2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedan is packed with high-end tech
The E-Class-size EQE350 will go on sale next year with 288 horsepower and superfast charging.
Mercedes-Benz recently announced that it will sell an electric car in every segment in which the brand currently competes, and it's continuing that push with the new EQE sedan that debuted Sunday ahead of the Munich Auto Show.
Based on the same modular EV-specific platform as the EQS, the EQE will initially be available only in rear-wheel-drive EQE350 form. It has a single electric motor at the rear axle putting out 288 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque -- 41 hp and 28 lb-ft less than the EQS450 -- and Mercedes says the EQE350 can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds. (An all-wheel-drive model will debut later.) The EQE350's 90.6-kilowatt-hour battery pack provides an estimated range of 410 miles on the European WLTP cycle, and it can gain 155 miles of range in just 15 minutes on a DC fast-charger. Charging from 10% to 80% takes 31 minutes using a DC charger, while a 10% to 100% charge on a 240-volt wall charger takes 9.5 hours.
The EQE has multiple regenerative braking settings controlled by steering-wheel paddles, including a full one-pedal mode, and an Eco Assist mode optimizes the regen for the best efficiency and can detect cars ahead and decelerate accordingly. The front suspension is a four-link setup while the rear is a multilink, and an air suspension with adaptive dampers and automatic lowering is optional. Two rear-axle steering setups are available, one that's 4.5 degrees and another that's 10 degrees.
When it comes to the EQE's exterior styling, Mercedes hasn't done anything surprising. The EQE has the same "one-bow" greenhouse and cab-forward proportions as the EQS, though it looks stubbier than its larger sibling. Despite the stubby looks, the EQE is 2.3 inches longer than the current E-Class sedan and rides on a 7.2-inch-longer wheelbase, and it has supershort overhangs. Unlike the EQS, which has a hatchback rear, the EQE has a traditional sedan trunk and profile. Mercedes isn't confirming the EQE's coefficient of drag, but it uses a lot of the same aero tricks that make the EQS the world's most aerodynamic production car, including continuous seals, a flat underbody and special wheel designs.
Up front there's the now ubiquitous black panel "grille," but the EQE's headlights are more angular than the EQS' where they meet the panel. We like the split LED elements in the lights, though the shape of them is a little strange. The helix-style taillights are connected by a central lightbar, and the trunklid has a nice little lip spoiler. Other details shared with the EQS include a clamshell hood, pop-out door handles, a port on the front fender for the washer fluid and EQE badging at the A-pillar. We think the base version (the white car) actually looks better than the AMG Line (the gray car), though we are a big fan of the AMG Line's grille panel that has a pattern consisting of lots of mini three-pointed stars.
You gotta love the Hyperscreen.
Mercedes only released images of the EQE's interior with the optional Hyperscreen, which is identical to the setup in the EQS. It melds together a 12.3-inch gauge cluster screen, a 17.7-inch center touchscreen and a 12.3-inch passenger touchscreen under one massive 56-inch piece of curved glass. The standard setup will be a 12.8-inch center touchscreen with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, matching the EQS and S-Class . Like other new Mercedes models the EQE can receive over-the-air updates, which even includes the addition of options that weren't originally ordered and a package containing games like Sudoku.
Overall the EQE's cabin sticks pretty close to the EQS'. A metal strip that forms the upper air vents wraps around the dashboard onto the door panels, while turbine-style vents sit at the end of the Hyperscreen. There's a floating center console with a sliding cover for storage and cupholders, and a panel containing the start button, the standard fingerprint scanner and controls for things like audio volume, drive mode and the cameras. The door cards have metal accents on the floating armrests, and the steering wheel is a rad new design. No photos of the rear seat were released, but the EQE should have a lot more head- and legroom than the E-Class thanks to the longer wheelbase and taller roof.
The one-bow greenhouse is inspired by the EQS.
The EQE comes absolutely packed with standard features. Every EQE350 has a panoramic sunroof, 19-inch wheels, LED headlights with automatic high beams, navigation, heated and ventilated front seats, keyless entry, a wireless phone charger, a Burmester sound system, 64-color ambient interior lighting and satellite radio. Standard safety tech includes parking sensors, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and automated emergency braking.
This being a tech-forward Mercedes there is of course an extensive options list, too. You can get leather upholstery, massaging front seats, four-zone automatic climate control, a 360-degree camera system, augmented reality navigation, fancier LED lights, animated ambient interior lighting, a HEPA air filter, Burmester surround-sound system and a huge head-up display. The EQE is also available with Benz's new automatically opening comfort door system, though only for the front doors. A Driver Assistance Package includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, steering and lane-change assist, parking assist, car-to-X communication capability and Mercedes' new side-impact detection system. There's also a Winter Package that brings a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a heated windshield and heated windshield washers.
The EQE will be produced in Bremen, Germany, alongside the C-Class , GLC and EQC, but it will eventually be built in Beijing as well. The EQE will start arriving at dealers in the US at some point in 2022, likely with a starting price around $65,000.
