New Mercedes EQE vs Porsche Taycan: interiors
As the electric equivalent of an E-Class, the new Mercedes EQE has the potential to shake up the executive car category. But first it’ll have to beat the Porsche Taycan...
Behind the wheel
Driving position, visibility, build quality
Whether the Porsche Taycan’s low-slung driving position appeals more than the Mercedes EQE’s higher seating is a matter of taste, but both cars feature great front seats, with the Taycan’s providing more side support through corners and the EQE’s excelling at cushioning you when cruising. The fact that you have to pay extra for adjustable lumbar support on the Taycan (as part of the £1139 Comfort Seats with Memory Package) seems stingy, though; this feature is standard in the EQE.
Both cars have fairly thick windscreen and rear pillars, plus shallow rear screens, so they aren’t the easiest to see out of, especially in tight car parks. Fortunately, they compensate by giving you front and rear parking sensors and rear-view cameras. A 360-degree camera can be added to the Taycan as a £575 option, whereas once again you have to step up to a higher trim to get this on the EQE.
Both of our contenders come with digital instrument panels that can show lots of information in a variety of ways, but the EQE gives you more layout choices, whereas the Taycan sticks to a more traditional Porsche style, with the speedometer always front and centre ahead of you. Both can be configured to show sat-nav maps, too. In general, the Taycan’s simpler, less cluttered layout is easier to read at a glance.
Neither car features many physical buttons, with both forcing you to use a touchscreen to change the climate control settings. This is slightly easier to do in the Taycan, because its air-con controls aren’t mixed up with others on the main infotainment screen; rather, they’re on a dedicated panel lower down. But even this approach is more distracting for the driver than having physical switches like you get in the Audi E-tron GT.
Visually, the EQE’s interior is arguably more enticing than the Taycan’s, with futuristic-looking ambient lighting, an eclectic mixture of materials (open-pore wood contrasts nicely with tactile, suede-like microfibre) and slick-looking details such as turbine-style air vents. However, the Taycan hits back with far superior build quality. Some of the EQE’s fixtures and fittings feel disappointingly cheap or flimsy, especially around the infotainment system, whereas the Taycan feels like it has been hewn from granite, then wrapped in the finest-quality leather.
Infotainment systems
Mercedes EQE
The EQE’s 12.8in touchscreen has a simple layout, crisp graphics, large icons and swift responses to inputs, but, as with the Taycan’s system, it can be distracting to use while driving. Mercedes’ much- hyped Hyperscreen, which in effect turns the entire face of the dashboard into a screen, is available only on the range-topping EQE 53. As in the Taycan, the EQE comes with voice control and wireless phone charging.
Porsche Taycan
There are two central touchscreens: a 10.9in one for the infotainment and an 8.4in one below it for things like the climate control. Both are crisp and snappy in their responses. For £797, you can add a screen for your front passenger, allowing them to act as navigator or DJ. The standard sound system isn’t bad, but you might want to upgrade to the 14-speaker Bose (£1052) or the 21-speaker Burmester (£4620) set-up.
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