Mercedes' $102,000 electric car drove 422 miles on a full battery, easily beating Tesla's Model S

• Mercedes-Benz's new electric car went 422 miles on a full charge, according to Edmunds.
• The EQS 450+ demolished its EPA-estimated range by 72 miles.

Mercedes-Benz wants to take on Tesla by launching a lineup of fancy electric SUVs and sedans. Early tests of its new flagship electric car, the EQS, show it might have what it takes to stand up to Elon Musk's $1 trillion company.

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+, a $102,000 electric sibling to the famed S-Class sedan, traveled an impressive 422 miles in a real-world range test by Edmunds. The car far exceeded its EPA-estimated range of 350 miles and drove nearly 20 miles farther than Tesla's best model promises to.

The Tesla Model S sedan, the industry leader in battery range until recently, has an EPA rating of up to 405 miles. It was unseated by the Lucid Air, the first vehicle from the startup Lucid Motors. That car is rated for up to 520 miles of range. Now Mercedes-Benz is joining those vehicles at the top of the heap.

Edmunds' real-world range test involves driving an electric vehicle in its most efficient setting around a fixed loop that includes both city and highway roads. Testers drive the vehicle until its built-in range calculator shows zero miles remaining. The EPA, on the other hand, estimates range without driving on actual roads.

The Mercedes EQS 450+ is now the longest-range EV Edmunds has tested, beating out the previous leader, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, by 77 miles. (Edmunds hasn't evaluated the longest-range Model S or Lucid Air yet.)

Moreover, every Tesla Edmunds has tested has failed to meet its EPA-estimated range, while the majority of non-Tesla EVs have outperformed theirs.

Check out Edmunds' current EV range leaderboard below: