in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations.
• The single-motor configuration will get 329 horsepower with rear-wheel drive, while the dual-motor/all-wheel drive trim level will get 516 horsepower.

But really the Hyperscreen as they call it, is the main star – smart and massive:

The operating system uses artificial intelligence to learn which features you use the most, then surfaces those features as individual widgets on the main screen. Ideally, you don’t have to rummage through too many sub-menus to find what you want.

The company claims drivers can find “90 percent” of what they’re looking for on the first layer of the screen without having to scroll through menus or use the voice assistant.

You can even choose between four driving modes depending on where your mood wants to take you: Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Individual.

Stopping is also novel with the regenerative braking feature, which Mercedes calls “intelligent recuperation”:

That means you press the acceleration pedal to accelerate or cruise and release the pedal to brake. When the pedal is released, the regenerative braking kicks in, supplying some power back into the battery.

The level of regenerative braking, as well as the weight and feel of the one-pedal system, can be adjusted using the plus or minus paddles behind the steering wheel.

To put the cherry on top, it is also aesthetically impressive, with the Mercedes logo patterned across the shell, like sparkling stars, bejewelled water, or crisscrossing jets.

Andrew J. Hawkins was lucky enough to take the car for a spin before it officially launched and had a lot to say about it, weighing up the best and worst features with other cars of its kind, all of which you can read in The Verge.

You can also watch the video of him driving it here:

He writes:

 To paraphrase the good doctor Ian Malcolm, Mercedes’ engineers were so preoccupied with whether they could add a shimmering water effect to the bodies of water in the EQS’s 3D map that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

What are the richest people who are only getting richer meant to drive, if it’s not a car with too much?

We can only say we want it…

[source:theverge]