Carwow’s latest straight-line speed test pits an ICE-powered and an all-electric luxury sedan, namely the Mercedes S500 and the EQS 450+, against each other in a series of drag races.
Although a more powerful version of the EQS is on its way, and will likely be able to compete with much faster versions of the S-Class, in this test the single-motor model has to take on the 3.0-liter, six-cylinder version of the ICE-powered Merc.
And the results, from a standing start anyway, aren’t so good for the electric EQS. Not in a hurry to jump off the line no matter what host Mat Watson does, it simply loses twice to the S-Class.
Read Also: Can The Mercedes EQS Beat The S-Class Around A Short Track?
On its best run of the standing quarter-mile, the EQS 450+ managed a time of 14.3 seconds whereas the S-Class managed to run the sprint in 13.4 seconds, making it nearly a second faster.
In the rolling race, though, the EQS earns a little credibility back. With both cars in Comfort mode and starting at a speed of 30 mph (48 km/h), the EQS takes off quickly pulling away from the S-Class. The internal combustion car, though, does catch up to it at about 120 mph (193 km/h).
In Sport mode, the EQS picks up speed even more impressively and the S500 can’t catch up to it before they have to start braking to keep from running off the end of the runway.
The video seemingly points to an interesting decision made by Mercedes engineers to favor highway pulls over off-the-line gut-punching acceleration in the base model EQS. Given Germany’s reputation as the makers of highway crushers, that decision might not be a surprising one.