Mercedes-Benz continues to work at full speed on the transformation into an electric car manufacturer. The next child in the family is the EQE SUV, which will be in stores in the second quarter and which can do more in some areas than the EQS and EQE relatives.
On the one hand, the EQE SUV always has a heat pump on board, which should increase the range by ten percent in winter, and on the other hand, the electric SUV can completely decouple the front axle from the drive train, which in turn increases the range by six percent. Of course, this only comes into play when two engines go to work. This is not the case in the EQE 300 and 350+ models, which offer 245 or 292 hp and a whopping maximum torque of 550 or 565 Newton meters, which is only sent to the rear axle.
Price range from 83,000 to 100,000 euros
A second motor for the front axle is available both for the 350, which then offers 765 Nm with the same power, and for the top model, the EQE 500, which offers a massive 858 Nm and 408 hp. The price range of the quartet ranges from a good 83,000 to almost 100,000 euros. There is still a considerable distance to the EQS SUV, for which almost 125,000 euros are due. With a length of 5.13 meters, however, it is significantly more powerful than the EQE, which is not small at 4.86 meters.
And don’t worry, the heat pump and the “Disconnect Unit” will soon also be available in the EQS and EQE and later in the Maybach-EQS. Two AMG models will also be submitted for the EQE SUV. The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV will make its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show on April 17. It is the first electric Maybach, but the luxury vehicle will not come to Germany until 2024.
Range should be 460 to 590 kilometers
But back to the EQE: Compared to the sedan, the SUV is significantly more expensive – the EQE built in Bremen starts at a good 66,000 euros. Although the SUV loses almost ten centimeters in length and wheelbase compared to the sedan, it offers more trunk space due to its design, the data sheet reports a volume of 520 to 1675 liters.
The large SUVs come from the Tuscaloosa plant, but all four EQs share the same technical platform. The EQE SUV developers paid particular attention to the drag coefficient: With various measures on the underbody, but also through a clever air flow guidance on the wheel arches, it was possible to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.25. This is a value that Mercedes-Benz sedans achieved not so long ago.
The EQE SUV is fitted with 90 kWh batteries from two different suppliers, the range is said to be 460 to 590 kilometers, with the charging capacity of the DC column at 170 kW being acceptable but not outstanding. In Stuttgart, it is expected that more EQE SUVs will be sold than EQE sedans in the future. Times are changing. On the first test drives in the 350+, the quiet running that is inherent in the system of electric cars was convincing, consumption was around 20 kWh per 100 kilometers on the country road. The 500 brings noticeably more power than the 350+. Which is not surprising.