AMG Gives Velvety Mercedes EQS the Hammer Treatment

Mercedes-Benz turns its EQS battery-electric sedan over to its AMG performance division.

And the result is a powerful yet polished performer worthy of a Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems award for 2022.

The AMG EQS’s rapid acceleration and quick charging time earn raves from the same Wards judges who honored the non-AMG version earlier this year with a 10 Best Interiors & UX award.

The AMG EQS shares its 107.8-kWh battery back with the standard EQS, but that’s where the similarities end. The AMG packs a 649-hp, 700-lb.-ft. (949-Nm) wallop, up from the EQS 580’s 516 hp and 631 lb.-ft. (856 Nm) of torque. A Boost Function briefly gooses output to 751 hp and 752 lb.-ft. (1,020 Nm).

We loved the EQS’s power-packed acceleration in Sport+, the most extreme of five drive modes. The sedan sprints from 0-to-60 mph (97 km/h) in just 3.4 seconds. Mercedes-AMG claims a top speed limited to 155 mph (250 km/h) with the Boost Function engaged, 137 mph (221 km/h) without.

Judge Christie Schweinsberg calls the AMG EQS’s acceleration “whiplash-inducing” but also  “civilized in suburban slow-speed driving, unlike ICEs with this much power.”

Speaking of speed, the hatchback’s 200-kW DC fast-charging system allows replenishment of the 400V battery from 10% to 80% in just 31 minutes.

Mercedes will provide free fast-charging access through Electrify America for the first two years, with individual sessions limited to 30 minutes.

The EPA rates the 5-passenger, 4-door EQS’s range as 277 miles (446 km), but one judge racked up nearly 300 miles (483 km) on 90% charge in normal driving.

Judges took note of the simulated internal-combustion-engine noise piped into the cabin, with Schweinsberg saying it’s “intertwined with aggressive driving in many buyers’ minds.” Judge Drew Winter, meanwhile, says the sound enhances the acceleration experience.

Even with more battery-electrics than ever vying for Wards 10 Best honors, judges found it hard to leave the EQS off this year’s winners’ list.

Judge Bob Gritzinger praises the EQS’s “Unbelievable powertrain response – definitely up to the AMG branding.”

In Mercedes lore, “velvet hammer” describes an AMG with understated sheetmetal concealing a super-powerful internal-combustion engine. We think the stealthy AMG EQS is a capable and fitting – if electrified – inheritor of that title.