2024 Mercedes-Benz Maybach EQS SUV

About that GLS gas-powered counterpart: The electric Maybach is a thinly veiled "because they can" exercise, but it will resonate with specific buyers. First, it's more powerful and faster than the twin-turbo-powered GLS. Mercedes says the electric Maybach can dash from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, about a half-second quicker than both the GLS and Benz EQS 580 SUV. Mercedes says the Maybach's range is 280 miles, nearly the same as the EQS 580 SUV's 285-mile range. Mercedes also says you can add about half of that in 15 minutes of charging and up to 80% battery capacity in 30 minutes, so time spent admiring the optional silver-plated Champagne flutes from the rear heated loungers can be kept short.

Despite its palatial extravagance and womb-like serenity, the Maybach EQS 680 SUV is a fairly ordinary EV underneath. If you're not after the chauffeur treatment, there are several luxury electric SUV alternatives such as the Porsche Taycan Turbo or Turbo S. Neither try to seal off the world outside; on the contrary, they make the road come alive with Herculean power and speed, zipping from 0 to 60 mph in as few as 2.4 seconds. While the Taycan isn't an SUV, its two storage spaces combine for more cargo space than the Maybach's meager 15.3 cubic feet. The forthcoming Cadillac Celestiq promises to be an intriguing ultra-luxe rival, although each will be built by hand in extremely limited production, and we expect it to cost nearly double the Maybach. If it's just a high-luxury SUV you seek, gas-powered options abound, including the Aston Martin DBX, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.