Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV revealed

There was an obvious reason why Mercedes-Benz insisted it would never make an AMG version of its big EQS electric SUV, and that reason was Maybach.

That’s why the flagship of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV range has just been shown wearing the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV badge, and it’s dripping with luxury rather than menacing performance.

With 484kW of power and 950Nm of torque, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV will still be no slouch, with a 4.4-second 0-100km/h sprint time and a 210km/h top speed, but pure performance is not its forte.

Instead, where BMW has sent the XM Label Red after the performance market, the twin-motor electric Maybach SUV will be about luxury from bumper to bumper.

The first all-electric Maybach model wears two-tone paintwork and even the rear digital screens are 11.6-inch units, built into the rear of the front head restraints.

Apart from enormous power, the EQS 680 EV delivers 600km of claimed range, with Maybach insisting the all-wheel drive SUV decouples the front electric motor when it’s cruising to extend range and minimise noise entering the cabin. 

Even if speed isn’t its forte, it will still have enough, because that’s what 950Nm does for an SUV, even if Mercedes-Maybach hasn’t declared its weight.

It can charge its big 108.4kWh battery, at up to 200kW, in 31 minutes via a DC fast-charger, though it only uses a 400-volt electrical system and Maybach claims an efficiency rating of between 22.5 and 24.4kWh per 100km.

Running on air springs and continuously variable dampers, the EQS 680 EV can be raised up by 35mm at the push of a button, and it has up to 4.5 degrees of rear-wheel steering as standard, plus an optional boost of up to 10 degrees of rear-wheel steering, pulling the turning circle down from 11.9 to just 11 metres.

Based heavily on the EQS 450 SUV, the Maybach EQS 680 SUV gets more of everything, but Mercedes’ claims that it does so with an ecological focus should – as with all vehicles of this size and at this price point – be taken with an enormous grain of salt.

Still, its efforts to clean up the supply chain of environmental and ethical issues could pay future dividends.

It uses coffee-bean shells as tanning agents for its vegetable-tanned leather and a closed-loop circuit for the water used in tanning.

It claims to save 45kg of salt per vehicle by not using salt in the leather processing and it has tightened up the criteria for sustainably processed leather, including banning illegal deforestation and declaring any grazing areas must not contribute to the loss of natural eco systems. 

It also uses secondary steel and aluminium in the interior, and the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV is carbon-neutral (like the BMW XM) from the start of production.

Rolling on either 21- or 22-inch alloy wheels, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV has subtle and not-so-subtle Maybach lettering and wording scattered around the body, from the grille to the D-pillar.

Its two-tone paintwork can be a combination of high-tech silver and obsidian black, high-tech silver and nautical blue, obsidian black and selenite grey, obsidian black and Kalahari gold, or velvet brown and onyx black.

It carries over the huge MBUX hyperscreen, which spreads across the Maybach’s dashboard, and has Maybach-specific start-up animations on all three screens.

The layout can be customised across three main styles – from Discreet to Sporty and finally to Maybach – and the content is actually reduced slightly from the EQS SUV, in keeping with Maybach.

Content can be shared around the various display screens in the car, and there is also an MBUX rear tablet, which can even be used outside the Maybach.

The rear executive seats copy the front seats, with ventilation, massaging and both neck and shoulder heating, and there is a calf-massage feature and a Chauffeur package as well, which moves the front passenger seat forward to create more legroom.

There is the option of a First Class rear arrangement with just two seats and the continuation of the centre console into the rear, with wood trim in the rear storage compartment.

There is even a projector in the back of the centre console to project the Maybach emblem onto the floor.

The rear also has two thermal cupholders and a shelf for the MBUX tablet, plus four fast-charging USB ports and two HDMI sockets.

The interior’s ambient lighting comes from 253 individually controllable LEDs and there are 64 colours to choose from, plus a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter to clean the air for the climate-control system, which also pre-conditions the air before the driver even enters the car.

The Burmester sound system features 15 speakers and the Dolby Atmos audio experience, made even clearer by the isolation of the electric motors and gearboxes via rubber mounts to minimise their vibrations entering the cabin.

The Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV is almost certain to join the first ever ground-up electric SUV range from Mercedes-Benz in Australia, where the EQS 450 SUV arrives late this year.

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