New Mercedes EQS steer-by-wire review: luxury EV gets a yoke
Not only does steer-by-wire make car park manoeuvres easier, it can help with drifting as well…
An updated Mercedes EQS is coming soon and it will be offered with steer-by-wire technology.
We’ve tried steer-by-wire in a few different cars already and while it still sounds futuristic, it’s already available on production models such as the Lexus RZ, the Tesla Cybertruck in the US and the Nio ET9 in China.
So what is steer-by-wire? As the name suggests, it means there’s no physical connection between the steering wheel and the steering rack. Instead, there’s an electric motor within the steering column and another buried deep within the EQS’ bonnet. The aim is to replicate the feel of the road through the wheel via the motors. Luc Diebold, a member of the Mercedes steer-by-wire development team, pointed out to Auto Express that there are redundancy systems in place to ensure “that steering capability is always guaranteed”.
Mercedes may have started out with a geared tiller handle on the Benz Patent Motorwagen and 140 years later, the German firm has ditched the steering wheel once again. To emphasise its new steering system, the marque has fitted the EQS with a yoke, although we’ve been told that it will be possible in the future to have the technology paired with traditional round steering wheels.
Mercedes EQS steer-by-wire tested
We’ve already got behind the wheel or ‘yoke’ of Mercedes’ new steer-by-wire technology in the latest EQS. The manufacturer says the yoke improves the view of the EQS’ digital instrument display and opens up space in the cabin, making it easier for drivers to get in and out. We didn’t really notice much difference given the EQS is already a large limousine (so entry and exit is not exactly a struggle), but we think there could be some benefit in small cars – especially if the company introduces a method to lower or remove the yoke entirely. In theory, the yoke could be physically placed anywhere in the cabin, a Mercedes representative even said they could have a centralised McLaren F1-style seating position as a result.
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Cash £12,000Other manufacturers with yokes, such as Tesla with its Model S, retain the same steering ratio as models with round wheels. Mercedes thankfully hasn’t done this, meaning you don’t have to awkwardly twirl the yoke. Instead, we didn’t even have to cross our arms over on full lock or move our hands off the yoke during our tight figure-of-eight test route. The knock-on effect of this is very responsive steering, with only slight inputs needed.
The EQS’ steer-by-wire technology is integrated with 10-degree rear steering, too. Our test only covered low-speed environments and here the impressive sub-11-metre turning circle almost felt out of sync with the size of the EQS. We’ll have to reserve proper judgement on normal roads at higher speeds, although even after a short period the steer-by-wire started to feel more natural. The best compliment we could pay is that the EQS with a round steering wheel we drove immediately after felt a little ungainly with much more steering wheel movement.
Mercedes EQS steer-by-wire future plans
Steer-by-wire will be rolled out on the newly facelifted EQS a few months after its release, but it doesn’t look like it will be the first and last time the technology will be fitted to a Mercedes. While the technology works best with electric cars by utilising the electric architecture and power from the battery, we asked Mercedes’ Luc Diebold if steer-by-wire has been tested on combustion-engined Mercedes, too. “Not yet, but it’s something we can do,” he explained. “The steering column isn’t there so it’s even better for an internal-combustion engine car.” Diebold also pointed out the extra engine bay space would allow for a digitised steering system in the future.
There’s even talk of Mercedes-AMG receiving steer-by-wire. “Drifting is easier with the yoke, we tested it in Sweden,” Diebold said. “You don’t have to make as many steering changes and there’s little self-centring, so it’s actually easier than a wheel.” Asked if an AMG car could get yokes and steer-by-wire, Diebold replied: “Yes, absolutely. It’s on this platform right now, but potentially in the future we could use this technology for AMG.”
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