Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV review

This is the latest addition to the frankly baffling line-up of cars at Mercedes-Benz these days: an SUV that sits at the upper end of the size scale following Merc’s general A, B, C, E, S classifications. The EQ bit means it’s electric, the SUV bit means… well, you get it.

It doesn’t really look much like the GLE SUV, which would be its closest petrol-powered equivalent, but it does look exactly like all of the other EQ-badged SUVs and saloons with their slab sides and glossy scale-to-fit front ends.

And what’s it for?

A very good question, which probably should have been asked around four or five years ago when something could have been done about it. It’s got executive vibes about it: it’s luxuriously trimmed inside and has plenty of space in the back. But then if you want a fancy car to be driven around in, Mercedes has a multitude of those already, so this isn’t offering anything new or different. It smacks of a car that Mercedes has done because it could, rather than because it should. Most of the engineering was already done, so it’s just cutting the cloth a different way.

It could make a nice electric family car, but the £80k–£120k price bracket is… punchy. However, someone in the Mercedes product department must think the EQE SUV will sell. If you’re sitting in the sparsely populated intersection of the Venn diagram of family buyers looking for a premium 2.5-tonne electric SUV with around £100k in their back pocket, then great.

What flavours are available?

There are three powertrains, and in the UK most are four-wheel drive using e-motors on the front and rear axles. The exception is the entry-level 350+, which is rear drive but has the same 288bhp output as the regular 4WD, twin motor 350. Go figure. There’s little to split them for speed, the 4WD being 0.3 seconds faster to 62mph at 6.9s. Next up is the 500 4MATIC, producing 402bhp/633lb ft for 0-62mph in 4.9s. All are limited to a 130mph top speed.

Then there’s the AMGified EQE 53. The top speed climbs to 137mph, the 0-62 tumbles to just 3.7s thanks to power outputs of 616bhp and 704lb ft. You don’t need that. Neither does the 2.7-tonne car, which can barely cope.

The entry-level model gives you the most range at 376 miles, falling to 260 for the higher-trimmed cars with bigger wheels. Battery sizes change subtly depending on spec, ranging from 89 to 96kWh. For more on the (unsurprisingly) generous equipment levels, take a look at the Buying tab. In brief, prices start at £75,495 for an AMG Line, running up to £124,995 for the actual AMG, the 53 Night Edition Premium Plus.

How does it drive?

Well, it drives. You know, all the stuff you expect a car to do – it accelerates, stops, goes round corners. Mercedes insists the EQE SUV does all this in a 'sporty' way, but it doesn't. Turn too enthusiastically into a corner and you feel the car fighting against its own weight, though not through the steering wheel, which offers grainy feel.

The rear-wheel steering gives more assertive turn-in with up to 10 degrees of lock at the back that shrinks the car’s turning circle from 12 metres to 10 metres. Less successful is the standard air suspension, which manages to smother out bumps well enough, but leaves you feeling a bit seasick on windy roads. It’s a very quiet cruiser, but it’s just a bit unlikeable with no charisma to speak of.

The EQE SUV is a large car, with a high front end that blocks your view of the road, not helped by the gargantuan slab of dashboard ahead of you. And the weirdly tiny windscreen means that the Hyperscreen display almost rivals it for real estate: you’ll be using all of the onboard cameras and sensors to perform your manoeuvres.

Is there any interesting stuff on the car?

To be fair to Mercedes, there’s been a lot of effort put into the car’s efficiency (short of slimming down by 700kg or so): aero trickery, tech fanciness, etc. The front axle has a clutch on it, for instance, so that it can be disengaged when not needed and doesn’t put any drag on the drivetrain.

You also get a heat pump as standard to minimise winter range loss, and there are lots of little touches such as serrated metal flaps ahead of the front wheels to make them more aero efficient. All of that adds up to efficiency of 3.1mi/kWh, claimed. We’ve got nowhere near that obviously: 2.2-2.5mi/kWh is a better guide. Check out the Driving tab for more detail.

Does the EQE SUV have any rivals?

Well, it appears to be the category that everyone piled into initially. SUVs are popular, you can package the battery more easily than in a saloon or estate, and you can charge more for the finished product. That’s why so many early EVs were premium SUVs: Audi Q8 e-tron, Merc EQC, Jag I-Pace, Tesla Model X etc.

Audi’s Q8 e-tron is fine, but not nearly as luxurious as this, Volvo's new EX90 seven-seater will be a contender when it arrives (and will get the family vote), there’s the handsome Polestar 3 and don’t forget the BMW iX. It no longer looks as bizarre as it did when it arrived, and it’s actually rather lovely inside and good to drive. We’d have one over this Merc every time.

We’re not sure what to make of the EQE SUV: Audi does a good job of making its electric cars feel like normal ones, while BMW’s iX offers space age drama and a fresh thinking on luxury. This does neither. Yes, the cabin is beautifully made, but the car itself has an identity crisis: it’s hard to work out what it’s for. It doesn’t seem to be aimed at family buyers and it’s not handsome or distinctive enough to attract the style-conscious.

There are also better electric family cars in the Mercedes range (the EQB, for instance) and better electric luxury cars (the EQS saloon). Heck, even the plug-in hybrid S-Class is looking like a bargain right now, and that’s a superb car.

On the plus side, the EQE SUV is solidly built and gets places calmly and quietly. But are those words that make you want to drop six figures on one? Not on your nelly. Two or three years ago it might have brought something to the table, but the game's long since moved on.