Edmunds drove a 2027 Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ 539 miles on a single charge in its EV Range Test, 72 miles beyond the car’s EPA estimate of 467 miles. The sedan carries a 122 kWh battery on an 800-volt system. Electrek reported the result on Nov. 9, working from an Edmunds article that carries a Nov. 9 byline date.
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The Edmunds test loop and its settings
Edmunds runs the car on a predetermined route in Southern California with a 60 percent city, 40 percent highway split at an average speed of 40 mph. Climate control stays on auto at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and the driver uses the most efficient setting available, which for the EQS meant Eco mode with regenerative braking set to high. The EQS used 26.9 kWh per 100 miles over the drive, against an EPA figure of 28, and its usable battery grew from 118 kWh in the 2025 car to 122 kWh.
The Edmunds article was written by Steven Ewing, the outlet’s director of editorial content. Electrek’s write-up gives a consumption figure of 29.6 kWh per 100 miles, which conflicts with Edmunds’ 26.9, and the Edmunds page is treated here as the authority. Edmunds frames its testing as a real-world complement to the EPA’s laboratory process, and in its ranked list of 157 vehicles roughly 130 beat their EPA range while about 26 fell short. Examples of big gains include the 2024 Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV 680 at 31.3 percent above its rating, while the 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring finished 9.9 percent short and the 2026 Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD 8.4 percent short.
Gains over the 2025 EQS 450+
The previous model offers a clean comparison. Edmunds measured 464 miles from the 2025 EQS 450+, which the EPA rated at 390 miles and 34 kWh per 100 miles, so the 2027 car’s 539 miles is 75 miles better than the earlier test. The 4 kWh increase in usable battery is about 3 percent, while measured range grew about 16 percent, which implies that efficiency did most of the work. Edmunds’ own consumption figure for the 2025 car appears as 29.1 kWh per 100 miles in the text and 29.7 in the comparison table, an inconsistency on the page.
Charging moved even more. The 2027 car peaked at 350 kW and averaged 222 kW in Edmunds’ charging test, up from 208 kW and 175 kW for the 2025 model. It added 100 miles of range in 7 minutes 16 seconds, where the older car needed 13 minutes 44 seconds. That equals a rate of 825 miles of range per hour, placing the EQS third on the Edmunds charging leaderboard behind the 2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+ at 833 and the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 at 926.
Where 539 miles ranks among Edmunds results
Electrek reports that Edmunds calls the EQS the longest-range electric sedan it has tested, ahead of the Lucid Air, the first EV to pass 500 miles. Only one vehicle in the Edmunds tests has gone farther: the Cadillac Escalade IQ, which covered 558 miles. According to Edmunds’ 2025 report, that SUV carries a 205 kWh battery, 83 kWh more than the EQS, was rated at 460 miles by the EPA and used 43 kWh per 100 miles over the same 40 mph, 60 city and 40 highway test profile.
Other 2027 results cited by Electrek show how unusual the EQS result is: the BMW iX3 50 xDrive went 436 miles against an EPA estimate of 392, the Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric reached 392 miles, and the Volvo EX60 managed 352.
Mercedes’ own European figure for the refreshed EQS is 925 km on the WLTP cycle, roughly 492 miles, and Kelley Blue Book noted when the car was announced that a U.S. EPA rating was still pending. The 467-mile EPA figure and the 539-mile result now sit side by side, but the latter comes from one car on one Southern California route driven at a 40 mph average in Eco mode with high regeneration, a profile that favors efficient cars more than a sustained highway run would, and Edmunds has not said whether a second run would land in the same place.
Range anxiety still shapes what buyers ask of EVs, which is part of why such tests draw attention. Electrek cites a BMW survey in which 73 percent of respondents said 25, 50 or 75 miles is enough for daily driving, yet 42 percent said they would need at least 300 miles of range before considering an EV, and 53 percent said they would be more likely to consider one that adds about 150 miles in roughly 10 minutes. Kelley Blue Book reported Mercedes’ claim that the refreshed EQS can add about 170 miles of WLTP range in 10 minutes at up to 350 kW, up from 265 kW on the outgoing model, with U.S. sales slated for the second half of 2026 and 2026 versions starting just over $100,000.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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