Mercedes EQE SUV review

Introduction

If you were to liken the Mercedes EQE SUV and its saloon sister to house plants, you'd suspect the former had been regularly watered and treated to lots of sunlight to make it grow tall and substantial, while the latter had been starved of nutrition.

You see, while they share much of their technological make-up underneath, the SUV looks and feels far bulkier than the Mercedes EQE saloon.

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The downside of this is that the SUV doesn't cut through the air as easily and therefore can't go as far between charges. However, it can still officially cover more than 300 miles before you need to plug it in. Plus, it promises usefully more space and the high driving position that many car buyers crave.

As for where the EQE SUV fits into the wider Mercedes electric SUV range, it's slightly bigger (and more expensive) than the Mercedes EQC, but smaller (and cheaper) than the Mercedes EQS SUV.

Rivals include the quiet and cosseting Audi Q8 e-tron and the soothing and opulent BMW iX. So which of these cars is it most like, and is it a better buy? Read on to find out...

What’s new?
- October 2023: EQE is one of two Mercedes models to receive “very good” rating from Euro NCAP
- February 2023: battery-powered EQE hits showrooms, priced from £90,560
- October 2022: new Mercedes EQE revealed in digital launch

Overview

The Mercedes EQE SUV is a very quiet electric car that offers strong performance, comes well equipped, has a better range than most rivals and is impressively practical inside. It's pricey, though, and the low-speed ride is often abrupt. Our recommended version is the entry-level EQE 300 in AMG Line trim.

Pros

• Impressive range
• Very refined
• Spacious and visually appealing interior

Cons

• Material quality could be better
• High entry-level list price
• Disappointing low-speed ride

Trims available

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AMG Line Night Edition

For a darker, even sportier look, complete with tinted rear windows, there’s AMG Line Night Edition Premium.

AMG Night Edition

The Night Edition is the lower trim level for the AMG 53 version, and gets you black exterior trim, red brake calipers, 21in alloys, an AMG-specific grille, a boot lid spoiler, AMG sport seats and a rear-wheel steering system.

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

With 288bhp, the entry-level Mercedes EQE SUV (called the EQE 350) can sprint from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds. That’s not as fast as the equivalent Audi Q8 e-tron (the 50) or BMW iX (the xDrive40), but there's still sufficient performance to take advantage of gaps in traffic and get up to motorway speeds easily.

Those wanting more brute force might want to consider the EQE 500, which develops 402bhp and cuts the 0-62mph sprint to 4.9 seconds. Plant your right foot in this, and you’ll be pinned back into your seat with some vigour, getting up to speed before you know it.

Performance fans, though, will be even keener on the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53. With 617bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 3.7 seconds, it comfortably beats the Audi SQ8 e-tron’s 4.5 seconds figure and is slightly quicker than the range-topping BMW iX, the M60 (3.8 seconds).

When it comes to how far you can go on a charge, the EQE 350, with its 89kWh (usable) battery capacity, officially provides up to 334 miles of range. Both the 500 and the AMG 53 have a slightly larger 91kWh (usable) battery, which allows the 500 to officially cover 324 miles and the AMG 53 up to 305 miles.

All EQE SUVs come with air suspension, which generally provides a forgiving and composed ride at higher speeds. However, in town the body of the car can be jolted abruptly to one side when one of the wheels hits a bump, causing the heads of occupants to be thrown about. The Q8 e-tron and iX are all better at isolating occupants from the road surface.

Put the EQE SUV in Sport mode, and it not only adds some reassuring weight to the steering, but also ensures there's less lean through corners than there is in the iX.

As compensation, four-wheel steering is standard on AMG Line Premium Plus models and above. It allows the back wheels to turn by up to 10 degrees, reducing the turning circle from 12.3m to 10.5m, which is smaller than you get in a Mercedes A-Class.

Initially, it takes some time to get used to how little steering lock is required when turning into corners, but the four-wheel steering does a great job of making low-speed manoeuvres effortless.

The EQE SUV is a very quiet car to drive around in, too, with wind, road and electric motor noise kept to a minimum. Higher-spec versions are even fitted with laminated windows to further dull exterior noise.

Sadly, the brake pedal is light and rather vague, which means you have to concentrate to bring the car to a smooth stop.

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

If you like to sit high above the road, you’ll appreciate the lofty driving position of the Mercedes EQE SUV, which gives you a great view over the bonnet.

Over-the-shoulder visibility also impresses, thanks to large side windows and a wide rear window. And parking is made even easier by the standard front and rear parking sensors and rear-view camera; the latter is upgraded to a 360-degree camera if you go for AMG Line Premium trim or above.

You'll have no trouble getting comfortable, either, because the front seats and steering column are electrically adjustable. Plus, the seats feel plush and thickly padded, and adjustable lumbar support is standard on all trim levels.

Instrumentation is via a 12.3in digital driver's display that can be configured to show multiple layouts for the dials, trip, and media and navigation information. It looks good, but it’s a shame you have to scroll through the menus using fiddly touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel.

In AMG Line and AMG Line Premium cars, there's also a 12.8in portrait-oriented touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard, which runs the latest version of Mercedes' MBUX infotainment system. It has a simple lay-out, crisp graphics and quick responses, but BMW’s iDrive system is less distracting to use while driving because of its physical shortcut buttons and rotary controller.

In higher-spec version of the EQE SUV (including the range-topping AMG 53), the single touchscreen is upgraded to a so-called Hyperscreen, which is actually made up of three screens that span the dashboard to give the front passenger their own controls.

Despite its size, the Hyperscreen actually improves wow factor more than usability, although even without it, the interior looks special – particularly at night, when you can see the ambient lighting in its full glory. It's just a pity that you don't have to look far to find hard, brittle plastics; the Audi Q8 e-tron and BMW iX both feel much more solidly constructed.

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

While it's smaller than the flagship Mercedes EQS SUV, the EQE SUV is still very spacious up front, with enough head, leg and shoulder room to keep 6ft-plus occupants happy.

Interior storage is impressive too, with lots of areas to put everyday items. There’s a pair of cupholders, a deep storage cubby underneath the armrest, a secondary storage tray under the centre console, and some big door bins.

Rear-seat occupants will much prefer sitting in the EQE SUV than they would the Mercedes EQE saloon. That’s because they get more head room and sit higher above the floor, so their knees are less likely to be bent at an awkward angle.

Crucially, though, the EQE SUV also compares well with rivals, providing more space for you to tuck your feet under the front seats than in the BMW iX. And as in the iX, the floor of the car is completely flat, whereas in the Audi Q8 e-tron a middle passenger has to straddle a lump in the floor.

On the other hand, the EQE SUV’s 520-litre boot space is less than what’s offered in the Q8 e-tron, but it's still slightly more than you get in the iX. The boot area is a useful square shape, with enough storage space under the floor for charging cables.

Like its rivals, the EQE SUV gets 40/20/40 split folding rear seats for when you need to accommodate larger items, although you can’t fold them down remotely from the boot. The rear backrests don’t recline to improve comfort, either, and there's no luggage space under the bonnet.

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

There are plenty of more affordable electric SUVs than the Mercedes EQE SUV. Indeed, the cheapest version costs around the same as a high-spec Audi Q8 e-tron 50 Vorsprung, while the BMW iX is also cheaper on a like-for-like basis.

To make up for this, you could secure as good discount by visiting our Mercedes deals page. The EQE SUV also partly compensates for its high price through strong predicted resale values – especially compared with the Q8 e-tron.

As with all electric cars, the EQE SUV will be much cheaper to run as a company car than a petrol or diesel thanks to its low BIK tax rate.

With the EQE 350, there are four trim levels to choose from, and we think entry-level AMG Line gives you a good balance between cost and equipment. It gets you 20in alloy wheels, privacy glass, keyless entry, LED headlights, leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, and three-zone climate control.

That said, if you want the EQE 500, you'll need to at least step up to AMG Line Premium trim, which brings larger 21in alloys, a panoramic glass sunroof, additional ambient lighting, a Burmester sound system and a dash cam.

In terms of charging, all versions have a maximum charging speed of 170kW, which matches the Q8 e-tron's, but is slower than the iX’s maximum rate of 195kW. A 10-80% charge should take 31 minutes if you can find a suitably powerful public charging point, while a full charge using a 7kW home EV charger will take around 14 hours.

In 2023, the safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the EQE SUV their maximum five star rating. Diving deeper into the results, the EQE SUV scored highly for protecting adults in the front but even better for protecting children in the back.

All versions of the EQE SUV have automatic emergency braking (AEB), active lane-keeping assist and blind-spot assist.

The EQE SUV did not feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Mercedes as a brand didn’t do brilliantly. It finished in 22nd place out of 31 manufacturers featured, putting it ahead of Audi in 24th but below BMW in eighth place.

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