The new generation of electric vehicles seems to be performing the moose test impressively. A large portion of these zero-emissions vehicles covers the stability challenge better than similarly-sized combustion-powered models. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the new Mercedes-Benz EQS, however, as the electric luxury sedan didn’t impress during a new test run by the km77.com team.
The highest speed with which the EQS passed the test without hitting any cones was 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour). Sure, that’s not a terrible result - the Skoda Enyaq, for example, did worse, but it’s a little disappointing given how much technology is doing its job in such an advanced electric vehicle. The testers described this result as “poor”, though they admitted the driver had no problems keeping the vehicle within the desired path.
Our Spanish colleagues explained the weight of the EQS is its worst enemy in the moose test. The suspension, steering, and electronic systems are doing a good job, but nothing can compensate for the weight of the massive battery pack. The publication says they managed to cover the test with an equivalent S-Class at a speed of 45 mph (74 kph), even without the rear steering option that was present on the tested EQS.
Gallery: Mercedes-Benz EQS
When the team attempted to increase the speed above 45 mph (72 kph), the EQS tended to understeer. Eventually, the driver had to avoid entering the third section of the test in order not to wear the tires too much. Even with the Sport mode engaged, the suspension wasn’t able to cope with the weight of the EQS. In fact, the test pilot wasn’t able to find a clear difference in the road behavior of the car between Comfort and Sport modes.
It will be very interesting to see whether the EQS AMG will perform better than its non-AMG sibling in the moose test. We don’t know if the performance electric sedan is in km77.com’s plans, though they recently tested the BMW iX and we can’t wait to see it go around the cones.
