A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV – The Detroit Bureau

AMG was started as an independent tuning shop focusing on Mercedes-Benz cars, but since 1999 has been Mercedes-Benz in-house high-performance skunkworks. You might think that the electric revolution at staid Benz might bypass the hand-built engines and huge brakes that characterize AMG, but you’d be wrong. It turns out that you can hot rod an EV just as easily as a gas engine vehicle. 

Overview

The EQE is Mercedes’ midsize electric SUV. Somewhat confusingly, there is also an EQE sedan. But today we’re talking about the SUV, which looks more or less like the GLE plug-in hybrid SUV, but which is entirely electric. 

The basic Mercedes-Benz version of the EQE delivers 288 or 402 horsepower and starts around $80,000, however, the Mercedes-AMG version delivers 617 horsepower, and carries the usual AMG upgrades, and starts at $109,300.

Exterior

The EQE is built with a different body from the GLE. It’s more rounded and omits the oft-copied slanted C-pillar designed to make an SUV look less boxy. Aside from that, the EQE looks pretty much like every other SUV on the market. Only the giant light-up tri-star on the panel where the grille would be really lets you know this is a Mercedes. But withal, as SUVs go the EQE is attractive enough. You won’t hate it. 

Interior

One great thing about all AMG models is the interior. With the EQE, you get plenty of science fiction with the huge three-screen glass panel that stretches from pillar to pillar, but Mercedes also gives you a nice open-grain wood console cover that is dotted with little tri-stars. The seats are crazy comfortable, and as an EV, the interior is whisper quiet. There’s plenty of room in the back seat as well. 

The EQE got big ups from my wife for the large storage location under the console where the transmission would be in a conventional vehicle. That space is perfectly sized and located for a woman’s purse, and it was the first thing she noticed about the vehicle. 

My only interior quibble carries over from other Mercedes SUVs. When I adjust the seat and steering wheel to my liking, the camera that watches the driver to enable steering assistance cannot see my face. I have to adjust the wheel to a less comfortable position to use that feature. I’m 6 feet tall exactly, so it’s not like I’m an outlier on the bell curve for American drivers. 

Powertrain

With two motors mounted front and rear, the AMG EQE delivers 617 horsepower and 701 lb-ft of torque, passed to all four wheels. Needless to say, it’s fast when you push the pedal down past halfway. However, Mercedes also made it easy to drive the EQE at 1/10th of its potential, so you won’t ever find yourself lurching away from a stop. 

With full power, the AMG EQE will hit 60 MPH in 3.4 seconds. It will also tow about 1,500 pounds with an unbraked trailer, or up to about 4,000 pounds with trailer brakes. 

The battery pack on the AMG EQE will carry you up to 235 miles, and if you care, that’s 74 MPGe. If you’re charging on a home-based Level 2 charger, the EQE will fill up in 10 hours and 45 minutes. When it comes to DC Fast charging, the EQE will take up to 170 kW of juice flow, so you can top up in the time it takes to linger over a nice coffee drink or eat a quick lunch. 

Safety and Technology

As is consistent with law now, Mercedes offers a warranty of 10 years or 155,000 miles on the battery pack in the EQE, and a 4-year or 50,000-mile warranty on the rest of the vehicle. You also get 2 years of complimentary service at the Mercedes dealer. 

Safety gear is consistent with any high-end Mercedes and includes all the usual stuff plus assisted steering (if the camera can see you), digital automatic headlights, active parking assistance, and a really good 360-degree camera with a virtual transparent hood to eliminate the forward blind spot. 

On the dash, Mercedes is second to none. The new MBUX Hyperscreen stretches all the way across the vehicle, and offers a nice driver information display, an ultra-wide display for navigation, entertainment, and climate, and then a smaller screen for the front seat passenger to surf the web, play games, or watch videos. There’s a Burmester surround sound system, and that’s as good as you will find from any automaker on the planet. 

Driving Impressions

Driving the AMG EQE is mostly unremarkable. It’s easy to drive, and the speed is there when you want it. With the AMG Ride Control air suspension, the ride is smooth, but taut, soaking up the bumps without making you feel like you’re floating. The thing you’ll notice, as with many EVs, is the quiet. The EQE is not quite library quiet, but it’s close. 

When it comes time to stop, the AMG DNA is there, with massive brakes that should last a lifetime because most of your braking will be done by the regeneration system. All in all, if you want a nice luxury ride with the ability to go fast when you want to, the AMG EQE is an excellent choice. 

2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV Specifications

Dimension	L: 191.5 inches/W: 84.3 inches/H:66.3 inches/Wheelbase: 119.3 inches
Weight	5,930 pounds
Powertrain	Dual permanently excited synchronous motors; direct all-wheel drive
Fuel Economy	74 mpg-e/235 miles range
Performance Specs	617 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque
Price	Base price: $109,300; As tested: $127,400 including $1,150 destination charge
On-Sale Date	Available now

Wrap Up

There’s really only one trim level of the AMG EQE. Starting MSRP is $109,300, but you can add a number of option packages such as the AMG Night Package with blackout emblems for $750, the Dynamic Plus package with a bunch of boy racer add-ons and a bump in top speed to 149 mph for $4,000, and the Pinnacle Trim with head-up display, active ambient lighting, and augmented video for navigation for $3,300. 

With the $1,150 delivery charge, the AMG EQE we tested came to $127,400. Left to spend our own money, we’d leave the Dynamic Plus package and the blackout, and maybe bring the EQE in around $120,000. Either way, you’re getting a great AMG vehicle, and an EV at the same time. 

2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV ­— Frequently Asked Questions

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/reviews/a-week-with-2024-mercedes-amg-eqe-suv/