The chassis of the new EQS, with a four-link axle at the front and a multi-link axle at the rear, is closely related in design to the new S-Class. The AIRMATIC air suspension with continuously adjustable damping ADS+ is standard equipment. The vehicle level is automatically lowered from around 120 km/h to reduce air resistance and thus increase the range. Standard features include rear axle steering with a steering angle of up to 4.5° for plenty of manoeuvrability in the city and agility over land.

The standard-fit AIRMATIC air suspension responds particularly sensitively. It combines air suspension bellows with adaptive ADS+ dampers whose characteristics can be fully automatically varied at each individual wheel, in both the compression and rebound stages. While driving, a sophisticated sensor system and algorithms set the dampers according to the quality of the road to ensure that, for example, driving over a bump with just one wheel is not transmitted to the entire axle and the interior. At the front axle the springs and dampers are housed in one suspension strut.

This level control is part of AIRMATIC. It keeps the ground clearance constant irrespective of the vehicle load, but also makes changes. By way of example, in the SPORT program the vehicle body is lowered by 20 mm at high speeds above 120 km/h to reduce aerodynamic drag and increase handling stability. If the vehicle drops below 80 km/h, the body level returns to the initial position. Up to 40 km/h the body can be raised by 25 mm at the touch of a button, above 50 km/h it is automatically lowered back to normal level.

As manoeuvrable as a compact car: both axles can do the steering
The aim of the Mercedes-Benz engineers was to make the EQS, which has imposing dimensions, as manageable as a compact car. This impressive driving function was realised via a rear axle steering system that allows large steering angles (standard: 4.5°, option 10°) and is integrated into the vehicle dynamics control of steering, brakes and suspension (more on rear axle steering in the separate chapter). At the front, the EQS has electromechanical direct steering. The suspension settings of the DYNAMIC SELECT drive programs allow individual adaptation of the assistance characteristics.

DYNAMIC SELECT: The EQS drives the way the driver wants it to
The driver can individually modify the characteristics of the powertrain, ESP^®, suspension and steering. The selection is made using a control at the lower end of the central display. The default setting is the COMFORT drive program, with SPORT, ECO and INDIVIDUAL available as alternatives. The selection is acknowledged by acoustic and visual feedback. The desired drive program is shown as the status and depicted in the central display.