The 2023 Mercedes EQE Electric SUV Is Mass-Appeal Midsize Luxury
The EQE SUV fills in a crucial blank in the middle of Mercedes’ EV lineup, allowing it to take on the likes of the BMW iX and Cadillac Lyriq.
Mercedes-Benz can't cater to the electric SUV market with the EQB and EQS SUV alone; it needs something in the middle. Enter the 2023 Mercedes EQE SUV, the midsize luxury utility vehicle of the growing EQE EV family.
Slotting in just above the EQE sedan, the EQE SUV can be thought of as its taller, more spacious equivalent. It has a similar but slightly more powerful drivetrain selection, with a long-range, rear-wheel-drive base model, and a pair of all-wheel-drive options with disconnecting front axles to improve range. Range itself hasn't been announced, but given the SUV's identical 90.6-kWh battery capacity to the sedan, you can probably expect slightly less of it than in the sedan (also unannounced).
Conventional suspension comes as standard, but can be upgraded to air ride with adaptive damping for additional comfort. Available 10-degree rear-wheel steering can increase highway stability and low-speed agility, though it'll be standard on the high-performance AMG version. We'll go into that elsewhere, though—let's focus on the volume seller for now.
Three trims will be offered. The first is the rear-wheel-drive EQE 350+, with 288 horsepower and 417 lb-ft of torque. Then there will be the EQE 350 4Matic, with all-wheel drive, 288 hp, and 564 lb-ft of torque. Lastly, there will be the EQE 500 4Matic, also with all-wheel drive but also with 536 hp and 633 lb-ft of torque.
Being a crossover, the EQE SUV's main focus is storage space, and there's plenty here. Mercedes claims it is "one of the most spacious representatives of its class." Its panoramic sunroof casts light onto an interior with 18.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row, or up to 59.2 with the seats laid flat. The seats themselves come standard in MB-Tex faux leather that, on the top trim, can be upgraded to real cowhide, while the carpets consist of recycled material.
Burmester 3D audio with powerful, cinema-like Dolby Atmos tech comes as standard, and is controllable through a 12.8-inch central OLED touchscreen. It can be optioned up to the monstrous, dashboard-spanning "Hyperscreen," though its implementation in other EQ products hasn't been especially impressive so far. There's a wireless charging pad for phones, a 12.3-inch standard instrument cluster, and a fingerprint sensor tethered to individual driver profiles. LED headlights with active high beams are standard, too, along with passive safety tech and advanced driving assists, both of which have available extra features.
Headlining options include 64-color ambient lighting, front massage seats, HEPA-filtered air conditioning, four-zone climate control, a head-up display, and an AMG appearance package.
The 2023 Mercedes EQE SUV will be manufactured in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, alongside the larger EQS SUV, and will go on sale in March. Pricing hasn't yet been published, but it'll likely start in the mid-upper $70,000 range, which will mainly pit it against the BMW iX, though the Audi E-Tron, Cadillac Lyriq, and Tesla Model Y are a part of the conversation, too. Considering how far above its weight the Cadillac in particular punches, the EQE SUV is in for quite the fight—the only winner of which will be EV buyers.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com
