Compare the2023 BMW i7VS 2023 Mercedes EQS

Both the i7 and EQS have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The i7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The EQS’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the i7 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The EQS doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the i7. But it costs extra on the EQS.

Both the i7 and the EQS have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The i7’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the EQS’ (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the i7 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the EQS.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in initial quality. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks BMW third in overall reliability. Mercedes is ranked 24th.

The i7’s electric motors produces 207 more horsepower (536 vs. 329) and 130 lbs.-ft. more torque (549 vs. 419) than the EQS 450+’s standard electric motor. The i7’s electric motors produces 201 more horsepower (536 vs. 335) than the EQS 450+ 4MATIC’s standard electric motors.

On the EPA test cycle the i7 gets better mileage than the EQS:

The i7 can travel longer on a full charge than the EQS on a full charge:

The i7 stops shorter than the EQS:

The i7 offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The EQS doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The i7 offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Mercedes doesn’t offer an active suspension on the EQS.

The i7 xDrive60 handles at .95 G’s, while the EQS 580 4MATIC pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The i7 xDrive60 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the EQS 580 4MATIC (24.5 seconds @ .78 average G’s vs. 25.2 seconds @ .76 average G’s).

The i7 has 9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the EQS (112 vs. 103).

The i7 has 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom and 2.4 inches more rear legroom than the EQS.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

The i7 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the EQS.