New Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV is AMG’s EV Crossover Debutant

This is it. The big guys are finally tagging along. Even the folks at Affalterbach can’t escape the scrutiny of environmental regulations and unprecedented demand for ridiculously-tuned SUVs.

The all-new Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV has been officially unveiled – marking a significant landmark in AMG’s history being their all-electric SUV. The EV crossover promises to deliver more performance without sacrificing its well-renowned luxury and family-friendly practicality.

From the outside, not much can be said on the difference between this fully-loaded AMG and the inferior base model EQE SUV. Staple AMG badging, some subtly blackened trims all around the car and 22-inch set of alloys perhaps are not enough to convince people that this is an actual, AMG-built EQE, not some random guy stamping an AMG badge on their base EQE.

Step inside and you’ll notice a recurring theme of subtle changes going on, though this time around the changes are more obvious. Sporting a red stripe trim along its MBUX Hyperscreen, the AMG EQE’s cabin tries to bring AMG’s signature performance-y look without losing its futuristic, luxurious aesthetics – a thin line to walk on.

The AMG-exclusive front seats are now embossed with AMG’s Affalterbach emblem – also comes with red stripes. Carbon trims are now visible around its central console and AMG Performance steering wheel, wrapped around with Alcantara leather – a passable attempt to combine both performance and luxury looks. Said MBUX Hyperscreen also comes with AMG-specific graphics and performance options such as AMG Dynamic Select drive programs.

Staying true to the SUV’s practicality root, the AMG EQE SUV offers a 520 L boot space – expandable up to 1,675 L when all three foldable rear seats are tumbled down.  Said rear seats are also not bad, comfort-wise – thanks to the ARTICO man-made leather finish, with optional upgrade to a more supple Nappa leather finish seat.

Of course, only fools judge an AMG car solely for its looks, not its performance. Coming in two specs – the EQE 43 and EQE 53 – the AMG EQE comes standard with AMG-specific dual electric motors sitting at both front and rear axles providing a fully-variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system. Powering said motors are a 90.6 KWH power plant with 170 KW maximum DC-charging capacity, offering an estimated range of 431 to 488 KM (WLTP) for the 43 and 375 to 470 KM (WLTP) for the beefier 53.

Said power plant and motors combo output around 476 HP and 858 NM of maximum torque for the EQE 43 variant. The range-topper EQE 53 gets 626 HP and 950 NM torque, with the optional AMG Dynamic Plus package taking the 53 to a further 687 HP and 1000 NM torque. All this power propels the 2.6-tonne AMG EQE SUV to a sub-4 second 0-100 KMH finish, with the 43 finishing around 4.3 seconds and the 53 finishing at 3.5 seconds.

The Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV launches in two different variants, the EQE 43 and EQE 53, with the latter poised for an optional AMG Dynamic Plus package upgrade. No official pricing was announced as for now, but say if you’re on a tight budget for luxury EV SUVs (ironically or not), then the baseline, non-AMG Mercedes EQE 350+ might be a more sensible option.