Mercedes EQS SUV and AMG EQE ace the family trip test
During a recent family trip to Southern California, Mercedes lent us two of their flagship electric vehicles. We picked up an EQS SUV at the airport, drove it around Los Angeles and to Big Bear Mountain and back, stress testing that huge battery against elevation and high speeds. Then, to switch it up, I drove the slightly less family-friendly but more fun EQE to destinations around LA for the second half of the week. Yes, $130K cars are so much more decadent than the Hertz vehicles we’d planned for, but here are my big takeaways.
Picking up the EQS SUV from LAX, it is a relatively unassuming car (especially compared to the Red AMG EQE we’ll discuss later) that most people won’t recognize as a six-figure flagship EV. The gorgeous front plastic grille tips the hand a little bit, but otherwise, this is a very unassuming vehicle on the outside other than the Mercedes logos.
Just like the EQS Sedan I reviewed last year, the inside was gorgeous and luxurious, though it lacked the passenger dash third screen. It also lacked the Galaxy tab in the back but had most of the other accouterments, including those light massaging front seats, which would be key after a day of snowboarding. I’ll stick by my previous statements on the interior, though the SUV naturally even has more headroom:
If the inside of the EQS is anything, it is roomy. The sheer enormity of the interior is hard to put into words. Add to that the ginormous “Hyperscreen” which his really
3screens under the same glass that spans the width of the front of the vehicle…a control screen between the 2 front seats allows those in the rear to individually control their temperature settings.What’s ironic is you don’t even have to look at the three big screens while driving because Mercedes includes one of the best heads up displays in the business. In fact, this is the first car that I preferred the built in mapping software to CarPlay/Google Maps and that’s because of the heads up integration – also it does look amazing on that huge center display.
The kids (11, 14) loved the ability to wireless charge in the armrest and adjust the back seat temperature, something they don’t get in the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model Y they are used to at home. There’s also a ton more room in the back which almost kept them from fighting.
Probably the biggest difference is the boot, which now goes from a big EQS sedan to an even bigger SUV. That was key when it came to carrying our snowboards and equipment up the mountain.
Although we were four people on this trip, there was a third row, which I found roomy and housed our youngest during a particularly contentious part of the trip.
I climbed in the third row, and at 6 feet, 220 pounds, I felt like claustrophobia would take about 30 minutes to kick in. Even with the third row, there is plenty of room in the back for a row of groceries and even a false floor to store charging apparatus or other items.
No frunk, no hood access
The ample rear space is key here because not only does Mercedes not have a frunk, but they also don’t even allow access to the front hood area. I was curious to see where one would add the wiper fluid – it turns out there is a door on the driver’s side that you can use to do that.
It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for them.
The Mercedes EQS SUV drive
Any wonderment about why someone would pay $130K for an SUV is immediately answered once you hit the road. The air suspension makes my sub-$50,000 vehicles at home feel like panel trucks. The cabin is whisper quiet even at 80mph, the turning is relatively tight, and the sub-6 second 0-60 acceleration is strong. Mercedes adds an acceleration soundtrack option which I felt compelled to try and found “not distracting.”
Mercedes, as is often the case, has a ton of varieties of the EQS SUV, and I had a middle-ish trim called 450 4MATIC. In this trim, the EPA mileage is 285 miles from the 108.4kWh battery. It was only tested on our 2.5-hour, 120-mile trip up the mountain to Big Bear. Around town, I’d seen mileage pretty closely pinned to the EPA range, but going 80mph up to 8000 feet? Let’s just say we stopped at a ChargePoint 50kW station (that put out <33kW) at dinner before our trip back.
It turns out that after regenerating most of the way down the mountain, we probably would have made the 240-mile round trip without the need for a charge, but I found myself playing it a lot safer without a garage charger waiting for me at home.
Easy street parking charging
This isn’t Mercedes-specific, but I found that it was really easy to keep these cars topped up with all of the options around town. Our Santa Monica Airbnb had street parking without access to power, but ChargePoint seemed to be everywhere, including about 20 level 2 stations at the beach where my kids surfed and a neighborhood station we topped up at over dinner a few times. Redondo Beach’s library, a few blocks from the beach/pier, also had some level 2 options that were easy and helpful. There was never any range anxiety, and I don’t even know if we lost any time because charging stations were so close to our venues and easy. I realize that Los Angeles is anything but a charging infrastructure desert, but this was the first time I’d gone 10 days without a garage charger, and it was too easy.
Switch to the AMG EQE
About midway through the week, Mercedes swapped out our EQS SUV with the AMG EQE sedan. (Yes, rough life, I know.) My wife and I had opposite reactions to the swap. Hers was, “This is worse in every way. It is smaller, [has] fewer seats, less room, has less range, it’s red, and has sports suspension.” As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to just nod my head and sigh and save my adulation for the written word here.
At nearly the same price as the EQS SUV, the AMG variant of the EQE is gorgeous, and the “Patagonia Red metallic” color? A show stopper. We had zero people asking about the EQS SUV, whereas the AMG EQE had people visiting us at almost every stop to look and ask questions. Standout design additions are the small spoiler in the back, the pinstripe grille, fake air intakes in the front, and dope 21-inch AMG multispoke turbine wheels. I think a chrome-less version would be off the charts.
While smaller, there is still plenty of room for a family of four, and the trunk, it turns out, was surprisingly adequate at holding our three suitcases, bags, skateboards, and other souvenirs.
Inside, it is just as wild with a racing-inspired steering wheel with paddles with different racing options. When you turn the car on, it sounds like you are about to watch a THX movie and the permanent RGB light colors go from door to door.
This is a family vacation, so I didn’t get to test the 3.2 second 0-60 time, but my kids did get used to the “heads back” command before every green light. The fake motor sound here is louder and more noticeable… and fitting. Otherwise, even with the sports wheels and suspension, it is quiet and drives fantastically.
Those big shoes and 617 horsepower/701 lb-ft torque carry a huge range penalty dropping the range on the AMG EQE’s 90.6 kWH battery down from 305 miles of range in the standard edition down close to 225 miles (EPA not yet available) in the AMG variant according to the dashboard. I realize that might be a deal-breaker for some, but to Mercedes’ credit, their range is conservative.
Electrek’s Take
I wasn’t able to put these EVs through the performance paces and get into the intricate details like I would do on a normal review, but having the family along for the week presented its own nuanced tests. I’d argue that these were more telling for most than the normal speeds and feeds. And unsurprisingly, these two Mercedes vehicles passed with flying colors.
The big caveat is the price. Third-row eSUVs can be found at half the price (heck, Mercedes own EQB starts at $55K), and the slightly slower Tesla’s Model 3P and BMW’s i4 M50 are priced much lower and offer significantly more range than the AMG EQE.
That said, if you’ve got six figures to burn and want the best drives and overall vehicles possible, both of these electric vehicles worked incredibly well with my family of four. I now just have to talk my wife out of trading our Model Y for the EQS SUV.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Hyundai is the latest carmaker offering significant discounts on electric vehicles in the UK. The Hyundai Electric Grant program offers up to £3,750 ($5,000) off popular EVs, including the Inster EV, IONIQ 5, and new IONIQ 9. And it’s not just the UK, Hyundai is launching deals in nearly every market.
Hyundai launches new EV grant program in the UK
Starting today, July 25, all Hyundai electric vehicles in the UK are eligible for the program. Hyundai’s EV grant offers buyers £3,750 ($5,000) off the 2025 Inster, the brand’s new entry-level electric SUV.
The savings are available across Hyundai’s entire EV lineup, with £1,500 ($2,000) in savings on the IONIQ 5, Kona Electric, and IONIQ 9.
“As the electric vehicle landscape continues to evolve, it is important that customers have complete clarity, choice and compelling value when making the switch to electric,” Ashley Andrew, president of Hyundai and Genesis UK, said on Friday.
After launching the Inster EV and its flagship IONIQ 9 this year, Hyundai now offers a complete lineup ranging from entry-level to a three-row electric SUV.
The EV grant is available immediately across Hyundai’s UK dealer network, including for retail, Hyundai Affinity, or Contract Hire purchases.
Until August 31, buyers can score an extra £500 ($671) off the Inster EV and Kona Electric through Hyundai’s Electrifying Summer promo.
Hyundai is also offering 24-hour test drives, allowing customers to try it before making a purchase. The Korean automaker follows other brands, including MG and Leapmotor, to offer discounts ahead of the UK’s new EV grant program.
According to new registration data from Jato, Hyundai was the 10th best-selling EV brand in Europe in the first half of 2025.
The Inster EV, priced from £23,505 ($31,500), cracked the top 20 most registered EVs last month with over 3,300 units sold. Hyundai Motor, including Kia’s share of the EV market, rose from 12.6% to 19.1% in H1 2025.
Hyundai is offering significant savings on electric vehicles not just in the UK, but essentially in every market, including the US, right now.
Following the launch of an aggressive sales promotion this summer, Hyundai is now offering 0% interest for 60 months on its top-selling SUVs. The savings are available on new EV models, including the 2025 IONIQ 5 and 2026 IONIQ 9 (see our review of it).
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, which now offers up to 318 miles of range and a NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers, is listed for lease at just $179 per month. That’s about the lowest national offer for an electric SUV currently available.
Both the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built at Hyundai’s new EV plant in Georgia, so they still qualify for the $7,500 US tax credit. However, that’s set to end at the end of September.
Ready to try one out for yourself? You can use our links below to find offers on Hyundai’s electric vehicles in your area.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla is stripping all meaning from the word “Robotaxi” as it plans to expand its supposedly autonomous ride-hailing program to the Bay Area as soon as this weekend, albeit with a driver in the driver’s seat.
As we have often highlighted over the last few months, Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ launch is purely about optics.
Tesla is not yet ready to launch a level 4 autonomous driving system, but Elon Musk needs Tesla to achieve a win in self-driving after years of failed promises.
They decided to launch “Robotaxi”, a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, but due to the automaker not being ready to deploy level 4 autonomy, it had to add a safety monitor in the passenger front seat at all times.
That passenger has access to controls capable of stopping the vehicle at all times, which is similar to how Tesla’s consumer version of ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ works. In short, it’s basically ‘Tesla Supervised Full Self-Driving’, but with the supervisor moving from the driver’s seat to the front passenger’s seat.
Those supervisors have already had dozens of interventions over just 7,000 miles in Austin over the last month.
Now, Tesla is looking to launch its ‘Robotaxi’ in the Bay Area. Rumors are that it could be as soon as this weekend.
However, during Tesla’s earnings call this week, Tesla’s head of self-driving, Ashok Elluswamy, confirmed that it will be with “a person in the driver’s seat”:
“The next is the San Francisco Bay Area. We are working with the government to get approval here, and meanwhile, we will launch the service with a person in the driver’s seat just to expedite while we wait for regulatory approval.”
The Tesla executive claims that Tesla is “waiting for regulatory approval”, but last we heard, Tesla has yet to apply for the proper permits to commercially operate autonomous vehicles in California.
Electrek’s Take
To be clear, this is no different than an Uber driver who owns a Tesla with FSD picking you up at the airport. Tesla is looking to launch an Uber service in the Bay Area with employees at the wheel who use FSD, and it is going to call it ‘Robotaxi’.
It’s no more than a distraction from the fact that Tesla can’t deliver a level 4 autonomous driving system.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.
That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.
Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.
The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:
- Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
- Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
- Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree
Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.
“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”
It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.
That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.
Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
Read more: Walmart and Nexamp are rolling out 31 solar farms in 5 states
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike