- For years German automakers were criticized
for the whole design idea
of what was casually called, one sausage, three sizes.
That means they kind of made one design of a vehicle
but they made it in three different sizes
in terms of like a large full size sedan, a mid-size sedan
and a compact sedan.
Now over the years, the German auto makers kind of got away
from that and they went differentiating their models
a little bit better.
But for the Mercedes-Benz EQ lineup,
their all new electric lineup,
it seems that idea is coming back into vogue.
Witness this, this is the new 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE
and if you think it looks like the larger EQS,
you're right, it does look like the bigger EQS.
The EQS is meant to be the big full sized S class flagship.
The EQE is the mid-sized E-class model that sits below that,
but it shares a lot of components,
a lot of design features
and a lot of technology with the larger EQS.
So is it different enough
or is it just a little bit smaller and a little bit cheaper?
We'll come with us and we'll take you
through the new Mercedes-Benz EQE
to show you just how different and how similar it is.
The nice thing about the whole one sausage
three sizes idea is that
if you like the way one of the vehicles look
you're gonna like the way they all look.
The design of the EQE is very similar
to that of the larger EQS
and that's kind of necessitated by its aerodynamics.
They're both extremely aerodynamically efficient vehicles.
They need to be
in order to maximize the range of the electric powertrain.
It starts from the front,
which has a closed off grill,
because why wouldn't you have a closed off grill?
There's no power train inside there
that requires air or cooling.
So you've got a much more aerodynamic front end.
Down the side, you've got two arcs,
one of them along the belt line,
one of them along the roof line.
The entire aesthetic is what's called cab forward,
meaning you've got a short hood, this really long roof
and a very short trunk in the back.
This is not a hatchback, this is actually a trunk.
The whole idea is that it moves the passenger compartment
forward a bit and really maximizes the amount
of space that the passengers have on the interior.
Is the overall design all that distinctive?
Well, it looks fairly different from a lot
of other electric cars,
but I don't know that it necessarily screams Mercedes-Benz.
But again, the nice thing is
if you like the way the big EQS looks,
you're gonna like the way the EQE looks too.
So if it doesn't look all that different from the EQS
does it at least drive all that different from the EQS?
No, it really doesn't.
It feels very much like the larger EQS.
All of the good points and bad points
really seem to have carried over to this mid-size version
of their full electric sedan.
Now it is extremely quiet.
It is really nice to drive and that it is very calm.
It is relaxing, it is smooth.
The ride is excellent despite the fact
that you've got very low profile tires.
But there's a couple of quirks
with just the way this thing is designed
that make it a little bit difficult to operate.
First of all, the driving position, I'm not a huge fan.
This dash is so high, just like it is in the EQS,
that in order to be able to see half
of this digital gauge cluster
I have to have the steering wheel up much further
than I normally like having it.
So I've got this kind of arms raised.
I feel like I'm riding one
of those monkey handled motorcycles that you see out there.
It just doesn't feel very natural.
It feels very high up in order to be able to see half
of the digital gauge cluster.
The visibility out is also a little bit wonky.
Yeah, you can see forward into the sides fairly easily
but again, this really high dash does kind of
limit your forward visibility.
But to the rear is really not good at all.
The rear window is basically this gun slit looking thing
so I can see half of the GMC truck behind me
but only the lower half can't see the upper half
and I can't see the horizon very well at all either.
So the visibility outward also takes a hit.
That's really pretty much a function
of the aerodynamics of this vehicle.
Aerodynamics were key in developing
both the EQS and the EQE.
It has to be as efficient
as possible in order to get as much range
as possible out of this vehicle.
This is the EQE 350 4MATIC.
So it has two motors, one on the front
and one on the rear axle for all wheel drive.
It makes 288 horsepower and 564 pounds feet of torque
and that's good for a zero to 60 shot,
Mercedes-Benz says of about five and a half seconds
and I believe it.
It's not overly quick but it is a heavy car.
It does handle really quite well however,
and that is thanks largely
to the rear wheel steering.
You can get up to 10 degrees
of rear wheel steering in this vehicle
which really makes it feel a lot more nimble
than it actually is.
It's also really good
for like tight handling situations in urban environments
or doing things like three point turns.
It makes it really a shorter turning circle
which really does help in terms of handling.
But you also feel it out on these twisties
as well, when you're curving through banked turns
and it just follows the line beautifully.
They really did a good job in terms
of that ride and handling balance in this thing.
The area that I'm less impressed with
just like in the EQS, is the breaking system.
They feel very soft and very artificial
and if you put the region mode into strong region
it actually actuates the brake pedal
for you and moves the brake pedal away
from where you would expect it to be.
So it's already breaking the car to slow it down.
When you go to hit the brakes
the brake pedal's not where you expect it to be
and you hit the brakes a little bit harder.
That was a foible with the EQS.
It carries over unfortunately, into the EQE as well.
The interior in here is nice in terms of most
of the materials and design choices, but there are a couple
of questionable options such as this top of the dash here.
It's in a lighter colored gray
and when the sun hits it just right,
it basically washes out most of the windshield,
which makes it feel like you're driving
through haze or smoke.
Again, that reflection issue was an issue in the EQS,
it carries over here
into the same design problem with the EQE.
Now, the bigger issue that I have
with this EQE interior is actually one that we have
with a lot of modern Mercedes interiors
and that it is really complicated to use.
The multimedia system,
all the touch sensitive panels, all the menus.
Even just looking at the navigation system
there is so much information changing and going on
and presented, that it is just difficult
to actually figure out what you need to touch
in order to do anything.
And on top of that
there's things you can't touch in the interior,
like most of the steering wheel.
The only thing you can touch
on the steering wheel regularly is the rim.
If you touch any of these spars
they're all touch sensitive,
capacitive touch sensitive controls and you
will change something, which is really, really annoying.
So it's not terribly easy to use.
You can't see out of it very easily.
Some quirks, like this driver's side mirror
aren't adjustable enough
for somebody sitting in my position.
I see mostly the side of the car
and nothing I do seems to be able
to move the mirror out any further.
Visibility out the rear not great.
Riding and handling, brilliant.
Acceleration brilliant.
So there's pros and cons with the EQE
just like there are with the EQS and whether
or not you're able to live with a lot of these compromises.
Well, that is gonna require probably a lengthy
and extended test drive.
If your local Mercedes-Benz dealer will let you
take one home for a weekend
I recommend doing so because with all of these EQ vehicles
there is a rather significant learning curve,
just in terms of figuring out how to work everything.
I have a feeling that owners
once they get things set up to where they're comfortable
and they have the settings just how they want them,
then it might be a little bit easier to live with.
But if you're just getting in one and going, it's tricky.
So there are pros and there are cons to the new EQE,
just like there are with the EQS.
Is it perfect?
No.
Is it fun to drive?
Yeah.
Does it have some quirks
to the technology that are now present
in pretty much all of Mercedes-Benz vehicles?
Yeah, it comes with that as well.
Now, it will provide a really interesting competitor
to vehicles like the Tesla Model S, but really
what we're most interested in
is what's coming after this, the EQE SUV,
since SUVs really are pretty much
what people are buying these days.
The new EQE will be arriving in showrooms very soon
and it's gonna start at right around $85,000 or so.
Now, if you'd like to learn more
about the new 2023 Mercedes EQ, EQE 350
you can look everything up @cars.com.