First drive: Mercedes-Benz EQE

Monday, 15 May 2023

The Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 has launched. Goodbye, E 63?

Mercedes-Benz has unleashed its next electric model, following the EQA and EQB small SUVs, EQC medium SUV, EQV van and EQS luxury sedan families. This one, the EQE, slots in just below the EQS and above where an EQC sedan might one day sit, just like the combustion E-Class. Like the EQS, it’s also a luxury sedan, albeit slightly smaller and quite a bit cheaper. Could it be a bit of a Goldilocks situation?

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

The all-new Mercedes-Benz EQE, as driven by Stuff in Melbourne.

Three EQE models are available in New Zealand, the Mercedes-Benz EQE 300 and EQE 350, which both use the same base equipment with slightly differing powertrains. As you might expect, the 300 is the entry model, offering a single rear-mounted electric motor with 180kW/550Nm, while the 350 4Matic adds a second motor to the front axle for 215kW/765Nm of total output and all-wheel drive.

Both models use an 89kWh battery. Using the generous NEDC cycle, Mercedes claims a maximum range of 626km for the 300 and 590km for the 350.

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The cab-forward design helped Mercedes’ engineers keep the drag coefficient down to a trim 0.22Cd.

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A pair of Mercedes-AMG EQE 53s, or 1020kW/1900Nm of combined output. And that’s without the optional Dynamic Plus pack...

Inside is the latest version of the MBUX multimedia system, including Navigation Premium with an augmented reality overlay. A large centrally mounted OLED screen includes a fingerprint scanner to activate personalised driver profiles, while a head-up display is also included.

Our stomachs appreciated eating before trying out the AMG.

As standard buyers get a quality Burmester surround sound system, smartphone integration for Apple and Android devices, and wireless charging. Other bits include an AMG Line interior, which includes sports seats, a leather multifunction steering wheel and AMG floor mats, along with heated and electrically adjustable front seats and a panoramic sunroof.

There’s no Hyperscreen here – that’s an AMG-exclusive option – but honestly I didn’t miss it. The Benz-badged models have an interior not unlike the S-Class without it.

Headroom is still plentiful in both rows, despite that sloping roofline.

All EQEs are absolutely massive on the inside too, with interior space larger than the E-Class by 80mm in length and 27mm in front shoulder room. This was achieved by a long wheelbase, minimal overhangs, and the cab-forward design.

Mention AMG, there’s one high-performance model in the range. It’s badged 53, like the EQS, and it offers a rather sizeable power bump to 460kW/950Nm from two retuned electric motors. Standard features here include an AMG interior, with a different steering wheel and front seats, air suspension, rear-wheel steering and red brake calipers. Our testers also had the Hyperscreen fitted.

While the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 was deeply impressive, the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 is my pick of the bunch.

Pricing for the range is quite competitive, with everything able to be had for under $200,000, including the AMG. Compare that to the $320k-plus Mercedes-AMG EQS 53…

Where did you drive it?

Melbourne. Mercedes loves an Australian launch, which is always good because it means we get a chance to try new cars on roads that are quite similar to our own.

Unlike the EQS launch last year, where we only drove the top-spec AMG 53 variant, this time we had two models to play with. The drive kicked off with the EQE 350, meandering out of the city and into the backroads.

The ride is beautifully soft and hushed, even with steel springs as standard. Cruising out of Melbourne with tunes blaring through the Burmeister audio system (top-notch as usual) was fantastic, especially considering the tunes were accidentally-on-purpose a bit more bogan than what typical Mercedes customers might listen to.

Getting into some corners revealed a surprisingly agile steering and chassis combination, which did very well to hide the 2.3-tonne weight of the car. Drive modes don’t include Sport Plus in the EQE 350, which is fine. Sport is enough to offer decent thrills, and the twin motor attack is plenty for touching legal speeds. All that torque means the sedan leaps out of the low speed corners, but be careful because Mercedes still hasn’t quite figured out the brakes yet. They work well but without much initial feeling at all.

Shifting into the AMG variant for a quick drive loop around our lunch stop revealed that the brake issue starts and stops with the lesser models. The 53 has brilliant picks, with an aggressive initial bite that reins in that huge power with ease. In fact, they’re almost too good, being a little jumpy on small inputs. But you can adjust the regen on the move to get around that.

You also get air suspension for a wider range of comfort settings, which actually feels like it offers a softer ride than the EQS while still ratcheting things up for harder driving. And, in case you were wondering, it’s stupid fast. These didn’t even have the Dynamic Plus package to push outputs to 505kW/1000Nm and drop the 0-100kph time to 3.3 seconds and they were terrifying out of the corners.

If you were thinking about an AMG model for the track I’d still probably recommend something petrol-fed like the C 63 (or even the A 45 S hatchback) though, as while the AMG EQE model is brutally fast, it will juice the battery pretty quickly, and it still takes an hour or so to charge up on a fast charger.

What’s the pick of the range?

I was most impressed by the 350. Sure, the 53 is easily the fastest, which makes it the best for showing off, but you get so much with the 350, and for relatively little. A hair over $140k is huge value in the luxury EV realm, let alone a powerful dual-motor sedan. Especially considering the Tesla Model S is no longer a thing.

Moreover, the EQE range is a markedly better deal than the EQS. You might think that’s obvious, but the EQS just didn’t quite give me the right ultra-luxe feeling for how much you pay. If you want the best, much better to grab an EQE 53 and save more than a hundred thousand dollars. Makes you wonder how cheap an EQC sedan might end up…

Why would I buy it?

Sheer value for money, which is slightly odd (but welcome) from Mercedes. The Audi e-tron GT starts at $205,000 and the entry-level Porsche Taycan is $193,400, which is on par with the AMG EQE 53, let alone the much cheaper EQE 300 or EQE 350.

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

You’re looking at that $137,900 BMW i4 M50 and thinking you’d prefer the sportier drive and better brakes, or the $96k Tesla Model 3 Performance is a deal too good to pass up.