Competence wins over excitement with the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV

LISBON, PORTUGAL—In general, Americans love SUVs. And Mercedes-Benz loves to sell cars to Americans. So when his SUV version of the EQE sedan was first announced, it came as no surprise to learn that the EQE SUV will be built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

It’s ongoing and cars are arriving at dealerships every week. After several days of driving different models in the EQE SUV range, it is clear that Mercedes engineers have listened to and incorporated feedback so that the ideas are well suited to real driving conditions. The result is a capable electric SUV, even if it doesn’t necessarily have a heart pounding or a long drive home.

The EQE SUV is the fourth new Mercedes EV to use the company’s EVA2 platform, following the EQS sedan and SUV, and the EQE sedan. All feature an ultra-streamlined design similar to the ‘speed shapes’ used in some car showrooms to showcase a range of paint colors. But it wasn’t a design brief. The goal was to make it as slippery as possible. And the designer succeeded with a drag coefficient of 0.25. I don’t know if SUVs will beat sedans in the contest of elegance, but I don’t know if they will.

As always, the minimum drag coefficient depends on having the smallest wheels installed. In this case it’s a 19″ case with a cladding that covers most of the wheel. efficiency. Interestingly, the EQE SUV requires running boards to be present and adequate to minimize drag.

It’s undeniably similar to the larger EQS SUVs, but when you look at the EQE SUV from the side or back on the road, the EQE SUV looks like a tall, narrow, minivan with a less prominent rear wheel. Arch is complicit.

Mercedes has three powertrain configurations for the EQE SUV in North America. The entry model is the $77,900 EQE 350+ with a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive layout. It is a permanently-excited synchronous with two pull-in windings, each of which produces 288 hp (215 kW) and 417 lb-ft (565 Nm), each of his three phases. His EQE 350+ with a 90.6 kWh lithium-ion traction battery has an EPA range of 279 miles (450 km).

Next is the EQE 350 4matic. It features a clutch disconnect that allows the EQE SUV to coast efficiently without losing drag energy from the front motor, but adds his second permanent-excitation synchronous motor on the front axle. increase. Like the 350+, it also has a gross power output of 288 hp, but a total peak torque of 564 lb-ft (764 Nm).

All EQE SUVs use the same capacity 90.6 kWh battery pack, giving the 350 4matic an EPA range of 253 miles (407 km). Surprisingly, the 350 4matic starts at the same $77,900 MSRP as the 350+ despite the extra motor. (These two versions may qualify for the IRS clean vehicle tax credit as they have a price cap below $80,000, but only if the battery pack contains enough domestically sourced material.) We won’t know about this until late April.)

Finally, there’s the EQE 500 4matic, which starts at $89,500. This increases power to 402 hp (300 kW) and torque to 633 lb-ft (858 Nm). The battery capacity remains the same, so the EPA range of the 500 4matic should be on par with or lower than the 350 4matic, but Mercedes says: 269 ​​miles (433 km) Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to ask the Mercedes engineer about this, but he thinks the problem is due to the choice of tires in the two variations.

All three powertrains use battery packs of the same capacity, so charging times are the same for all three. DC fast charging takes 32 minutes to charge the pack from 10 to 80% at a maximum charging rate of 170 kW. A 32A Level 2 charger takes 9.5 hours to fully charge the pack from 10% to 100%.

Despite what Americans call a midsize SUV, the EQE never felt too big for Portuguese roads. Visibility was good through the curved bonnet, but his A-pillar in the driver’s seat created a blind spot.

Cabin ergonomics are essentially the same as the EQE sedan, with a comprehensive but sometimes confusing capacitive multifunction steering wheel, a touchscreen “zero layer” user interface, and reliable, best-in-class voice recognition. increase.

While some test cars were outfitted with excessive hyperscreens (actually three displays under one giant piece of glass), the US market EQE (both SUVs and sedans) is 12.8 inches. OLED screen only.

The sound system also has some Dolby Atmos tech, and to my non-audiophile ears, it sounded pretty good for streaming De La Soul from Apple Music. Mercedes has partnered with a company called Zync for in-car video streaming, but the car’s eye-tracking driver monitoring system doesn’t let you watch the video if you’re driving. I also noticed her USB-C ports were dotted around the front and back for passengers to plug in and charge their devices.