Mercedes-Benz EQE: Full Details Revealed

Seen only in photographs, it can be surprisingly hard to tell it apart from the EQS (especially without any size references). That is largely because the new Mercedes-Benz EQE borrows the same defining styling cues (platform included): a sweeping, arched body, a cab pushed forward, very short overhangs, a five-door outline (even though it is technically a three-box saloon because the rear window is fixed), and broad, muscular rear shoulders.

Its 3132 mm wheelbase is 90 mm shorter than the EQS, while the overall length (4.946 m) sits very close to that of the CLS.

As is typical of electric cars built on “dedicated” platforms, the cabin is noticeably roomier than an E-Class with an internal combustion engine. Up front, it is 2.7 cm wider, and rear passengers get an extra 8 cm of legroom. Seat height is also 6.5 cm higher, largely because the EQE’s floor houses a huge battery pack.

The boot, however, goes the other way: it offers 430 litres, which is well down on the E-Class’s 540 l.

Where have we seen this interior before?

That same sense of déjà vu continues inside, because the dashboard can be dominated by the familiar Hyperscreen (the same 1.41 m width as the EQS, and able to store seven user profiles). It is billed as the world’s largest in-car digital display and, here too, it sits on the options list.

The sophistication of the operating system (MBUX) is reflected in a few headline figures describing its “brain”: eight CPU control units, 24 GB of RAM, and memory bandwidth of 46.6 GB per second.

Two versions

At launch there will be two variants. First is the EQE 350 with 215 kW (292 hp, mounted on the rear axle) and a battery with 90 kWh usable capacity, which is claimed to deliver between 545 km and 660 km of range. The second powertrain remains officially under wraps, but it is known to add a second motor at the front, bringing four-wheel drive.

As with the EQS, there are three levels of energy recuperation (D+, D and D-). The driver can choose them using the paddles behind the steering wheel, or simply let the car manage recuperation automatically in DAuto.

Peak DC charging is 170 kW, and at that rate 15 minutes is said to add 250 km of extra range to the Mercedes-Benz EQE (around 35.55 kW). On AC, charging can be done at 11 kW or 22 kW (three-phase), with full-charge times of 8 h 25 min and 4 h 25 min, respectively.

It has the same rear-axle steering as the EQS

Rear-axle steering is also optional, offered in two versions: one with 4.5º of rear-wheel angle and another with 10º. In the latter case it can make the Mercedes-Benz EQE far easier to manoeuvre, cutting the turning circle diameter from 12.5 m (with a “passive” rear axle) to 10.7 m (10º) or 11.6 m (4.5º).

Also available as an option, Digital Light uses a module in each main headlamp containing three very bright LEDs. Their light is refracted and directed with the aid of 1.3 million micro-mirrors (meaning a resolution of 2.6 million pixels per vehicle).

“Intelligent” suspension

If the customer specifies it, the suspension can be air-based with electronically variable dampers. The Airmatic air suspension combines air spring bellows with adaptive dampers, whose characteristics can change automatically and independently at each wheel, in both compression and rebound.

A network of sensors and algorithms sets damper response according to the road surface so that, for instance, when one wheel hits a bump, the movement is not transmitted across the whole axle and, in turn, into the cabin.

Airmatic keeps ride height constant regardless of vehicle load, but it also adjusts height when required. In Sport mode, for example, the body drops by 20 mm above 120 km/h to cut aerodynamic drag and improve stability. Below 80 km/h, ride height returns to its original position. Up to 40 km/h, the body can be raised by 25 mm at the press of a button, and above 50 km/h it lowers itself automatically back to the normal ride height.

When does it arrive?

Although the new Mercedes-Benz EQE has been unveiled today, it will not reach the market until the middle of next year. Production will take place in Bremen, Germany.