BMW X7 vs Mercedes-Benz Eqs450

What's the difference?

Large family-friendly luxury SUVs tend to be handsome in design but somewhat restrained. Until now. BMW has introduced a major facelift for its flagship SUV, the six- or seven-seat X7. Emphasis on face.  

The new X7 adopts the striking but controversial front-end from the new 7 Series sedan, but the big, bold SUV is hiding some rather significant changes under the skin. Aside from a beefier diesel that now comes with mild hybrid tech, there’s also a redesigned cabin, massively upgraded tech, more standard features, oh, and a price increase.

The EV revolution is bringing plenty of firsts, and this big electric behemoth is yet another one. Meet the EQS450, which Mercedes describes as its first "electric luxury full-size SUV with seven seats".

That is a bit of a mouthful though, right? So let’s shortcut that a bit, shall we? 

What you really need to know is that this is one of the few proper seven-seat electric SUVs on sale in Australia, so it will — a little surprisingly — end up being compared with the increasingly premium Kia and its EV9 when it launches in November.

So what does this electric answer to a high-riding S-Class bring to the table? Well, lots of luxury, of course.