SHORT, SHARP & SHOCKINGLY GOOD

Albeit ever so brief, our recent stint with some of Mercedes' new EVS shows great promise for the future of electric motoring in South Africa

The pictures you see from the press release of a new model are seldom a true reflection of what T you encounter when you get behind the wheel of said car on the day of a product launch. These sun-kissed images you see here are a far cry from the meteorological hissy fit that Cape Town threw as Mercedes granted us a taste - well, more of a round-the-block nibble - of some of its latest EV models. Roads glimmered slick from a burst of rain and brooding clouds flickered with lightning as thunder reverberated outside Mercedes' Century City dealership. Not ideal driving conditions, but the electricity crackling in the atmosphere seemed fitting given the impact these models are set to have on the Stuttgart luxury carmaker's upcoming plans. I climbed aboard polar opposites of the EQ range the sumptuous EQS 450+ and the more practical EQB 350 4Matic - to get an idea of what is in store for the carmaker's electric future.

A LAP OF LUXURY 

Our time with these cars was limited to a couple of kilometres skirting Century City, so the drive was more of a highlights reel than an in-depth sampling of what's to come. Even so, there's no denying the EQS' sense of occasion. As we took in its curvaceous frame, replete with a sweeping roofline and notchback boot arrangement, we realised there is no danger of this halo sedan being labelled as merely an electric S-Class.