2023 Shanghai: Mercedes-Maybach EQS680 SUV puts you in first class

If the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is not lavish enough for you, do not pout because, at the 2023 Auto Shanghai, the German marque’s sub-brand Maybach has unveiled its first all-electric, ultra-luxurious model, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS680 SUV.

The Mercedes-Maybach EQS680 SUV takes the body of its EQS sibling and dumps millions of dollars worth of R&D to enhance its aesthetics, improve performance and efficiency, raise ride comfort to heavenly levels, and bless it with every modern piece of auto tech available.

Mercedes-Maybach reinterprets the Sophisticated Luxury design language to give this model its own look and character. The front fascia has a black panel with vertical, chrome-plated trim strips with a three-dimensional depth look.

The Maybach EQS680 sits on either 21- or 22-inch alloy or forged wheels, has illuminated running boards, and has optional two-tone paintwork with a filigree pinstripe. A neat feature is the digital light show projected in all four doors that welcome drivers and passengers.

Maybach's credo of ‘What is good must also be beautiful’ is evident in every inch of the cabin. As a Mercedes-Benz model, it gets the brand’s MBUX Hyperscreen but the ‘zero layer’ and an exclusive start-up animation in each of the three screens. But the best interior zone is the second row. Here, the rear passengers get two 11.6-inch displays on the backrest of the front seats. Both have MBUX High-End Rear Seat Entertainment. It also comes with MBUX Interior Assist and a rear tablet that can be used outside the vehicle.

Standard upholstery is Nappa leather in the warm colors espresso brown/balao brown pearl. Natural woods are available as decorative parts. Customers who want more sustainable options can get vegetable-tanned leather that uses coffee bean shells as tanning agents. All the appointments and equipment create a cocooning effect, and with ventilation, massage function, and neck and shoulder heating on the seats, the experience should be second to none.

Passengers can plug their devices into four fast-charging USB-C ports and two HDMI interfaces. The center console can include two folding tables, a cooling compartment, and silver-plated champagne goblets on request. Audio goes through a Burmester® 4D surround sound system with 14 speakers, including its driving sound called ‘Aerial Grace.’

The 4MATIC all-wheel-drive layout gets drive from two electric motors that put out a combined 658 PS and 950 Nm of torque. Its 108.4 kWh battery pack under the floorboards gives it a range of up to 600 kilometers. Once driven on full throttle, the EQS680 tops out at 210 km/h. In terms of replenishing the spent battery juice, AC charging time is 6.15 hours, while DC charging time is 31 minutes.

Like the standard EQS, the Maybach EQS680 SUV will be built at Mercedes-Benz's Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant. With the standard EQS already starting at around USD 170,000 (PHP 9.5 million), expect the ultra-lux Maybach version to go over USD 200,000 (PHP 11.2 million) once it goes on sale in the US around late 2023 or early 2024. Of course, import taxes are not included yet in that figure in case there are some interested few who want to have the Maybach EQS680 in the country.