Scooter Doll from Electrek shared his experience of his first drive with the Mercedes EQE SUV. It is said to have the potential for tax credits as it hits the US market. Mercedes-Benz has expanded its EQ lineup with the new EQE SUV, which represents the automaker’s latest step towards becoming an entirely electric brand.
The journey towards this goal began with the introduction of the EQS sedan, followed by the more compact EQE in the fall of 2021, and subsequently the EQC and EQB models. In addition, Mercedes launched a seven-seat EQS SUV, which was its first electric vehicle built in the US, and is now introducing an SUV version of the EQE that is being built alongside its sibling in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In August of 2022, the public was given a first glimpse of the EQE SUV’s interior, which was followed by its official debut last fall, including the announcement of an AMG performance version. Last month, Mercedes revealed the starting pricing and varying trim levels for US consumers, some of which may qualify for federal tax credits. The EQE SUV has a distinctively compact appearance compared to the EQS SUV, as shown in the above images. In fact, it almost resembles a sedan when viewed from the side. The Mercedes design team put a lot of effort into the exterior design and clever engineering of this electric vehicle to optimize its aerodynamics and efficiency.
Features
The result is a 0.25 drag coefficient (with 19″ aero wheels) on par with former sedans and coupes from Mercedes, all in the form of a larger SUV. The front wheel spoiler alone adds a 15-drag point benefit and adds about nine miles of range, while the subtle “9 o’clock” spoiler on the rear wheel will add up to 11 cd points depending on wheel size.
Mercedes technical manager for the e-drive platform Michael Weiss walked me through the platform design and aerodynamics. He explained that the EQE SUV will arrive with a new heat pump design as a standard feature, that pulls heat from both axles and can increase the EV‘s range by 10% in cold weather – again, more evidence of Mercedes’ focus on pleasing potential US consumers. Weiss explained the EQE SUV kicks off a lot of other engineering elements we will see on future EV models, the most impressive in my opinion being a new disconnect unit (DC) on the front axle in all 4MATIC models of the SUV. The DCU decouples the electric drive train by opening and closing the clutch in 240 milliseconds to provide 4WD performance with 2WD efficiency.
