New Mercedes EQS gets almost 600 miles of range and heaps of new tech

The Mercedes EQS has been heavily updated for 2026, benefitting from a raft of technical and visual changes as honours for luxury electric saloon supremacy heat up.

Launched just weeks before its main rival, the facelifted BMW i7, the biggest change to the new Mercedes EQS is the new battery chemistry. The new setup increases battery capacity from 118kWh to 122kWh without altering the pack’s size and weight.

New Mercedes EQS: Battery tech

Combined with the EQS’ pebble-like drag coefficient of 0.20cD, the new EQS can travel 575 miles on a single charge in rear-wheel-drive (RWD) EQS 450+ guise.

While not quite able to match Europe’s longest-range EV, the 596-mile Lucid Air Grand Touring, the big Mercedes can still travel from London to Inverness with 15 miles of range left. An equivalent distance is from Munich to Paris. Meanwhile, twin-motor 4Matic models have received a range boost to 544 miles.

The new EQS still rides on Mercedes’ previous-gen EVA2 platform, which it shares with the soon-to-be discontinued EQE. Nonetheless, Stuttgart has upgraded it from 400V to 800V. This increases the charging speed from 200kW to a much more competitive 350kW.

The upgraded platform also means that the EQS can onboard around 199 miles of range in 10 minutes. It is worth noting that, like the outgoing EQS and unlike the CLA, the new car can still use 400V chargers. However, it has to ‘virtually divide’ its battery into two parts and top up each half at 175kW.

Powertrains and performance

The 2026 EQS line-up starts with the 362bhp RWD 450+ model, which replaces the old 288bhp 350. Further up the range, the EQS 500 and 580 4Matic come with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive  drivetrain.

Mercedes promises that the EQS’s new, more efficient, more compact, and more robust motors are a “generational leap” over their predecessors. The energy they can regenerate under deceleration is also up by a third – 385kW. Performance figures for the new EQS haven’t been announced. Nor has there been news about a performance-focused AMG model.

Elsewhere, Mercedes offers the 2026 EQS with steer-by-wire (SBW) technology, which eliminates a physical linkage between the steering wheel and the steering rack. As in the similarly configured Lexus RZ and Tesla Cybertruck, the EQS’s system is controlled by an aeroplane-style yoke.

Thanks to standard-fit rear-wheel steer, the EQS has an 11-metre turning circle, despite measuring over five metres in length and tipping the scales at over 2.5 tonnes. The new EQS rides on an upgraded version of Mercedes’ Airmatic air suspension. The system is fitted to the new electric GLC and recently facelifted S-Class, and uses cloud-extracted data to prepare the car’s dampers for potholes and speed bumps.

Mercedes has also fitted the 2026 EQS with its latest MB parking assist feature, which enables automatic reversing in spaces where turning isn’t possible. It can also parallel park.

Design and technology

The interior of the outgoing Mercedes EQS was a techfest, and the 2026 car is no different. The Hyperscreen dominates the dashboard with its three displays: a 12.3-inch driver unit, a 17.7-inch central unit, and a 12.3-inch passenger unit.

Mercedes has updated the Hyperscreen’s MBUX infotainment system with a new ‘Zero Layer’ that displays the most-used functions. The MBUX Virtual Assistant now comes with a choice of three avatars, including a human-like avatar called ‘LittleBenz’ that allows the driver to form an “even stronger connection [with the car] on a personal level”.

The fast-heating seatbelts are borrowed from the latest S-Class, and those in the back benefit from two 13-inch screens and new portable remotes to operate the rear compartment’s climate control and entertainment.

Other standard kit for rear occupants includes electrically-adjustable rear seats, padded headrests, wireless mobile device charging, and heated seats.

Step outside, and the biggest visual difference between the old EQS and the new car is the latter’s more sculpted, aerodynamically efficient front end. According to Mercedes, this is a nod to the S-Class with its black radiator grille, side-mounted chrome slats, and backlit three-pointed star pattern. Sportier AMG Line models get a large Mercedes badge in the centre of their grille to differentiate them from their more conservative stablemates.

The headlights now feature three-pointed star lighting signatures and come with Mercedes ‘Digital Light’ technology, which increases visibility by up to 40% and slashes energy use by 50% over the outgoing car. Their ‘Ultra Range’ high-beam setting now projects up to 600 metres – “roughly the length of six football pitches”.

Mercedes EQS 2026 pricing

UK pricing has yet to be confirmed for the new Mercedes EQS. We do know, however, that pricing will start from €94,403 in Europe – roughly £82,000.  Yet given that the car it replaces starts at £99,845, we expect the new EQS to cost over £100,000 when it arrives in the UK later in the year.