The race for car firms to produce a range of electric cars continues to gather pace. Don’t forget, as of January 1st 2030, you won’t be able to buy a new petrol or diesel-powered car. The UK government, along with a lot of other countries, has banned their sale. Some hybrids will have a stay of execution until 2035, but only those that can do a decent mileage on battery power alone before the conventional engine bursts into life.

The important thing for all of the major manufacturers is to have at least one electric car in every section of the market.

And that is precisely what Mercedes is doing with their latest car…the EQS SUV.

At the moment, they have one glorified minibus, the EQV. There are two all-electric saloon cars, the EQE and EQS, and the 3 SUVs of steadily increasing size, EQA, EQB and, you guessed it, EQC. But they don’t have a big, luxury 7-seater.

Until now.

The Mercedes EQS SUV, which is heavily based on the EQS saloon/hatchback, is available in some countries with 5 seats, but we’re only getting, so far anyway, the 7-seater models. It goes straight in as the flagship of the entire Mercedes range. View it as an electric S-Class which means it is loaded to the gunwales with tech.

Interestingly, big, luxury, electric cars have been some of the first on the all-electric scene. We’ve already got the BMW iX and it won’t be too long before there’s an electric Bentley Bentayga and an electric Range Rover. Audi of course already has their e-tron models.

Mercedes say that the SUV version that their EQS saloon can manage 379 miles on a full charge - that’s impressive for such a big car which weighs in at a hefty 2.7 tonnes. The battery can cope with one of the super-rapid chargers up to 200kw which means you can go from 10 to 80 percent charge in a shade over half an hour. Okay, those will be the optimistic figures in perfect conditions, but we’re steadily getting to the point where range and charging times are making electric car ownership a more realistic proposition for more people.

Two models are available at launch; 355bhp in the EQS SUV 450 or a more powerful EQS SUV 580 which churns out 536bhp. The lower-powered version is quick enough with a 0-60 time of 6 seconds, but the 536bhp version manages 4.6 seconds. Both have a limited top speed of 130mph. Yes this SUV can cope with the twisty stuff, (four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering come as standard) but where it really excels is as a long-distance cruiser. At a steady 70mph, you glide along in silence. It’s uncannily smooth. Refinement is staggering. We can’t think of a more sumptuous way to rack up the miles.

Oh, and if you want something a bit more punchy, hang on for the AMG model. The saloon model develops 649bhp so expect a similar offering for the SUV, assuming it comes to the UK.

And, as you sort of expect from an all-wheel drive SUV, this EQS will cope with some off-roading. It’s impressive when you decide to push it to the limit. Granted very few drivers are likely to take their EQS SUV onto seriously rough terrain, (mind the brambles), but it’s handy to know that the car does have that ability. It also equates to making the car more sure-footed when it comes to cornering on tricky roads or in wintery weather. The standard air suspension makes for a seriously cushy, well-controlled ride. Despite being a sizeable car, it doesn’t roll around when you chuck it into a corner. The four-wheel steering also means you can power out of tight corners and, a major bonus, you can squeeze the car into a tight space. There’s even an option for making the rear wheels turn even further…it’s a bit unnerving to start with because the car really does tuck in.

The seven seats are extremely comfortable. Okay, those in the third row shouldn’t be your local prop forward, but they’re fine for short journeys or children. Drop the seats into the floor and you have sufficient room for a month’s holiday luggage.

Needless to say that as a flagship model, the EQS SUV comes fully loaded…but so it should because the starting price is an estimated £130,000. The hi-tech dashboard is the show-stopper as per the EQS saloon and the quality of everything throughout the cabin is top-notch. You can fork out around £8k for the Hyperscreen which stretches across the entire fascia, but to be honest we’d skip it. Once you’ve shown your passenger how they can watch a screen that the driver can’t see, the wow factor sort of wears off. Anyway, the standard system is terrific in any case.

The car was launched in the Aspen - Beaver Creek skiing area of the Rockies in Colorado. There was a terrific mix of fast-sweeping dual carriageway, tight precipitous bends on the Independence Pass (one of the best roads we’ve ever driven along), and a seriously tricky off-road route. The EQS SUV showed that it can cope with anything you throw at it. If anything, it does it all too well….it needs a bit of character factored into the construction somehow.

And if you’re wondering why it was launched in the USA, it’s because that is where the EQS SUV is built…Tuscaloosa, Alabama to be precise. Bearing in mind that Americans are used to travelling huge distances to go to the shop, or restaurant or get a pizza, you can see that the Mercedes EQS SUV will be a big seller on that side of the pond.

And here in the UK, Mercedes will sell every one they can lay their hands on. If you are wanting a big 7-seater SUV with excellent off-road ability, a cosseting interior, and one of the most refined rides on the market, look no further.

Words by Graham Courtney.