The Mercedes EQS is practically everything you’d thought a Mercedes electric vehicle to be. A luxurious interior with many digital screens with tech that makes you often say things like “oh wow, cool!” or “that’s neat”. Well, that’s how it is with me at least.
And if you watched our Instagram stories awhile back, I had the opportunity to check out the new EQS450+ by driving it around the streets of Kuala Lumpur. While I did manage to lose myself navigating KL, it did give me some time to check out all the gears and gizmos of what the future of Mercedes has to offer.
One particular feature I found enjoyable is the traffic alert system when I was stuck at a traffic light. The car’s camera system immediately turned on and zoomed into the traffic light in front of me and displayed the image on the screen just in case I wasn’t paying attention. To be honest, I was so amazed by it, I paid too much attention to the screen instead of the actual light. The rear-axle steering too was a very cool feature making tight turns a breeze.
More Range Gets You More Street Cred?
However, that’s not the point of this article but in fact to talk about how tuners are now exploring the EV world by increasing the range instead of giving the cars more power. Truth be told, EVs are relatively more powerful than their ICE counterparts and tuning-wise, there isn’t much to offer.
Which is why Brabus decided to increase the range of the EQS by improving the aerodynamics of the car. While that does sound rather dull, the EQS is in fact the most aerodynamic production for sale today, with a drag coefficient of .209 (whatever that means, I’m no aerodynamicist).
Who Says Cosmetic Mods Have No Effects?
But going into the aero parts themselves, the most visible changes are actually the new 22-inch monoblock wheels. Design is rather subjective but we reckon the sportier multi-spoke option rather fits the whole persona of the EQS. The restyled front fascia and wheel arches work in tandem with a new rear diffuser to remove excess drag while increasing downforce simultaneously.
Apart from that, Brabus has managed to modify the air-suspension with a software-enabled mod as the ‘plug-and-play’ module lowers the car’s height by 15mm up front and 20mm in the rear in order to improve the overall look and reduce additional drag.
Putting Numbers Into Perspective
According to Brabus, the driving range has been improved by 7% on average at the speeds between 100km/h to 140km/h. To put it into perspective, the original range claim for the EQS450+ is actually 729km, which the additional 7% of range with the Brabus kit, will get you a total of 780km. A 51km difference is a lot, mind you, especially if you’re looking for a charging station.
For now, the price has yet to be released but judging by how Brabus tends to place their logos on everything, it’s quite a big kit. But then again, the standard EQS450+ is already RM698,888. We’re guessing the Brabus kit is an additional RM100k on top of that price, however that is only a mere estimate.
Written by | Danial Malek
Images by | NoEqual.co & Brabus
