Compare the2026 BMW i7VS 2025 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.

The BMW i7’s optional Surround View offers available integrated front and rear camera washers, ensuring clear, all-weather visibility without the need for manual cleaning. In contrast, the Mercedes EQS lacks camera washers, requiring you to manually clean the cameras for optimal performance.

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 tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the EQS.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 14 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks BMW higher than Mercedes.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 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 13 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

The i7 has more powerful engines than the EQS:

As tested in Car and Driver the i7 xDrive60 electric motors is faster than the EQS 450+ electric motor:

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

The i7 stops much 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).

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the i7 xDrive60 is quieter than the EQS 580 4MATIC:

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.

With its sedan body style and remote trunk release lockout, the i7 offers cargo security. The EQS’ hatchback body style defeats cargo security.

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.

The i7 is equipped with both FM and AM stereo radios, offering access to more content and better coverage than the EQS, which solely provides FM radio. With AM radio, you can enjoy a wider variety of stations featuring news, talk shows, sports commentary, native language programing, automated traffic guidance, and emergency broadcasts. AM waves travel further and penetrate buildings and obstacles more effectively than FM signals, especially at night. Having both FM and AM stereo radios the i7 offers a more comprehensive listening experience compared to only FM in the EQS.

HD Radio boasts several benefits over conventional radio: superior sound quality with clearer and consistent FM broadcasts, CD-quality audio, and Multicast Channels offering up to four streams from a single station, adding programming choices. Cars like the i7 equipped with HD Radio provide an improved in-car entertainment experience. The EQS, devoid of this technology, foregoes these benefits. Selecting the BMW i7 empowers drivers to enjoy a more immersive and enjoyable listening experience while on the go.

The BMW i7 outsold the Mercedes EQS by 7% during 2024.