Devil in the detail
If you thought AMG couldn’t do that much to make the EQE SUV-EV feel special, think again
It’s the way of things with modern battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that the incredibly low and sleek Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 sedan and the quite tall and bulky Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 SUV are pretty much identical under the skin. Not something MercedesAMG is trying to hide, by the way. Hence the names.
But more to the point, BEV architecture means the two are also remarkably similar to drive, despite having such different “top hats”: the skateboard-type platform, with the heavy batteries mounted very low, mean the tall SUV version loses very little in dynamic ability to the low-set sedan.
What’s more relevant is how different these models are to their Mercedes-Benz equivalents. AMG hasn’t gone overboard with the styling detail on its vehicles; the Panamericana grille and hot wheels are the most obvious changes, although in typical Mercedes fashion there is a plethora of detail changes outside and in.
Never mind the styling, soak in the engineering. Compared to the standard Benz EQE SUV, the AMG model you see here has AMGspecific electric motors front and rear, fully variable all-wheel drive with four-wheel steering, highperformance braking, Ride Control + air suspension with adaptive damping, Active Ride Control (no body roll, basically) and an AMG Sound Experience noise generator. Even the battery management and wiring harness are adapted for the AMG version.
So if you thought there wouldn’t be much Mercedes-AMG could do to add its special touch to a pureelectric vehicle, think again. This model takes what’s a very polished electric SUV, the EQE, and adds a highly finessed package of punch. If that sounds contradictory . . . well, that’s the point.
AMGs are about speed and power, speed and power, speed and power. The EQE 53 leaps off the line with alacrity even in Comfort mode, just so you never forget what it is you’re driving. In Sport (90 per cent power) or Sport+ (the full 460kW) the acceleration is simply alarming; instant torque and you’re smacked back into that beautifully crafted AMG sports seat.
Fun fact: in Race Start mode the EQE 53 can give you “110 per cent” power, says AMG, with 505kW on tap. Bonus points, like when you do extra-good workings on your maths exam.
AMGs used to be about noise too, which is perhaps why the company has gone to so much trouble with its Sound Experience, which employs extra speakers, extra bass and a dedicated sound generator. It works in several different ways depending on the driving situation; yes, lots of other EV makers have similar technology, but we’re not really convinced this time. Switch it off and the 53’s outrageous performance seems even more remarkable when it’s delivered in silence; embrace the
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THROW AT IT, THE ADAPTIVE SUSPENSION, FOUR-WHEEL STEER AND ELECTRIC-EVERYTHING SIMPLY SORT IT OUT AND YOU POWER DOWN THE ROAD.
electric AMG experience, people.
That eggy body shape and these kinds of standing-start antics might remind you of a high-end Tesla Model X. But the chassis takes things to the next level. The EQE 53 is not especially sporty, if you can accept that speed and sportiness are different things; but it is astonishingly grippy and ever-precise around corners, even when you introduce ludicrous speed into the equation.
It doesn’t matter what you throw at it, the adaptive suspension, fourwheel steer and electric-everything simply sort it out and you power down the road. Nimble? No. Rock-solid? Definitely yes. But it’s also a large SUV, about the same length as a GLE but a little lower and narrower. So it needs to serve a dual-purpose as a family and/or practical vehicle.
It actually does comfort pretty well. The air suspension can be configured just-so and works tirelessly with the car’s other systems to ensure a comfortable ride, even on those enormous 22-inch wheels with low-profile 40-series tyres.
Specialist Michelin Pilot Sport EV MO1s in fact, another key factor in the EQE’s incredible composure.
And its incredible refinement: even in AMG form, the EQE is staggeringly silent, thanks to a combination of electric power, great engineering and impressive aerodynamics. With a drag coefficient of 0.25, it’s Merc’s most slippery SUV.
Adding to the EQE’s ability to slip through the city with ease is the AMG’s standard rear-wheel steer system. At low speed it feels really aggressive at first, the rear wheels turning up to nine degrees in the opposite direction to the front. But once you get used to it, the system allows this big SUV to crawl in and out of some very tight spots.
On the open road the four-wheel steer works in a different way, the rears gently steering in the same direction as the front, helping make motorway lane changes and flowing corners super-smooth.
The cabin is Mercedes-excellent, albeit exactly the same as the EQE sedan (of course) and almost exactly the same as the EQS family. A bit samey, maybe.
But you certainly can’t fault the quality or indeed the ease of use, despite the huge array of high-tech that surrounds you. What you see is what you get, and what you do to work stuff seems commendably obvious.
Our car had the $6690 Hyperscreen, which combines three separate displays under a single piece of glass that stretches the width of the car and even gives the front passenger their own touchscreen.
It’s a matter of taste, but it might be a bit much and despite the grand concept, the divisions between the three displays are all too obvious. We’d stick with the standard dashboard, which has a portrait centre screen that’s deeply impressive in its own way.
So yeah, there are ups and downs in this $200k SUV. But the key thing is that this is Mercedes-AMG’s first fully electric SUV, and if you had any doubts that the company could lift a BEV well above the Benz base vehicle and maintain an excruciating sense of detail, you can rest easy.