Mercedes EQS: Design for all Senses

“With our EQS, we have created a completely new, future generation of luxury cars. Based on our style of sensual purity, we create desire by combining a beautifully seductive sculpture with the most progressive proportion. Key features such as the ‘one-bow’ design and a holistically integrated, highly reduced and seamless styling gives the Mercedes EQS its sporty and progressive look. That’s what sets it apart from any other vehicle we have ever created – that’s what makes our EQS so extraordinary.” 

Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer, Daimler Group.

With the all-electric saloon EQS, Mercedes-EQ is redefining this vehicle segment. The EQS is also the first luxury and executive-class electric car to be built on a modular architecture. The EQS impresses drivers and passengers alike with its seamless integration of cutting-edge technology, sleek design, usability, and connectivity. The EQS, together with the S-Class and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, is built in “Factory 56” at Mercedes-Sindelfingen Benz’s plant, which is Mercedes-Benz’s most advanced automotive production site. 

Almost all of the senses can be used to experience the EQS. The classical human senses are sight, hearing, smelling, feeling, and tasting. In many aspects, the new EQS appeals to the first four: 

Visual perception: The retina of the human eye has around 100 million rods and cones. These sensory cells allow us to see characteristics of the EQS that are unique for the luxury class, such as the cab-forward design and coupé-like “one-bow” lines with fastback, for example. At first look, the Black Panel front and the design of the lights easily identify the EQS from vehicles with combustion engines, and this is further emphasized by the Black Panel front and the lights. 

Auditory perception: The EQS creates a soundscape that alternates between soothing quiet and a participatory, sensuous sound experience. Mercedes’ sound engineers have made the transition from a combustion engine to an electric automobile acoustically perceptible with a holistic sound production. The EQS comes with two soundscapes out of the box: Silver Waves and Vivid Flux. On the primary display, they can be selected or turned off as sound experiences. 

Olfactory perception: When we breathe, we are continually exposed to new scents. Millions of receptors in the nasal mucosa and the terminals of the trigeminal nerve report odors to the brain independently of one another. The EQS has something to do with odors: its big HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air) not only successfully cleans the outside air of small dust, minute particles, and pollen, but it also reduces odors. 

Haptic perception: The skin is the greatest sensory organ in the human body. We can use it to determine whether something is soft or rough, warm or cold, wet or dry, and so on. The interior of the EQS has a lot of character, with flowing leather surfaces, finely detailed seam patterns, and dynamic perforations, as well as the current fine structure NEOTEX and trim made of open-pore genuine wood. 

Exterior 

Despite being a near relative of the new S-Class, the EQS is an all-electric vehicle. Even at a glance, the EQS distinguishes itself from vehicles powered by internal combustion engines thanks to its one-bow lines and cab-forward form with a fastback. 

The roof line above the passenger compartment, known as the greenhouse, is as taut as a bow (“one bow”). With the sportily low and narrow front, a coupé-like silhouette is achieved. The frameless doors and a high, curving beltline as an independent design element emphasize this. 

The spacious passenger compartment is made possible by the A-far-forward pillar’s base and the C-rear pillar’s location. The front end and overhangs are short, while the back is nicely contoured. 

The designers have achieved the new purism in the EQS in exceptional fashion with reduced lines, precise gaps, and smooth transitions. The front-end design is particularly noteworthy: the front bonnet overlaps the wings. This also lowers the number of gaps between panels that are visible. 

The stunning look of the EQS is defined by the deep black surface of the grille (“Black Panel”). The Mercedes-EQ model family’s Black Panel unit in the front is a design feature. 

The headlights are connected by a light band and have a distinctive daytime running light signet with three light dots. The rear lights, which have inner workings in the form of a curving 3D helix, are also joined by a light band, which is equally as characteristic for the EQ family as the rear lights. 

Interior 

The EQS is Mercedes-EQ’s luxurious and cutting-edge top-of-the-line model. The designers had the objective and chance to establish an entirely fresh approach to interior design with this completely new type of vehicle. They took advantage of this flexibility, relying on constant digitization for many additional features in addition to the MBUX Hyperscreen. 

Under the shared glass cover, the high-resolution screens appear to merge smoothly. Their MBUX content has a graphic appearance that is unique to them. The MBUX Hyperscreen is discreetly integrated into the instrument panel. Only a thin silver shadow frame, a vent band, and a slim leather frame surround the MBUX Hyperscreen, which is reminiscent of the lower volume body of traditional instrument panels. 

At the top, the vent band spans the entire width while remaining extremely narrow. The avant-garde architecture of the cockpit is created by these extreme proportions and the glass wave of the MBUX Hyperscreen. See individual chapters for further information on the MBUX Hyperscreen. 

The central console’s front part connects to the instrument panel and stands independently in space. It’s a visual representation of the new drive architecture, as the electric powertrain eliminates the need for a transmission tube. In combination with a big cover made of solid wood, flowing leather surfaces with sophisticated seam patterns create a lot of storage space. The overall image is both contemporary and opulent. 

The style of the door panels is inspired by modern living room interiors. To span the space, doors and their center panels emerge from beneath the MBUX Hyperscreen. In front of the door panel, a surface-mounted modular body floats like a sideboard. All relevant door features, such as the armrest, door module, pull handle, and map pocket, are accommodated. In the nighttime, circular ambient lighting completes the floating, avant-garde appearance. 

The comfort seats are part of the Electric Art design and equipment line. They attract with their sculptural beauty despite their simplicity of design. The side bolsters’ wrap-around surfaces provide body support and contrast sharply with the seat center panel. It boasts a clever fan palm-like seam pattern.