The Star: January 26, 2023

Thursday January 26 2023 The Star 25
Electric limousine from Mercedes-Benz
I’M WONDERING if there is
any end to the way technology
is developing, especially so with
electric vehicles.
Take the Mercedes-Benz AMG
EQS 53 for example, it has an
onboard presence that would
keep an astronaut happy. There
are a multitude of specification
features, it has a function for
almost everything imaginable –
especially for safety.
Well, you would expect that,
the EQS 53 lists at $310,900 in
standard form, you can upsec it as
well and if you go the whole hog
you’ll deplete your bank balance
to the tune of around $360,000.
In true Mercedes-Benz S-Class
fashion there are few equals on
the road that have as much kit,
and from the moment you sit in
the driver’s seat you’ll be blown
away with the space age look
and feel of the interior, there are
gadgets, buttons and displays
everywhere.
The digital dash panel
extends across the width of the
car, although the information
graphics are only visible on the
left hand side when there’s a
passenger. However, the driver
gets enough information to keep
him/her occupied for every
journey, the depth beneath
• By Ross Kiddie
IT WAS OCTOBER 1988 and I
had just boarded a flight back to
Christchurch after fuelling my
motorsport passion, spending a
day watching the Nissan/Mobil
500 Wellington Street Race.
I had the window seat and
was waiting for the remaining
passengers, it was a full flight and
the overhead lockers were packed
with carry-on luggage.
The two
vacant seats
beside me were
eventually
filled by Trevor
Crowe and his
partner Colleen,
Crowe
was holding a
decent-sized
cup, the one he earned that day
from a third place finish and
class win in a Group A BMW
M3, sharing the drive with Mark
Thatcher, son of British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher. The
cup wouldn’t fit in the overhead
locker so I offered to store it for
the journey under the seat in
front of me; Crowe was grateful.
It wasn’t the first time I had
met Crowe, I’d not long been
evaluating motor vehicles for
review and only weeks previously
I had driven a turbocharged
Skoda 120L that Crowe and
his workshop technicians had
modified for performance
benefits.
the graphics and controls is
enormous. The only thing
missing in the big S-Class EV is a
chauffeur.
Mercedes-Benz is exploring the
future of the way we travel, and I
guess being at the forefront of that
technology will hold the company
in good stead as EVs take control
of our car buying decisions.
The EQS 53 is powered by dual
motors – one at the front and one
at the rear – they have combined
power output of 484kW with
a colossal 950Nm of torque
available from zero revolutions.
Add in a 107.8kWh battery pack
and you have the ingredients for
power, acceleration and, more
importantly, distance to travel
between charges.
Mercedes-Benz claims up to
587km on a full charge. It would
take around 60min to fast charge
to 80 per cent from a designated
charge port. In terms of charging
from my home – well that’s a
different story, such is the volume
of energy that can be stored it’s
simply not practical to try to
charge from domestic supply; it
would take a couple of days to
charge from zero to 100 per cent.
That being the case, a wall box
or a three-phase system would
be the most suitable method
Crowe and I got talking again
on that flight and, as astute as
ever, he noticed that I wasn’t
overly comfortable as the aircraft
descended through turbulence
into a Canterbury nor’wester, his
words I still cling to today when
I’m flying and bumps are prevalent:
“It’s all right, Ross, it will just
fly through it!’’
Of course, the news of that day
was his performance in the street
race, he and Thatcher punched
well above their weight only to
be beaten by some of the greatest
names in world motorsport –
formula one driver Emanuele
Pirro and world touring car
champion Roberto Ravaglia,
MERCEDES-BENZ AMG EQS 53: Large luxury sedan that is
solely powered by batteries and electric motors.
domestically. Thankfully, such is
the distance you get to travel on
a full tank – figuratively speaking
– I only had to make one fast
charge and that was completed
in good time while my wife and I
carried out our weekly Pak’nSave
grocery shop.
Of course, all of the above
relates to how you drive the EQS
53, if you are throttle heavy you
won’t get the distance, but the
figures are still very impressive.
So are those of its acceleration,
Mercedes-Benz claims a 3.8sec
standstill to 100km/h time. That’s
about as quick as in any other
car I’ve driven, launch from a
standstill is simply amazing, the
energy is instant and without any
lag, the force will hold you back
in your seat and, of course, all
passengers. It’s a performance car
of true genius, if only there were
roads in New Zealand where you
can explore its potential.
I guess the unrestricted roads
in Europe will allow some sort
and Australian ex-formula one
driver Larry Perkins and former
F1 world champion Denny
Hulme. As history has served
to prove, the third place finish
paved the way for Crowe’s win
in the Asia-Pacific Touring Car
Championship that year.
of freedom, but for here it’s a
temptation that would constantly
need to be curbed.
I took the test car inland west and
enjoyed its silence and comfort.
It has all those pacifying features
that come in luxury cars, yet you
always sense it wants to break free
and deliver a performance drive. Of
course, there are drive modes that
can moderate the behaviour of the
motors or liven them up in sport
mode, but the reality is the EQS 53
has performance that needs to be
tamed.
Pointed at some tricky corners
you need to bear in mind
that there is a lot of bulk and
weight in the car. At 5.3m and
2721kg it’s a big machine, but
it is delicate underneath and
extremely competent. Huge 21in
Michelin tyres stick like glue
and provide surety. Turn-in is
precise, and body movement is
minimal. A lot of the weight is
carried underneath the seats and
at just 1.5m tall there isn’t a lot
That and Crowe’s long and
illustrious motorsport career
have all been documented in a
new book – As the Crowe Flies,
the Trevor Crowe Story. Written
by well-known motoring and
motorsport writer Steve Holmes,
the book chronicles Crowe and
the multitude of cars he has built,
developed and raced throughout
the years, and still does even into
his late 70s.
Not only does the book share
chapters on Crowe’s hill climb,
rallying and circuit and boat racing
career, it shares his secrets to
good health, which is important
to keep mentally alert and physically
capable while at the wheel
• Price – Mercedes-Benz
AMG EQS 53, $310,990
• Dimensions – Length,
5265mm; width, 1926mm;
height, 1512mm
• Configuration – Dual
electro-synchronous
motors, four-wheeldrive,
484kW, 950Nm,
automatic
• Performance – 0-100km/h,
3.8sec
of gravitational force working
against balance and composure.
Most of all, though, is the ease
at which the big AMG-inspired
limousine travels. Even with all
of its power it is easy to drive
at all speeds, during my stopstart
commute it dawdles with
little indication of what fury lies
underneath.
What’s more it is very much
Mercedes-Benz-like in terms
of how it functions and the
ergonomics are such that all
occupants are cocooned in
luxury. It must also be mentioned
that the EQS 53 drives silently at
all speeds. Sure, there are sounds
through the air and off the big
tyres but they aren’t dramatic,
it is uncannily quiet and an
experience to saviour.
Mercedes-Benz isn’t putting its
eggs all in one basket, there are
hybrid options and at this stage
plenty of petrol-only models in
the line-up. I’m due to drive a
plug-in hybrid soon, and if it is
anything like the quality of the
EQS 53 then I’m surely in for
another treat.
Career of motorsport icon detailed in book
Trevor Crowe
IN COMMAND: Trevor
Crowe on his way to
a third place finish in
the 1988 Nissan/Mobil
500 in Wellington.
TURBO POWER: The Trevor
Crowe Motors Skoda 120L
evaluation car of 1988.
PHOTOS: ROSS KIDDIE
competing, along with his fitness
regime, one that has kept him
competitive in marathons and
endurance events.
Written as Crowe would speak,
As the Crowe Flies covers everything
from his early days growing
up around cars at the family’s
Templeton service station, his
engineering skills honed through
an apprenticeship and, by sheer
imagination, pioneering race car
building ideas that have brought
him major success in a wide
periphery of motorsport.
Most of the cars Crowe has
raced are detailed in length, from
his first competitive car – an MG
J2 – through to the V8-powered
monsters he designed and mostly
built himself – Skoda, Toyota
Starlets and Subaru Justy.
Crowe is no stranger to
Christchurch’s car sales
infrastructure, he has been
dealer for Skoda and Subaru,
and today his CroweSport
workshop is responsible for
general day-to-day servicing and
upgrade modifications to many
varying brands. A chapter on the
development of the Moorhouse
Ave facility is included.
Crowe can be seen racing at the
Skope Classic, February 3-5 in
the mid-engine Subaru Justy V8.
•As the Crowe Flies
can be purchased at
bookstores or from
CroweSport, 518
Moorhouse Ave.