Mercedes-Benz EQS Deals With Impromptu "Biological Attack" in Exclusive Test

They say Germans don't have a sense of humor. Well, if that's true, they must be the funniest non-amusing nation out there because you probably haven't laughed harder all week (OK, it's Monday, but still) than you will after you hear Fabian, a member of the Mercedes-Benz EQS development team, enunciating the phrase mentioned before.

Do you want some context? Fabian and Thomas, the Autogefühl host, are stuck in the 610 lb-ft (828 Nm) electric limousine behind a tractor that had just finished spreading some manure on a field and is now dripping some of the eco-friendly fertilizer on the street while slowly making its way forward. With this being Germany, nobody tries to cross the continuous dividing line despite the good visibility and the lack of oncoming traffic, so a good three and a half minutes of the review are spent behind the horse-behind perfume dispenser.

Except the two can't feel a thing thanks to the EQS' filtering system. It may lack the fancy name of Tesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode, but the electric Mercedes-Benz limousine prides itself with the largest HEPA filter in the automotive industry—approximately 10 liters (that's just under three gallons) of filter volume—combined with 600 grams of active coal. Not exactly the first thing you want to know about a car, but definitely something everyone can appreciate when stuck in a situation similar to this one.

Other than that revelation, the review only confirms what we've been expecting the whole time and what its name suggests: it's the electric equivalent of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is as high a praise as they come. However, after driving it, Thomas says it reminds him more of the S-Class Coupe than the limousine. It's easy to understand why considering the big battery will give the EQS a very low center of gravity and, therefore, impeccable handling, while the two motors enable a 4.3-second 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration.

Weighing in at 2.5 tons, it's not even that heavy. Sure, it's on par with some of the older big body-on-frame SUVs, so it would be hard not to say it's on the lardy side, yet the ICE S-Class isn't exactly known for its nimbleness either. In fact, from a driving perspective, Thomas says he would choose the EQS without hesitation because it offers no compromise on comfort, but it significantly ups the power game.

With a claimed maximum range of 478 miles (770 km) using the WLTP cycle, there is nothing left to fault the Mercedes-Benz EQS other than the price. Nothing official there but let's not kid ourselves.