► First drive in the new EQE
► Is it really an electric E-Class?
► Plus AMG variants incoming
The Mercedes EQS might have all the tech, but the EQE could be the most popular and refined EQ car on the road right now. Essentially the electric equivalent of an E-class, the EQE keeps roughly the same body-size as its ICE-powered counterpart but gets the same styling as the larger EQS. Still underneath those divisive looks – designed to make the electric Mercedes as slippery as possible – there’s a solid interior and a capable chassis that pulls ahead of the more expensive EQS. Put it all together and the EQE is one of the best electric cars on sale today.
I need a debrief first…
Whereas some earlier Mercedes electric vehicles adapted underpinnings from combustion-engined cars to take big batteries and e-motors, the EQE is the second car on the same EVA2 platform as the bigger EQS – the all-electric equivalent of the S-Class.
And it shows. The EQS grabbed a lot of early headlines with its tech-first approach and its heightened luxury, not to mention its challenging appearance, but it also harbours a few ride issues and doesn’t feel as refined as its S-class counterpart.
Enter the EQE, then, which is just as bespoke as the EQS but puts everything together in a more polished, refined package. We’ve driven both the 300 and the more 350+ trim, and both show the strides in handling, ride comfort and interior quality Stuttgart has made between EQS and EQE.
Is it suitably plush inside?
Even the simplest, least expensive EQE is pretty special. That’s partly down to the high levels of standard-fit tech, but is also a lot to do with the superb cabin design (which, from where we’re sitting, is much more successful than the ungainly exterior design).
It’s roomy, front and rear, without having the sort of surplus space you might associate with a lapdance limo. The seats are excellent, with plenty of adjustment, so you don’t need to upgrade to pews fitted with complicated massage functions. And it’s quiet – not just from the absence of a combustion engine, but because everything works smoothly, and any external brouhaha is dampened down to a distant rumour.
The pillar-to-pillar optional Hyperscreen available here (and on the larger EQS) seems both unnecessary and rather vulgar here. The EQE’s marginally more traditional combination of 12.8-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch digitial instruments in front of the driver give you all you need, and it’s evolved to become very easy to use.
The rear window is quite small, restricting your view out of the back. And the camera/sensor cluster built into the windscreen behind the rear-view mirror is massive, restricting your view of some traffic lights.
What is the Mercedes EQE like to drive?
The 350 is not a rocketship, and it’s not meant to be. Rather, it’s about being calm, composed and comfortable, so it’s a fast car in the sense of making it easy to maintain high average speeds on longer drives, rather than burning up the ring road. It also benefits from being slightly shorter, with a wheelbase 90mm shorter than that of the EQS.
Switching between the different drives modes – Eco, Comfort, Sport, Individual – gives more or less lively response to the accelerator. But the bigger change to the driving experience comes from using the + and – paddles behind the steering wheel to adjust the level of energy recuperation when you lift off the accelerator. At one extreme, there’s no braking effect – you coast on. At the other extreme, it feels like you’re stabbing at the brakes. The middle setting works much better.
There’s also a setting that adapts to the circumstances. If, for instance, you’ve approached a bend at an unwise speed, the car will apply a heavy dose of recuperative braking when you finally ease off the gas. Or on a series of downhill bends, it will subtly help out without being explictly instructed to.
If you engage all the safety systems, and programme in a sat-nav destination, and activate cruise control, you can achieve a limited (and legal) level of self-driving, perhaps more accurately described as enhanced idiot-proofing: it will help you stay in lane, it will help you slow for bends, it will advise you when to stop accelerating, and it will suggest route alterations to get you to a charger. Clever enough, but a waste of an opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasure of engaging with a car that seems to like being driven.
You don’t lose much with the 300 model either. Despite having ‘only’ 241bhp – that’s much less than the 350’s 402bhp – the driving experience is equally refined. The 300’s single rear motor is more than enough to beat most cars off the line, as it’s quicker to 30mph than its 0-62mph in 7.3 second figure suggests. In contrast, the 350’s 4.7 sec launch feels as quick as it sounds.
Find a few bends, and it’s soon obvious that like the 350, the entry-level EQE rewards gentle progression and smooth inputs. Ring the car’s neck and you won’t get a huge amount of feedback or dynamism – but the executive sector doesn’t really require either. If you want Tesla-style launches with a more capable chassis, read our review of the Affalterbach-fettled version of the Mercedes EQE.
The main fly in the ointment is the brake action – the actual brakes, not the recuperative system. There’s sufficient power, but you never feel that the pedal has the same healthy and happy relationship with the brake calipers as the accelerator has with the e-motor.
Range-wise, the 300 beats the 350 with 349 WLTP-approved miles to the 350’s 294. At around £5000 less than the 350, it’s this more sensible trim that Mercedes UK thinks will be the most popular on UK roads.
Mercedes EQE: verdict
If the greatest benchmark for Mercedes’ EQ range is the petrol range it runs parallel to, then the EQE is the best electric Mercedes yet. It may have a lower target than the EQS (which has to compete against the flagship S-class) but the EQE delivers on all fronts, making it more than a match for the ICE E-class. Where the EQS feels less special and a little harsher than the fossil-fuel Sonderklasse, the EQE feels safe, well-built and like a premium product. As intended, it’s the E-class made electric.
If you’re in the market for an electric executive saloon, the Mercedes EQE and the BMW i4 should be at the top of your list.
Specs listed for 350+