Mercedes-Benz today gives us some of the EQS picture by revealing the interior design and dropping some intriguing details to the exterior. The headline is what you are viewing above. That dashboard, called “Hyperscreen” by Mercedes, is the key to this interior. We saw a photo of the dashboard at CES, but now Mercedes shows us what it looks like when integrated into the EQS’s interior.
In addition to the three OLED screens (one 17.7-inch and two 12.3-inch), Mercedes unveils a number of other innovations and eye-catching items in the EQS interior. We’ll cover each of them in their own sections below, but the big items include the interior design in general, new sound experience, a nice air filter system, and a few exterior details.
Interior design
We start with interior design in general. The new Hyperscreen might grab your attention at first, but it’s not even the standard dashboard. Unless you choose to use the Hyperscreen, the dashboard is very similar to the new S-Class. Basically, you can choose to have a big screen for the passenger to mess around with, or you can fill that space with huge strips of trim (wood, metal, and more).
The Hyperscreen enforces a decidedly minimalist design for most of the dashboard, but it’s not without its flair. Every EQS gets the same vents with a rose gold piece of trim in the top vents and turbine-shaped side vents. You will notice that a large piece of wood adorns the center console where it covers the cup holders. This middle area itself floats above an open storage space below – no transmission tunnel means more utility.
The door panels are designed to make the individual elements, such as the door puller, look like they are floating in space. Mercedes came up with two new seat designs, one for comfort and one with a sports focus (for the AMG Line interior). Elaborate quilting and stitching can be found on these leather seats. The seats even have illuminated piping that light up with the other mood lighting in the interior. And while we’re on the subject of lighting, the EQS represents a new level of attention for Mercedes there. Mercedes star-cut elements have been laser-cut into the dashboard trim which is then illuminated from behind, giving the impression of stars on the dashboard. You will notice the new colored piping all over the dark pictures as Mercedes goes to great lengths to make light a luxury item.
Mercedes wasn’t talking about the back seat, but the photos show tablets for rear passengers and all the legroom you could ever need.
Sound
There’s a lot going on here, and it’s not about the sound of an engine or exhaust. However, Mercedes believes that even an electric car should be heard. There are three different “soundscapes” for owners to enjoy: Silver Waves, Vivid Flux and Roaring Pulse. Silver Waves is meant to be barely noticeable, but pleasant background noise. Vivid Flux is for the EV enthusiast who wants to hear high-tech electronic sounds. And Roaring Pulse (supposedly coming with an OTA update after the car is launched) is meant to make you feel like you’re in an AMG or high-performance machine. All sounds are played through the 15-speaker Burmester stereo system – Mercedes allowed us to listen quickly during a video call, and they make the car sound different from any other EV on the inside – Vivid Flux is our current favorite.
The second piece of news, which relates to sounds emanating from the EQS, is something called Energizing Nature. At first glance, it looks like the Hyundai / Kia Sounds of Nature on steroids. The natural sounds were composed by acoustic ecologist (what a neat job!) Gordon Hempton. You can choose between Forest Glade, Sounds of the Sea and Summer Rain. Each sound is accompanied by its own indoor climate program. Sounds of the Sea, for example, is accompanied by a rhythm of cool and warm air that is blown out of the ventilation openings and an appropriate light color.
Any nap enthusiast will also be delighted with a new Power Nap program that you can activate when taking a break on a long drive or waiting for your EQS to recharge. It helps you fall asleep by putting the chair in a resting position, closing the windows and blinds, activating the ionization of air, adjusting the ambient lighting and finally playing soothing music and casting a starry sky over the screens see. Your EQS will then wake you up after a healthy nap by activating a pleasant wake-up sound, sending a scent into the booth, subtly activating the massage program and switching on the ventilated seats. Once awake, it automatically raises the seat, opens the blinds and prepares the car to drive. Does it get any better?
Air filtration
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a renewed focus on filtering particles through a car’s air filtration system. Mercedes-Benz was certainly developing its new high-tech filter system before our world was turned upside down, but it’s intriguing nonetheless. A new option (first for Mercedes) called “Energizing Air Control Plus” will be available in the EQS that includes an intensive HEPA filter and filtration system. For a certain context, the new filter has a volume of almost three liters and takes up a good amount of space under the hood.
Ultimately, Mercedes promises it will be able to filter sulfur and nitrogen dioxide odors from the car, as well as viruses and other bacteria. That means there are no more bad smells on your trip to work along that sulfur-smelling area. The recirculation air function also cleans the air in the vehicle to keep it as fresh as possible. You can monitor particulate matter levels both inside and outside the car using the screen, and it will even recommend closing the windows in areas of low air quality. Just in case perfectly clean air isn’t enough, Mercedes is introducing a new fragrance mode called No. 6 Mood Linen, which supposedly smells like fig trees, cool air and linen.
Exterior details
We wish Mercedes had already shown us the car without camouflage, but that requires a little more patience. Today it told us how the new one-bow design (a single continuous body line from fender to rear bumper) helps make it the most aerodynamic production car in the world. The drag coefficient is a miniscule 0.20, beating every other car on the market, even the new Tesla Model S which is listed at 0.208. Its teardrop shape (the rear tapered to the rear) is what Mercedes cited as a big key to its low drag. Another nice touch: there are no closed lines in the hood to give it the cleanest possible lines in the front.
Mercedes also told us about the new exterior lighting design. The headlamps have a three-point running light signature connected by a light band. The grille itself has a subtle glowing star pattern in it. At the rear, the taillights are meant to look like a 3-D helix, inspired by old spiral elements in incandescent bulbs.
This could go on forever, but we’ll wait until we get a more hands-on experience with the Hyperscreen and Mercedes’ updated MBUX to address that. It already looks more promising than the current MBUX, as it uses a “zero-layer” design to facilitate access to certain functions. Artificial intelligence and an even smarter voice assistant should make it even better to use. Our biggest complaint with the current MBUX system is the complex and difficult to use menu structure. This could be the answer we are looking for.
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