First drive: Mercedes-Benz EQE 500 4Matic prototype review

This undisguised cold-weather prototype is our first taste of the all-electric alternative to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Specifically, it’s a four-wheel-drive EQE 500 4Matic, and a car at a more advanced stage than the rear-wheel-drive EQE 350+ that I sampled from the passenger seat in February. It’s also a good deal more powerful.

With a dual-motor driveline using hardware similar to that seen in the even longer, more opulent Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 4Matic, the most powerful of the planned ‘mainline’ EQEs develops around 402bhp. That’s 114bhp more than for the EQE 350+, although still 67bhp less than the AMG-fettled EQE 43 4Matic and a way off the 617bhp of the AMG EQE 53 4Matic.

Bookending the range at the lower end is the EQE 300+, meaning the EQE line-up will be five models strong at launch later this year.

Energy is provided by a standard 90kWh battery, which can be heated or cooled on the move in a preconditioning process aimed at ensuring that it’s always ready to accept the fastest possible charge.

In the EQE 350+, the battery is claimed to provide a WLTP range of up to 410 miles. Mercedes-Benz isn’t providing any range claims for the EQE 500 4Matic just yet, but it does concede that the all-paw variant can’t match the figure of its rear-driven sibling. The maximum charging rate is said to be 170kW, which translates to 155 miles of range in 15 minutes.

While sharing a design lineage and many key details, the EQE is arguably smarter-looking than the EQS. More compact dimensions, a lower overall height and a shorter bootline provide it with more balanced proportions all round – at least to my eyes.

The biggest difference between the first two cars based on Mercedes’ EV-specific EVA platform, though, is at the rear. In place of the large liftback tailgate used by the EQS, the EQE receives a traditional bootlid. As well as incorporating a very subtle lip spoiler, it houses a full-width LED band between each of the tail-lights.