Competence trumps enthusiasm with the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 2023

LISBON, PORTUGAL—Americans generally like SUVs. And Mercedes-Benz likes to sell cars to Americans. So we weren’t at all surprised when it first unveiled an SUV version of the EQE sedan, nor when we learned that the EQE SUV would be built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

That is now underway, with cars now arriving at dealerships every week. After driving several models in the EQE SUV range for a few days, it’s clear that Mercedes engineers have listened to and incorporated feedback, as their ideas match real driving conditions. The result is a capable electric SUV, if not one that necessarily gets the heart racing or requires you to drive the long way 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. That much should be obvious when you see one – they all have ultra-sleek designs that can resemble the “speed shapes” some car showrooms use to show off different paint colors. That wasn’t the design brief though – making it as smooth as possible was. And the designers succeeded, with a drag coefficient of 0.25. In a contest of elegance, I’m not sure the SUV would triumph over the sedan, but I’m not sure it’s meant to be either.

As usual, the lowest coefficient of drag depends on the fitment of the smallest wheels – in this case 19-inch cases with cladding covering most of the wheel area, reducing the turbulence caused by the spinning spokes that disrupts range efficiency . Interestingly, the EQE SUV also needs the running boards to be present and correct to achieve the lowest drag number.

It certainly shares a family resemblance to the larger EQS SUV, but the less pronounced rear wheel arches conspire to make the EQE SUV appear taller and narrower – and more minivan-like – if you see one on the road from the side or from behind.

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

Next up is the EQE 350 4matic, which adds a second permanently-excited synchronous motor to the front axle, albeit with a clutch disengagement that allows the EQE SUV to coast efficiently without losing energy to drag from the front motor. It also has a total output of 288 hp, just like the 350+, but with a combined maximum torque of 564 lb-ft (764 Nm).

Since all EQE SUVs use the same 90.6 kWh battery pack, the 350 4matic has an EPA range of 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 because they fall under the $80,000 price cap, but only if there’s enough household content in the battery packs, something we won’t know until later in 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. Since the battery retains the same capacity, the EPA range of the 500 4matic should be equal to or less than that of the 350 4matic, but Mercedes tells us it is 433 km. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to ask Mercedes engineers about this, but I think the problem is due to the choice of tires for the two variants.

Since all three powertrains use the same capacity, all three have the same charging times. A DC fast charge would take 32 minutes to charge the pack from 10-80 percent at a maximum charge rate of 170kW. A Level 2 32A charger takes 9.5 hours to fully charge the pack, from 10-100 percent.

Despite being what Americans call a mid-sized SUV, the EQE never felt too big for Portuguese roads, even when driving through ancient villages. Visibility was good over the curved bonnet, but the driver’s A-pillar created a blind spot.

The ergonomics of the cabin are essentially the same as the EQE saloon, with an expansive but sometimes confusing capacitive multi-function steering wheel, a “zero-layer” touchscreen user interface and class-leading voice recognition that’s good enough to rely on.

While some of our test cars came equipped with the over-the-top Hyperscreen – basically three screens under one huge piece of glass – US-market EQEs (both SUVs and sedans) only offer the 12.8-inch OLED screen.

There’s also some Dolby Atmos technology in the sound system which, to my non-audiophile ears, sounded pretty good when streaming Apple Music’s De La Soul. Mercedes is also teaming up with a company called Zync to do in-car video streaming, and the driver-tracking car tracking system won’t let you watch videos when you’re supposed to be driving. And I saw a scattering of front and rear USB-C ports for passengers to connect and charge their devices.