Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV Debuts Ahead of Paris Motor Show

• Mercedes continues its march toward full electrification with the reveal of the 2023 EQE SUV, available in three trim levels and one AMG model.

• Power output goes from 288 hp in the 350+ to a whopping 677 hp in the AMG.

• Look for the non-AMG models to debut in the first half of 2023, while the AMG EQE SUV will bow in 2024. No prices or official EPA range figures yet.

Mercedes-Benz pulled the cover off the fourth vehicle in its EQ family of electric vehicles last night in Paris on the eve of the Paris motor show. The Tuscaloosa-built beast will debut in US showrooms first when it goes on sale in the first half of 2023.

The midsize EQE SUV will come on the heels (or wheels) of the EQB compact crossover, EQE mid-size sedan, and luxury full-size EQS Sedan and SUV. It’s all part of Mercedes’s long-term plan for electrification. Ultimately the three-pointed star will have nothing but EVs. The strategy is labeled “Ambition 2039,” and looks to “create a carbon-neutral fleet of passenger vehicles across the globe within the next 20 years.”

“We’re moving fast and our customers are moving with us,” said Mercedes CEO Ole Kallenius in Paris. “Demand is strong. EV sales grew by 115% compared to the third quarter of last year. And we have no intention of slowing down. We plan to double our battery electric share this year and keep advancing at that fast pace in 2023.”

The EQE SUV will be a big part of that expansion, especially in the SUV-happy United States market. The EQE SUV should be the right-sized vehicle for most U.S. buyers looking for an everyday kid-hauler that can still drive home a load of peat moss from Lowe’s or maybe even conquer the occasional dirt road to a ski hut in Mammoth, Stowe or Da Yoop.

The new ute, launching in the U.S. in the first half of next year, will come in three regular models and one AMG variant:

• EQE SUV 350+ will be rear-wheel drive only, with a single motor on the rear axle making 288 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque.

• EQE SUV 350 4Matic will have front and rear motors good for a total of 564 lb-ft of torque while the hp stays at 288.

• EQE SUV 500 4Matic will have bigger electric motors front and rear for a total output of 536 hp and 633 lb-ft of torque.

• AMG EQE SUV isn’t coming until 2024 but when it arrives will have a road-conquering 677 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque.

All will ride on the same variant of Mercedes’s all-new, all-electric EVA 2 Platform, made specifically for battery powered vehicles, unlike the smaller EQB that sits on an ICE platform converted for EV use.

AMG Buyers who can wait till 2024 should be treated to quite a performance, with everything from AMG Ride Control+ air suspension with AMG’s Adaptive Damping System, to rear-axle steering and AMG Active Ride Control—an AMG-specific roll stabilization system.

All models of the EQE SUV are, of course, smaller than the range-topping EQS SUV we first drove a few weeks ago: 7.1 inches shorter in the wheelbase and 10.3 inches overall. Cargo room also drops from 74 cubic feet in the big EQS SUV to a still-useful 59.2 cubic feet in the EQE SUV. Battery size goes from 108.4 kWh to 90.6 in the EQE.

Range figures so far are based on the wildly optimistic European WLTP cycle, which says the EQE SUV could go as far as 342 miles on a single charge in the RWD 350+. Once the EPA releases its own SAE-based range, look for something closer to 290 miles or so for the 350+, with 250 or so miles for the 4Matic models and maybe 240 miles for the AMG EQE SUV. But remember, those are just guesstimates. Curb weight is also not available yet.

Inside, look for the usual techno-assault that includes all the best of the MBUX suite of infotainment manipulators, as well as over-the-air updates available to buyers. While the standard dash will look impressive enough with a 12.8-inch instrument cluster and 12.3-inch center display, the massive MBUX Hyperscreen is also an option, plastering the dashboard with lights and whistles, 17.7 inches of which are the center display and 12.3 inches of which are made up from the passenger’s own private display.

The interior will be available only in a two-row configuration, Mercedes is saying now, so if you have a seven-kid carpool you’ll have to step up to the EQS model. Regardless, I sat in the back seat of the new EQE SUV and had more than enough headroom and knee room for my gangly carcass, even with a massively impressive sunroof to rival the ISS, so space will not be a problem for almost any driver not in the NBA.

Mercedes is particularly proud of the various sounds that will surround occupants in this new SUV, from “four different soundscapes for a special acoustic experience,” to a new audio system resulting from a partnership with Dolby featuring Dolby Atmos.

“We have asked car drivers in five countries when and where they listen to music,” Kallenius said. “The result is more than 70% can’t imagine a car ride without music. Almost as many said that the sound quality is equally essential.”

So expect great things, acoustically, from the new model.

Prices, mileage figures and exact delivery dates are not released yet but expect the new EQS SUV to compete with the likes of BMW iX xDrive50, Genesis GV60, Audi e-tron S and the Tesla Model Y, which range from the 60s to the 80s in price. Maybe the Mercedes will be closer to an 80K sticker. We’ll see.