Mercedes-Benz EQE 2026 review | The electric alternative to an E-Class

What is the Mercedes-Benz EQE?

Quite simply, the EQE is Mercedes-Benz’s battery-electric equivalent to the E-Class, and a key part of the company’s shift towards electrification. You might think that it looks rather different from the German luxury car maker’s traditional business saloon, and you’d be right; Mercedes-Benz develops its fully electric cars alongside conventional internal combustion engine models as a distinct model line.

The design is also, well... a bit odd, because it’s been honed for maximum efficiency, which explains the differing styling from the conventional E-Class. That slippery shape doesn’t just aid efficiency but also refinement, helping the EQE feel airy inside as well as supremely quiet on the move.

The EQE rides on the same bespoke electric vehicle architecture that underpins the larger EQS – dubbed the EVA2 platform. For the EQE, this is shortened and uses a slightly smaller battery of either 90kWh or 96kWh, depending on the version. That’s still enough for an official WLTP range of up to 429 miles, while rapid charging at up to 170kW allows a 10-80 percent top-up in roughly half an hour.

How practical is it?

The Mercedes EQE is a battery-powered saloon, and the battery pack’s position, as well as its shape – which Mercedes-Benz describes as ‘one-bow’ – means the car feels significantly more spacious inside than its conventionally-powered E-Class. The wheelbase is slightly longer, and that makes for more rear passenger legroom, although we’d argue that headroom is actually better in a conventional E-Class as the EQE’s swooping roof might make some taller passengers feel a little hemmed in. There’s useful oddment storage dotted around, too.

The roofline of the EQE makes it resemble a hatchback, but it has a regular saloon bootlid, which opens to reveal a usefully sized and shaped luggage space. Its 430-litre capacity is more C-Class than E-Class in terms of maximum capacity, though, and the hatchback boot of a Tesla Model S is certainly more practical. You can fold the rear seatbacks down in the EQE for longer and larger loads, should it be required.

Unlike many cars in the EV class, there’s no ‘frunk’ (front trunk – boot in UK parlance), Mercedes-Benz instead using that space for a HEPA (High Efficiency Absorbing Filter) system to clean the cabin air.

What's it like to drive?

Refinement is a true star quality of the EQE. Even on winter tyres over ice and snow, it is supremely quiet, and on our mix of varied UK motorway, town and country roads, the near-total absence of wind and powertrain noise verges on unsettling.

Ride comfort is good, too. On the 21-inch alloy wheels and air suspension of our test car there was very little to complain about other than a bit of jarring over sharp-edged potholes. Every other ripple and bump is soaked up with ease in the EQE, although we haven’t tried the car on its standard coil spring suspension, so we’ll have to wait before we can deliver a verdict on that.

As for performance, the EQE is now offered in either rear-wheel-drive 350+ or four-wheel-drive 500 4Matic variants. Both have a top speed of 130mph, with the EQE 500 completing the zero to 62mph dash in just 4.4 seconds. The EQE 350+ needs 6.1 seconds.

The Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 is the one for you if you want Tesla-like drag race ability, as it brings all-wheel drive and 617bhp for a 3.5-second 0-62mph sprint time. WLTP official combined range is down to a maximum of 306 miles, though.

What’s appreciable in the EQE 350+ we drove is the linear smoothness of the power delivery. It doesn’t feel as savage in its step-off acceleration as many EVs, and that’s deliberate. Mercedes-Benz’s engineers are more concerned about sustained acceleration and smoother performance, and that’s also beneficial to the battery management.

It doesn’t feel like a really sporting saloon, but is well-balanced and responsive. The steering is light, yet gives a decent sense of what’s going on at the wheels, while a nose feels keen and predictable to fling into fast corners. As you’d expect, it is an effortless motorway cruiser, too. We only drove the rear-wheel-drive EQE 350+ in dry conditions, so it’s hard to comment on whether there will be traction issues in the wet. But the four-wheel-drive EQE we tested on snow and ice proved secure yet playful.

Braking is, for the most part, undertaken regeneratively, with the actual brakes only used when the systems sense the need for it. It’s a good system that you can turn off entirely, or toggle through two other levels of regen via the steering wheel paddles. There’s also an adaptive mode that automatically varies the regenerative braking if it senses a car or junction ahead. We’d like more brake pedal feel, but generally the EQE is an easy and extremely satisfying car to drive.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The Mercedes EQE is available in Sport Edition, AMG Line Edition, AMG Line Night Edition Premium and AMG Line Night Edition Premium Plus specifications, while the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 gets its own range-topping equipment levels.

Avoid the base Sport Edition if you can, as it misses out on some obvious options, although it is good news that every EQE gets large alloy wheels, a reversing camera, dual-zone climate control, heated seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.8-inch media display, wireless phone charging, an electric bootlid, ambient lighting, LED headlights and leatherette upholstery.

The AMG Line Edition equipment list includes the likes of 19-inch AMG alloy wheels, AMG exterior styling, a rear spoiler, illuminated door sills, an AMG steering wheel in Nappa leather, a digital TV tuner and, on EQE 500 4Matic and full-fat AMG models, the excellent MBUX Hyperscreen. This sees three displays seamlessly blend together on the dashboard to create one large digital interface.

Next up is the AMG Line Night Edition Premium, which adds a heated windscreen washer system, electric charging flap, keyless entry and start, a panoramic sunroof, a heated steering wheel, memory seats, a dashcam and an enhanced driver assistance package. The AMG Line Night Edition Premium Plus features the likes of 21-inch alloy wheels, air suspension, rear-axle steering, a head-up display, ventilated front seats with a massage function, four-zone climate control, a Burmester surround-sound audio system, active park assist, a 360-degree camera and augmented reality navigation.

Every model gets a 12.8-inch portrait touchscreen, complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, navigation with a charger search function, over-the-air updates, natural voice recognition and more. There’s even fingerprint recognition, so that you can log yourself into the car’s systems and enjoy all your own settings easily. It’s clever tech that is generally easy to use and logically laid out, although the screen can be a bit laggy sometimes – especially when using Apple CarPlay.

As you’d expect, the EQE has excellent safety credentials and comes complete with a full suite of driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and autonomous emergency braking.

Mercedes-Benz EQE running costs

Besides the lack of tailpipe emissions, a huge draw for consumers to cars like the EQE is the potential for low running costs, helped by favourable company car taxation and relatively low VED (road tax) rates compared with petrol or diesel alternatives. The EQE’s efficiency and range mean most owners will be able to rely primarily on home charging, where you can schedule charging via the car’s infotainment system or a companion app to take advantage of cheaper electricity tariffs.

Real-world range proved good in the Mercedes EQE 350+ that we tested. We saw an indicated 350 miles in summer conditions, even with a lot of motorway miles included (electric cars are always most efficient at slower speeds and in warmer weather), and we’d expect the winter real-world range to be more like 250-300 miles. Assuming you’re charging at home most of the time, the EQE will certainly be cheaper to fuel than a comparable petrol or diesel car, with cost per mile coming in at around 13-15p per mile depending on the car’s efficiency, assuming you’re paying 40p per kWh at home. If you make the most of cheap overnight tariffs, that price can fall to as little as 3p per mile. This compares with around 15-20p per mile for a petrol or diesel car doing some 40-50mpg.

Being so aerodynamic does mean that this is also one of the most efficient large EVs. Only Tesla can rival it for touring efficiency, so it will be cheap to charge even by the standards of other electric cars.

Let’s face it, though, the EQE isn’t a cheap car. Especially as the reality is that most buyers will go for a model that pushes the list price towards £95,000. Expensive as that is, it’s actually still competitive with alternatives like the Audi E-Tron GT and (now discontinued) Tesla Model S.

Mercedes-Benz EQE reliability

Mercedes-Benz offers the EQE with a standard three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, while the lithium-ion battery is covered by a 10-year, 155,000-mile warranty that guarantees at least 70 percent of its original capacity after this period. It’s a longer battery warranty than almost any other EV currently on sale.

For further peace of mind, data from fleets of electric vehicles already reaching 10 years of age suggests that modern lithium-ion batteries typically lose around 10-15 percent of their range potential over 10 years and 100,000 miles – potentially closer to 20 percent if rapid charging is used frequently.

Nonetheless, as an overall brand, Mercedes placed a rather underwhelming 22nd out of 30 vehicle manufacturers tested in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey.