What's the difference?
You could argue that no brand is more synonymous with luxury than Mercedes-Benz, but what happens with a standard GLS SUV just isn’t exclusive enough for your tastes?
Enter the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600, which builds on the brand’s large SUV offering with extra helpings of opulence and lavishness.
This thing screams money like Louis Vuitton or Cartier, only it has four wheels and will transport passengers in nearly unrivalled levels of refinement and comfort.
But is it more than just a showpiece? And can it handle the rigours of day-to-day life without losing its shiny, jewel-like lustre? Let’s go for a drive and find out.
The EQE is more than an important car for Mercedes. Not only is it the German titan’s latest electric offering, on all-new underpinnings, but it represents the very future of its passenger car range.
It adopts a completely new shape and design language, but it also puts its fastest foot forward, launching with the 53 AMG variant first in Australia, by the end of 2022.
We travelled to Europe to sample it for the first time ahead of its Australian arrival to find out what the future of Mercedes feels like, but also how its go-fast AMG division has managed to leave its mark on an electric car.
It’s big, it’s bold and totally baller, but that’s kind of the point.
The Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 might not win over many fans with its in-your-face design or its sky-high price tag, but there is definitely an appeal here.
Taking luxury to another level is no easy feat, especially in a Mercedes, but the attention to detail, lavish second row and butter-smooth V8 engine combine to turn the already-good GLS into this exquisite Maybach.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.
In the wild new world of fully electric cars there isn’t really an ‘average’ of what to expect. If there was, I’m sure the EQE 53 would exceed it. Its electrification brings the ambiance of a luxury car, while its performance reminds you of what AMG is capable of.
There’s a bit of the mechanical engagement of AMG missing, a relatively small boot, and some won’t be sold on the function-over-form looks, but the EQE 53 is a pleasantly surprising look at the future of fast Mercedes.