2024 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV

[MUSIC PLAYING] RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Say it with me now. Mercedes Benz EQE SUV. What does that mean for you? Well, it means Mercedes is ready to bring out the fourth electric vehicle on its new EV platform, and it's its most important one yet. That's because the EQE SUV is coming straight after the Tesla Model Y, and there are a bunch of other reasons why this is going to be super important as well. So stick around, and we'll find out what this SUV is all about. If you want to see more up close and personal behind the scenes looks at new cars like this, go ahead and click like and subscribe so we can keep making them. Also, if you want to sell your car, go to edmunds.com/sellmycar, and you can get a cash offer right now. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now, of course, the EQE SUV is not only going up against the Tesla Model Y. It will also challenge the BMW iX, and we find that to be a pretty good electric SUV. In fact, right now, it's rated number one in our rankings for luxury electric SUVs. Mercedes says the EQE SUV will be out and available in March of 2023. At first, there will be three trim levels to choose from. There's the 350 plus, the 350 4Matic, and the EQE SUV 500. Those first two trims both get 288 horsepower, though the 350 4Matic scores all-wheel drive and extra torque. Then there's the 500, which is bumped all the way up to 536 horsepower. So how does it match up against those competitors size wise? Actually, the EQE SUV has the longest wheelbase out of the three at 119 inches and a little bit of change. The BMW iX is about 118, the Tesla Model Y is about 113, but the EQE is actually a little bit shorter nose to tail compared to the iX. So you get this long, wheelbase appearance, but a little bit of a shorter and stubbier appearance at the same time. There are plenty of cool features available on the EQE SUV. Some of them include Mercedes intelligent 4Matic all-wheel drive system, an air suspension, and rear wheel steering up to 10 degrees, which can really help with maneuverability at low speeds and increased stability at highway speed. Why do we consider this to be the most important electric vehicle Mercedes has launched so far? Midsize luxury SUVs are hot right now, and this is the right size to appeal to US customers. For that reason, we think the EQE SUV will be the volume seller among Mercedes electric vehicles, especially since the brand originally planned to bring the EQC SUV over to the US, but they've since decided that that smaller model will not come our way. That leaves this guy. What's it going to cost? We don't know yet. Mercedes hasn't released that information, but based on pricing of its other electric vehicles, it's probably going to be too expensive to qualify for federal tax incentives. For our full article on the new EV tax credits and what they mean for you, go ahead and click the link down in the description. [MUSIC PLAYING] As you can tell, the EQE has a pretty windswept roofline for an SUV. Now that is obviously going to help with aerodynamics. So what does it mean for the kind of range you can expect out of this electric vehicle? We don't know yet. We're still waiting for EPA estimates for the maximum range of the EQE SUV, but this car has big shoes to fill. When we put the EQS sedan on our patented Edmunds EV test loop, it achieved more than 20% higher than its EPA estimated range. And when it comes to the BMW iX, we also put that on our Edmunds loop, and it also achieved 20% higher than its EPA estimated max range. So this SUV has big shoes to fill. What about when you need to charge your EQE SUV? Well, this car uses an onboard charger rated at 9.6 kilowatts, and that's pretty decent for the class. It's also built on a 400-volt architecture. Now that's pretty standard for electric vehicles these days, but some of them go up to 800 volts to maximize the charging rate that you can bring into your EV. Mercedes says that they actually prefer the smaller 400-volt architecture because instead of high max charging rates, it gives you a smooth delivery instead. Mercedes says that the EQE SUV can charge from 10% up to 80% in 32 minutes. Now that's on a level three DC fast charger. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now we are inside the EQE SUV, and immediately there is a lot to like. First of all, the materials in here make a great first impression. Very soft leathers everywhere, and I especially like this little detail. Look at how the seams on this window sill curve as you go up. It's just a neat little design feature. Beautiful stitching, beautiful ambient lighting all the way around the inside of the dash. Very cool. I also especially like this panel. This is aluminum little Mercedes stars laser-cut into the wood. And then, of course, you can push it back to reveal a wireless phone charger and two holders. In this storage compartment, you've got a very deep bin, and a nice, handy little cubby down here where I've got my notebook and you can put a bag or purse. Next, we should talk about the elephant in the room, which is, of course, this massive screen panel that runs across the entirety of the dash. It's actually three screens in one. One in front of the driver, a giant, center touch screen, and one in front of the passenger. To go over it quickly, you get your essentials in front of the driver, speedometer, tach-- well, it's not really a tachometer. It's more like an energy battery reserve gauge. And you can put navigation turn by turn in there as well. On the passenger screen, there's all kinds of different menus to run through, which provide cool information or helpful stuff, or just pretty pictures to look at, too. The main feature of the center screen is the navigation and maps, which can go into 2D or 3D or satellite imagery. It's very, very cool, and pretty comprehensive. It also reacts very quickly to different touches. However, there are a few things. First of all, this is just a lot to take in. This is my first time experiencing the Hyperscreen in any Mercedes, and there is just a lot. It's almost overwhelming how much information is available to you. So still getting used to using it. I would really like to bring one in for testing, but there's no question it's extremely impressive. The thing about that, though, is that we've hammered Tesla time and time again for including every vehicle function up in the screen and not using any buttons. That's essentially what Mercedes has done here. It looks very pretty. It's working very nicely, but I feel like we have to hold it to the same standard. And if you're going to hide everything within a screen, sometimes it can be tricky to move around menus and find the exact thing that you're looking for. I can't wait to get one back into the Edmunds testing facility so we can really score it appropriately. OK, so climbing into the back seat of the EQE SUV. There is a small step-over that you have to get your feet over to get inside, but it's not too intrusive. And once you're back here, this is a really comfortable place to be. I'm 6 feet tall, and as you can see, a whole lot of knee room, and I can even stretch my legs out and recline and relax a little bit. These are very comfortable seats back here-- just as they were in the front-- a really sumptuous leather. And you can get a completely vegan non-leather interior if you want, but personally I really like the leather. Another thing I really like, this ambient lighting glow continues into the back. Who doesn't love ambient lighting? Sometimes, you get it in the front, but the rear is pretty plain, and Mercedes has made sure that rear passengers get a delightful light show just like in the front. Also up here, you can see the Burmester stereo, a 15 speaker system. Very cool. And standard is this giant panoramic sunroof. So in total, the EQE SUV interior is very impressive indeed and should immediately be one of the top contenders in its class. [MUSIC PLAYING] Let's talk cargo space. Mercedes says the EQE SUV has up to 20 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats. That's quite a bit less than both the BMW iX and Tesla Model Y, both of which offer more than 30 cubic feet. And with the EQE SUV, you don't get a frunk. You know I love a good frunk, but this does look to be a very usable, voluminous space. Load floor is a little bit high, but you get nice, protective sills right here. And then underneath, if you flip this up, there's your charging cord for the battery. And in all, you've got a pretty wide space that stretches a good amount back to the rear seats. In terms of usability, Mercedes also says that the EQE SUV will have a tow rating just shy of 4,000 pounds. So this electric SUV does have some traditional capability to it. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now for those of you who are looking at the EQE SUV and thinking, but what if it was struck by lightning? May I present the Mercedes AMG EQE SUV. This thing is turned up a couple of extra levels compared to the EQE SUV we just saw, and there are some cool goodies that I'd like to show you first off. One of them is this AMG specific crest right on the front of the hood there. And then, instead of that plastic cladding around the fenders of the EQE SUV, this has turned to a more sporty, glossy look. You can also get up to 22 inch wheels, and they can even come in this very cool turbine pattern. Now hiding behind those blades are optional carbon ceramic brakes-- in an electric SUV. That's rad. You also get that air suspension from the EQE SUV, but this time it's standard, and so is rear wheel steering up to 9 degrees. It's limited down to 9 degrees instead of 10 degrees because it's got fatter tires. That's a good reason. But the biggest change of all is the powertrain. The AMG EQE SUV uses the same battery as the other model. However, this one's been juiced up, especially in its electric motors and the inverter inside. That allows it to create a lot more power. I'm talking 617 horsepower. And, if you get the AMG dynamic package, that goes up even higher. Woo! Inside, there are all kinds of AMG-specific goodies to make you feel special, but the most important things are that the AMG EQE SUV will be out in the US in summer of 2023. We still don't pricing, and I would prepare for it to hurt a little bit. But the thing does go 0 to 60 in as little as 3.3 seconds. So if you look at this and think, eh, pricing is probably worth it, then I think you're right. [MUSIC PLAYING] After our first look at the EQE SUV and its power-lifting AMG brother, it's clear that this electric SUV is going to make a splash in the class. How big? Well, it's certainly got a lot going for it, especially in terms of that stunning interior. What about negatives, though? Well, for one thing, it's maybe a little bit late to the party. Remember, it's not going to be on US roads until March of 2023. We also don't know the pricing yet, so we'll have to wait for those numbers to come in to really figure out how competitive it is. Finally, we still haven't gotten to drive it yet, so we'll have to see if that trademark Mercedes ride quality transfers into this model as well. Stay tuned to the Edmunds YouTube channel to see when we're finally able to drive one and bring it in so that our comprehensive test team can get their paws all over it. Until then, thanks for watching. Don't forget to click like and subscribe, and go to edmunds.com for all your car and SUV shopping needs-- even electric SUVs.