A little over a year ago Mercedes slashed the price of its EQS electric sedan by a whopping $33,000 in China in an attempt to boost disappointing sales. One of the reasons given for buyers’ disinterest was the sporty roofline, which affected headroom in the rear seats, where many Chinese owners prefer to sit.
The facelifted models you see in these spy shots aren’t going to fix that, unless Mercedes engineers are planning to give the back seat cushions what Miata owners wanting to sit lower refer to as a foamectomy.
What Mercedes-Benz will do, as revealed by CEO Ola Kallenius during a recent call with investors, is attempt to improve the situation through a new option called “executive seats.”
“If you sit in the back, you can still order the regular backseat,” said Kallenius. “But this executive seating will also be available as of June this year. I’m 195cm [6.4 ft] tall, and when I sit in the back of an EQS, I can sit there very comfortably,” he added. Kallenius did not delve into further detail, but we suspect that it involves individual rear seats.
And neither are the exterior changes hidden beneath the front and rear camouflage going to transform the disappointingly ordinary exterior, which looks too plain for a supposed luxury flagship, and entirely lacks the wow factor delivered by the Vision EQS concept car that preceded it.
The key change is up front, where Mercedes will give buyers the choice between a revised version of the current grille or an all-new, traditionally styled grille featuring the three-star emblem planted on the hood, similar to the existing S-Class design albeit without the openings.
“Some of them want to keep more sporty look and have the star integrated in the panel,” said Kallenius. “And some, we believe will want to have the more traditional look. So you will be able to get both.”
The revised lights and the option of a more classic-looking grille that we’ll get to see at the launch later this year, should freshen up the styling, but really, the problems run deeper. The EQS isn’t exactly ugly, but it is rather shapeless, like a Porsche Taycan that’s let itself go and lost all its muscle definition. Or worse, like a boring mass-market liftback.
Related: The Mercedes EQS Is Getting A Facelift But Still Looks Like An Egg
One area where the production EQS did deliver a wow factor, was inside. We’re talking about the triple-display Hyperscreen dashboard that runs right across the car from the driver’s side to the passenger’s, and extends part of the way down the console, too. Though the Hyperscreen setup began life as an expensive option, base cars coming with the S-Class’s regular central display and a separate digital instrument cluster, it’s now standard on all EQS grades in both the U.S. and the UK. But judging by these spy shots of two different prototypes it seems some markets still get both interior configurations.
According to Kallenius, Mercedes will equip the facelifted EQS with an improved battery featuring new chemistry, which, along with other measures, will “improve efficiency and range.”
We wouldn’t be surprised if the facelifted cars gain a few more horses too. The single motor on the rear axle of the current entry-level EQS450+ produces 335 hp (340 PS) and boasts an EPA range of 352 miles (567 km) from its 108.4 kWh battery, making it the longest-legged of the 2024 models.
The Mercedes CEO also revealed that the updated EQS will be available from this June, “starting in Europe, obviously, and then you have some shipping times,” meaning North American sales should start around this fall.
