The dreaded Moose Test did prove to be quite problematic for a number of cars over the years. Designed to see exactly how cars behave in case of an emergency obstacle avoidance situation, a lot of rather expensive and technologically advanced models ran into trouble when they came face to face with it. The most recent name added to that list is the Mercedes-Benz EQS.
The flagship electric sedan from Daimler was put through the Moose Test by the people from km77.com, a Spanish outlet that specializes in this sort of tests. Unfortunately, the EQS didn’t perform admirably, as one would’ve expected from one of Mercedes-Benz’s products. The testing procedure includes various runs done at different speeds and the goal is to be able to go through the course without hitting any cones.
In the case of the EQS, the best result the testers were able to get out of it was at an entry speed of 72 km/h (44.7 mph) before it started hitting cones. That test run was done in Comfort mode, not Sport mode, with the regenerative braking set to normal. The measurements showed that the car slowed to 40 mph by the middle of the maneuver and exited the cones at a speed of 32.3 mph.
According to the video posted below, the all-wheel steering helped during the test and most likely improved the results the car got by the end of the runs, but it did take some getting used to. Considering the new S-Class did the same run at a higher speed (46.9 mph), the reviewers concluded that the disappointing results recorded by the EQS are due to the extra weight.
The EQS has a tendency to understeer at higher speeds, leading it to smash cones, albeit the driver did not lose control of the vehicle like it happened in other electric vehicles. In Sport mode, higher speeds were attempted with regular regenerative braking, but the driver did not notice a significant difference between the modes. During the moose test, there was moderate body roll in both cases.
It should be noted that other electric car did perform better overall. For example, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 was able to go through the moose test at an entry speed of 49.7 mph while the Tesla Model Y has gone through at up to 51.5 mph.
