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

LISBON, PORTUGAL—On the whole, Americans love SUVs. And Mercedes-Benz loves selling cars to Americans. So we weren’t at all surprised when it first revealed an SUV version of the EQE sedan, nor when we learned the EQE SUV would be built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

That’s now underway, with cars arriving in dealers any week now. After spending a couple of days driving different models in the EQE SUV range, it’s clear that Mercedes’ engineers have been listening to and incorporating feedback as their ideas meet real-world driving conditions. The result is a competent electric SUV, if not one that necessarily gets the heart racing or demands you drive the long way home.

The EQE SUV is the fourth new Mercedes EV to use the company’s EVA2 platform after the EQS sedan and SUV, and the EQE sedan. That much should be obvious when you see one—all feature ultra-streamlined designs that can resemble the “speed shapes” that some car showrooms use to show off different paint colors. That wasn’t the design brief, though—making it as slippery 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 then I’m not sure it’s supposed to.

As usual, the lowest drag coefficient is contingent upon fitting the smallest wheels—in this case, 19-inch affairs with cladding that covers up most of the face of the wheel, which reduces the turbulence caused by the rotating spokes that plays havoc with range efficiency. Interestingly, the EQE SUV also needs the running boards to be present and correct to achieve the lowest drag number.

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

Mercedes has three powertrain configurations for the EQE SUV in North America. The entry model is the $77,900 EQE 350+, which uses a single-motor, rear-wheel drive layout. It’s a permanently excited synchronous with two pull-in windings, each with three phases, that generates 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 279 miles (450 km).

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

Since all EQE SUVs use the same capacity 90.6 kWh battery pack, that endows the 350 4matic with an EPA range of 253 miles (407 km). Surprisingly, the 350 4matic will start 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 fall under the $80,000 price cap, but only if there is enough domestic content in the battery packs, something we will not 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 remains the same capacity, the 500 4matic’s EPA range ought to be equal to or less than the 350 4matic, but Mercedes tells us it’s 269 miles (433 km). Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to ask Mercedes’ engineers about this, but I believe the issue is due to the choice of tires for the two variants.

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

Despite being what Americans call a midsize SUV, the EQE never felt too large for Portuguese roads, even when driving through centuries-old villages. Visibility was good over the curved hood, but the driver’s A-pillar created a blind spot.

Cabin ergonomics are basically the same as the EQE sedan, with a comprehensive but sometimes confusing capacitive multifunction steering wheel, a “zero-layer” user interface on the touchscreen, and class-leading voice recognition that is good enough to rely on.

While some of our test cars were fitted with the overkill Hyperscreen—really three displays under a single massive piece of glass—US-market EQEs (both SUV and sedans) will only offer the 12.8-inch OLED screen.

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