fully electric Mercedes-Benz The EQS is one of the coolest cars on the road today, refined exteriors wrapped in sumptuous interiors that have all the subtleties you’d expect from an S-badged Merc with capable The tram’s effortless acceleration and excellent ride quality at launch. Top EV, quite simply, very good.
It is also very expensive, large and exclusive.
Thankfully, there’s now a more affordable option – anyway, a little more affordable. Welcome to the Mercedes-Benz EQE: an all-electric sedan about a foot shorter, 230 ponies less power, 45 miles less per charge, and especially at a low price more than $30,000.
Despite all that, don’t call this a downgrade.
The EQE is a perfect choice for anyone who doesn’t need the size, performance, or a little extra range of EQS.
exterior
Image credits: Tim Stevens
If there’s one thing wrong with EQE, it’s the interface. Where the EQS manages to be somewhat spherical but dignified from the outside, the EQE is anonymous from front to back.
It’s not a bad car anyway, basically a nine-tenths scale version of the EQS, but with its amorphous shape, it almost disappears into a parking lot.
The details on the nose look fresh; The three-pointed star is bold and centered in a stellar reverberation field, an arrangement far more appealing than the false grids found on many other trams.
However, it all went downhill from there.
The way the lines run from bulbous headlights to winding taillights with a crease in the middle doesn’t do much to get the juices off.
At least, there’s a good reason for anonymity: The EQE has a remarkable 0.20 coefficient of drag, which helps it deliver a remarkably EPA-rated 305-mile range in the all-wheel-drive EQE 350+ configuration. after.
The higher-power, four-wheel-drive EQE 500 you see here doesn’t yet have official EPA numbers, but in ideal conditions it shouldn’t be too far-fetched. In my testing, I averaged 2.0 mph, meaning a theoretical maximum range of 180 miles from the 90 kWh battery pack, but my conditions were hardly ideal. This EQE shows up not only on snow tires, which typically have a penalty range of 10 to 15%, but also in some extremely cold weather with icy and often wet roads. Your mileage will be much better.
inland
Image credits: Tim Stevens
The exterior is nothing special that is in stark contrast to the interior.
It’s probably a few steps down from the general luxury of the EQS but you hardly know it.
The EQE 500 you see here has the AMG Line interior package ($2,100), which means sport seats, a more stylish steering wheel, some extra branding, and contrasting red seat belts.
There are also spacious Alcantara and microfiber surfaces that pair beautifully with the black Linden wood on the dashboard. That, plus the gorgeous turbine vents, makes for a clean, modern, and sleek dash.
Image credits: Tim Stevens
That Multifunction Sport steering wheel is a bit busy, with multiple capacitive touch surfaces controlling everything from cruise control to instrument cluster modes. However, unlike the thumb controls above VolkswagenID.4, everything here is clearly separated and easy to use without looking down. I’ve never found myself driving wrong. Only the headlight buttons are a bit clumsy, hidden under the left panel, but they’re so precisely automated that I rarely have to worry about that.
If there’s a downside here, it’s the volume of space.
Inside, the EQE can feel a bit cramped. The way the extremely stylish dashboard sweeps in makes things just feel a bit claustrophobic, and although there’s plenty of headroom at the front, it’s a bit limited at the rear despite the glass panoramic roof.
Image credits: Tim Stevens
Legroom, at least, is decent, and all the seats are comfortable. Even if there’s not much room to move around, you won’t feel the need to squirm as much. Massaging the front just gives more reason to settle down and enjoy the ride.
There’s a decent amount of storage, a large storage compartment under the center console and a spacious pocket inside the armrest. The trunk is narrow but still offers 15 cubic feet of capacity, up from 13.1 in the E-Class sedan.
technology
Image credits: Tim Stevens
EQE is swimming in tech, assistance, and safety features, starting with the excellent, optional $1,100, digital LED floodlights. They’re super bright with perfect auto-dimming and surprisingly fun extras. For instance, they will paint an arrow on the asphalt when changing lanes on a highway, and even mark road markings if you start to deviate from your lane.
The EQE you see here doesn’t have an epic Super Monitor panel, with screens running nearly the entire length of the panel; I didn’t miss it.
The 12.8-inch central screen of this car is still very generous, while the 12.3-inch gauge cluster is equipped with many notable features. You will not be short of information.
Image credits: Tim Stevens
Also not custom. The EQE is one of the easiest cars I’ve ever driven. You get a ton of driving modes at your disposal, endless ambient light colors, three fake engine sounds, five gauge clusters (each individually customizable), eight seat massage routines, Flexible charging speeds and times, four levels of regenerative braking, and even a trio of individual HVAC modes to let you prioritize driving distance over comfort. It can be a bit overwhelming, but I love that you can steer this car however you want, and Mercedes’ clean MBUX interface makes things a breeze. And yes, there’s also Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay.
In terms of safety and assistance features, the standard feature set on the EQE offers almost everything you could want, including automatic front and rear emergency braking with pedestrian detection and adaptive cruise control. response, ensuring that the vehicle maintains a safe distance and is on the right track. speed limit.
Very good adaptive cruise and lane keeping system. The EQE stays firmly in its lane and flows smoothly with traffic. If something is missing, it’s some kind of hands-free mode that you can find in some Cadillacs and Fords, but it’s coming – final.
driving motivation
The EQS is not a sports car and the EQE is very similar to that model. However, with 402 horsepower and 633 pound-feet of torque in this EQE 500 4Matic, it certainly accelerates like one. In Sport mode, the EQE is eager, its acceleration combined with one of three slightly silly but fun fake engine sounds.
The car’s comfortably adjusted suspension is a bit soft and the car leans and rolls like a dinghy through corners, but even with Pirelli Sottozero winter tires, it still has plenty of grip. . Meanwhile, the rear-wheel drive ($1,300) makes things a lot more alive than usual, while also allowing for dramatic turns. You will never have to worry about spinning three points again.
Smart choice
You can own a rear-wheel drive EQE 350+ for $74,900. This one, though, appears a bit taller. The base price for the faster, more powerful EQE 500 4Matic is $88,000. Add all the options mentioned above plus a few more, such as $1,750 for the red paint and $1,620 for the lovely linden wood, plus a $1,150 destination fee and you have the set price of $104,470.
With that money you can buy yourself a base EQS, but then you have to start the options game all over again. For me, a well-equipped EQE is the smart choice. It fulfills all the requirements for what luxury electric cars should be today, while at the same time pointing to a bright future of quiet, light and zero-emission automobiles.
