2024 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV First Ride: Just Maybe Benz's Best EV Yet

Built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV will be the top-selling vehicle built on the company's EVA2 electric vehicle architecture, which also underpins the plush EQS sedan and EQS SUV, and the EQE sedan. That's because, say Mercedes-Benz insiders, the EQE SUV is the all-arounder of the bunch, offering the best combination of performance, interior room, versatility, and comfort. And after a day riding along with engineers in the EQE500 SUV and the punchy EQE53 AMG SUV, we'd have to agree.

The entry-level model is the single-motor rear-wheel-drive 350+, which boasts 288 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque. The volume seller is likely to be the dual-motor all-wheel-drive 350 4Matic, which also has 288 hp, but pumps out 564 lb-ft. Above that is the 500 4Matic, which has 402 hp and 633 lb-ft. The range-topper will be the AMG 53 4Matic, which makes a muscular 616 hp and 701 lb-ft. All are fitted with the 90.6-kWh battery pack used in the EQE sedan.

"The 350+ is our range hero," says Holger Enzmann, project manager of EVA2 development. Claimed range, according to Europe's WLTP test protocol, is 367 miles, although the tougher EPA test is likely to bring that number closer to 300. But the all-wheel-drive EQE SUVs debut a couple of key range-extending technologies that will be extended to the other EVA2 vehicles in coming model-year upgrades.

The first of these is a mechanical clutch that can decouple or reengage the front electric motor in 100 milliseconds. The system allows the AWD 4Matic EQE SUVs to drive using only the rear motor under light loads, reducing the drain on the battery, yet be able to switch to all-wheel drive when torque demands from the driver or traction issues on slippery surfaces require it. Additionally, the system allows the front motor to be used on its own during regeneration to send the maximum amount of energy back to the battery. The second technology is a new, much more efficient heat pump that reduces the amount of energy needed from the battery required to run the car's HVAC system.

These technologies, plus a fully closed underbody, active cooling flaps, and a lot of detailed tuning work in the wind tunnel that has helped reduce the drag coefficient of the EQE SUV to a claimed 0.25—better than the EQS SUV's—and produce WLTP range ratings of 347 miles for the 350 4Matic, 340 miles for the 500 4Matic, and 292 miles for the more powerful, wider-tired AMG 53. Again, the EPA range numbers will be lower.

In addition to improving the efficiency of the EVA2 hardware under the EQE SUV's skin, Mercedes engineers have spent a lot of time reducing its noise levels. Sound-deadening foam now surrounds the motors and is used in cavities (such as the A-pillars) in the body structure. The inverter cover is made of a three-layer metal and plastic sandwich. An optional Acoustic Comfort Package adds laminated windshield and side glass to further reduce noise.

All that work has paid off: From the passenger seat, the 500 4Matic is the quietest of the EVA2 vehicles we've experienced. Even the AMG 53, with its electronic soundscapes switched off, wafts down the road in near silence. What's also notable from the inside, too, is how much roomier the EQE SUV is compared with its sedan sibling.

That EVA2 is a very flexible architecture can be seen in the fact the EQE SUV shares not a single dimension with the EQE sedan. Counterintuitively, given the sense of space inside, the EQE SUV's 119.3-inch wheelbase is 3.5 inches shorter than that of the EQE sedan. It's also, at 191.5 inches, a whole 5.3 inches shorter overall. The key difference in the spatial geometry of the two, however, is in terms of their respective overall heights: The EQE SUV is 6.9 inches taller than the EQE sedan. This allows more upright seating positions, which in turn improves legroom, particularly in the rear seat.

Naturally, there's more headroom, too. Unlike the EQE sedan, the EQE SUV's rear seat passengers don't have to duck awkwardly under the roof rail when getting in and out, and don't get the sense that they're hunched in the back of an armored car, peering out through small windows like machine gunners on patrol. What's more, the SUV's rear load space (18.4 to 20.5 cubic feet with the rear seats up, up to 59.2 cubes with the seats folded flat) dwarfs that of the sedan and is more easily accessed via the large rear hatch.

The base suspension setup on the EQE SUV uses steel springs. Air suspension is likely to be optional on the 350+ and 350 4Matic, and standard on the 500 4Matic, which will also likely get standard rear-wheel steering. The rear-steer system, which can pivot the wheels 10 degrees to improve the turning circle, is expected to be optional on the 350+ and 350 4Matic models. Standard wheels are 19-inchers, with 20- and 21-inch wheels available as an option.

The Off-Road drive mode raises ride height by 1.2 inches on EQE SUVs with air suspension, and a new feature in the mode is a 'see-through hood' that uses the 360-degree camera system to show terrain at and under the front of the car. It's extremely helpful given the relatively high cowl.

Lighter than the EQS SUV and with a shorter wheelbase, the EQE 500 SUV felt, even from the passenger seat, nimbler on the roads around and the test track within the sprawling Mercedes-Benz proving ground at Immendingen, south of Stuttgart, Germany. "It's not as sporty-looking as the EQE sedan," says Holger Enzmann, "but it's sportier to drive than the EQS SUV." But the sportiest of the EQE SUV lineup is unquestionably the AMG 53 version.

This has the same AMG-tweaked electric motors and battery-management system as the EQE AMG 53 sedan and will deliver the same neck-snapping acceleration from a standing start, especially when fitted with the optional AMG Dynamic Plus package, which boosts the powertrain's peak outputs to 677 hp and 738 lb-ft. That's enough to hurl the 5,930-pound AMG 53 SUV to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. The package also increases the top speed by 12 mph, to 150.

The AMG 53 SUV comes standard with air suspension, adaptive damping, active anti-roll control, and active ride control. Rear-wheel steering is also included, although the rear wheels only turn a maximum of nine degrees because of its wider wheels and tires. Speaking of which, the standard wheels measure 21 inches, and are wrapped in 275/40 Michelin Pilot Sport EV M01 tires. The standard brake setup features massive, 16.3-inch rotors up front, with 14.9-inch units at the rear.

With AMG EQ project leader Jen Hüser at the wheel, the AMG 53 SUV accelerated noticeably harder and cornered flatter, with higher grip levels, than the 500 4Matic. It looks noticeably different, too, with vertical chrome bars up front creating a virtual version of the toothy rictus of the grilles on internal combustion engine AMG vehicles, body-color extensions rather than black plastic around the wheel openings, extra chrome on the rear bumper, and, of course, unique AMG wheels.

Final pricing has yet to be announced, but if the relationship between EQS sedan and EQS SUV pricing is a guide, the entry-level single motor 350+ is likely to start under $80,000 and the AMG 53 will cap the range with a base price of $110,000 or so. In terms of equipment, the EQE SUV will broadly follow the EQE sedan in terms of offering three different packages—Premium, Exclusive, and Pinnacle—on the 350+, 350 4Matic, and 500 4Matic. And if Mercedes-Benz USA follows its EQE sedan strategy, that means the expansive Hyperscreen, which is available on European models, won't even be an option. It will, however, be standard on the AMG 53 SUV.

The mainstream EQE SUV models will go on sale in the U.S. in late spring, with the AMG 53 scheduled to arrive in Mercedes-Benz dealerships later in the year.