BMW i7 Pampers Rear Seats But the Mercedes EQS Wins on Range

The BMW i7 and the Mercedes-Benz EQS have both been through a facelift for 2027, and the pair still argue their case in very different accents. The BMW plays the traditional limousine, sharing its silhouette with the combustion 7 Series and letting the badge do the talking. The Mercedes went its own way, with a bespoke, wind-cheating body shape built around the aerodynamics rather than the boardroom. Post-nip-and-tuck, the i7 looks the more resolved of the two. The EQS remains a car people either admire or squint at.

Where the Mercedes lands its punches is the spec sheet. EPA-estimated range climbs to as much as 480 miles, a figure the BMW cannot touch. The i7 60 xDrive draws on a 112.5kWh pack for a little over 350 miles. The EQS also gulps electricity faster, peaking at 350kW on a DC charger against the BMW’s 250kW ceiling, although the i7 counters with a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in as little as 28 minutes and a NACS socket fitted as standard. The Mercedes is the quicker car in a straight line, too.

The BMW hits back where limousines are actually judged, which is from the rear bench. Specify the Rear Executive Lounge Seating Package and the right-hand front seat folds itself out of the way, letting the passenger behind stretch out properly. It is the most indulgent back seat in the class, and it makes the EQS feel merely spacious by comparison. The i7 also has the sharper responses of the two, and while nobody buys a car of this size to chase apexes, the extra body control makes it the better steer on a decent road.

Audio is another BMW route. The i7’s flagship system runs 1,965 watts through 39 Bowers & Wilkins Diamond speakers. The EQS answers with a 15-speaker, 710-watt Burmester High-End 3D setup. That is a serious piece of kit in isolation, but next to the BMW it looks conservative, and in a car bought partly as a mobile listening room the gap matters more than the numbers suggest.

So the split is clean. On paper the EQS is the stronger proposition, with the range, the charging speed and the acceleration, and buyers who tally up the data will land there. The i7 is the car that feels more special from the inside, particularly if you are chauffeured rather than driving, and it now looks the better of the two as well. Pick your priority. One wins the argument. The other wins the journey.