The luxury SUV is the luxury brand’s first electric model.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
Lisbon The term luxury is clearly defined in the Mercedes world. 99 percent of customers choose the S-Class, EQS or GLS. However, anyone who can afford it gets into a Mercedes-Maybach. The sub-brand serves particularly well-funded buyers who want it even more exclusive, but who perhaps do not want to make the leap into the distinguished automotive elite around Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
Before the end of this year, Maybach will be launching the first all-electric model, 484 kW/658 hp, with a 108 kWh battery, after the premium offshoots of the S-Class and GLS, under the somewhat cumbersome name Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV 680 and over 600 kilometers range. Its sales will start at the end of 2023 in the US, China and Korea, the luxury brand’s main markets. The SUV should also come to Europe in early 2024.
Technically, it is based on the Mercedes EQS SUV, but has been improved in terms of aerodynamics and efficiency. The luxury SUV, which weighs almost three tons, disconnects the front drive when it is not needed and allows the front wheels to roll freely. A heat pump also uses the waste heat from the battery to heat the interior. What costs extra for the normal EQS SUV is standard in the Maybach. For example, the air suspension, for which an additional driving program was specially programmed. This should make the dampers respond even more sensitively and smooth out potholes more gently.
The luxury liner is also prepared for light off-road use. A camera scans the surroundings at speeds of up to 8 km/h and projects obstacles onto the display. But what defines luxury? Comfort? Technology? Optics? “A mix of everything,” says project manager Sharam Hami-Nobari, pointing to the front of the SUV. On the massive, closed grille – known internally as the Black Panel – with its vertical, chrome-plated trim strips, the car is the only Mercedes to bear a standing brand star, with the Maybach logo below it.
“We want to use this to bridge the gap between the elegance and comfort of Maybach and the technology of Mercedes,” says Hami-Nobari. Maybach is simply the crowning glory of the Stuttgart portfolio and you should see that at first glance.
With various tricks, the designers managed to optically take away the impact of the car’s 5.12 meter length.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
You already know the huge screen from the normal EQS SUV. Of course, it comes as standard in the Maybach.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
Luxury runs worldwide and gives the brand a boost: 21,600 Maybach were ordered last year, 37 percent more than in 2021. Until now, you had to spend at least 170,000 euros for a Maybach based on the S-kasse or GLS. The majority of buyers of the EQS SUV will have to transfer significantly more to Stuttgart.
In return they get a car that shows its origins offensively. The Maybach logo with the double M can be found everywhere: in the bumper, in the door panels or on the seats and even on the pedals. When the doors are opened, the car projects a light show of pulsating logos onto the road in front of the illuminated running boards. And when you start, the headlights and light strip at the rear play their own light symphony.
Luxury SUVs are primarily designed as chauffeur-driven vehicles.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
Applied too thick? Not necessarily. With various tricks, the designers managed to optically take away the impact of the car’s 5.12 meter length. Chrome strips run the entire length and converge on the D-pillar at another Maybach logo. In particular, the optional two-tone paintwork gives the car an elegance that many large SUVs lack because of their sheer mass. A fine stripe below the windows breaks up the lower color surface, reminiscent of the side chrome strips of the legendary Riva boats.
Inside, digital meets analogue luxury, the finest leather – tanned sustainably without chrome, but not vegan – meets a large number of screens. As in the EQS, the hyperscreen, which is standard here, stretches across the entire width of the cockpit with three displays that merge into one another. However, with its own look. The numbers on the speedometer change their size according to the speed and are faded in and out dynamically.
Between the seats is the champagne bar, with silver metal goblets.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
Additional 11.6-inch screens behind the backrest bring all entertainment functions to the rear. Navigation or vehicle functions can also be controlled from there. For example, the 253 individually controllable LEDs that illuminate the footwell, doors, compartments or headliner in 64 colors. The car is delivered from the factory as a five-seater.
But only the first-class rear version conveys the luxury for which the brand wants to stand. Then the front center console continues to the rear like a floating band, complete with a large compartment and tray between the two seats. In the chauffeur position, the passenger seat whirrs all the way forward, while the owner behind it snuggles up in the air-conditioned reclining seat, has her calves or back massaged and whiles away the time with a streamed video. The sound is provided by the standard 4D surround system from high-end manufacturer Burmester. A glass of champagne from the on-board bar, alternatively a cup of tea that the cup holder keeps warm, so you can glide home after a long day of work, scented, air-cushioned and double-glazed, shielded from the outside world.
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