Maybach EQS SUV

Segment
SUV

Once a separate luxury brand positioned above Mercedes, Maybach now exists as a sub-brand within the Mercedes-Benz lineup. Maybach will venture into new territory with its first-ever production SUV model, based on the full-size Mercedes GLS, but this won't be the company's last SUV. Do you remember the 2021 Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury concept? For those who have forgotten, it was that strange SUV model that looked like a raised sedan. Well, German publication Handelsblatt says it is going into production.

Instead of calling this vehicle an SUV, Mercedes will go down the BMW path of creating its own unique name. Mercedes will call this new vehicle an SUL, which stands for sport utility limousine.

The German publication did not provide any additional details of when we could expect to see the SUL reach production. We hope that the production version will use an electric drivetrain, like the concept car that we had a chance to drive last year. With four electric motors powered by an 80-kWh battery, Mercedes estimates that it will produce around 750 horsepower with an impressive range of approximately 310 miles. Unfortunately, the concept version we drove gave us little insight into the performance, since we had to treat the hand-built car with the utmost delicacy.

It's tough to imagine where this vehicle would fit in the Mercedes lineup, and what it would compete against. Obviously, ultra-luxury SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan spring to mind, but neither of those features this strange lifted-sedan body style and neither is available with an electric drivetrain. We quite like the idea of a lifted sedan like the Volvo S60 CrossCountry, but these vehicles are usually a tough sell in markets like the United States. It feels like this car is geared towards China and the Middle East, but perhaps it could come stateside as well.