First Drive: EQS/EQE SUV exemplify Mercedes-Benz brand values

Mercedes-Benz New Zealand highlighted its new family-friendly EQS and EQE SUV models by hosting lunch at Te Karaka Lodge, a brand new luxury venue located at the end of a dirt road in the heart of Port Waikato.

It is the sort of top-drawer establishment you would expect a Mercedes-Benz owner to frequent and the challenging and winding local gravelled roads in and around the venue proved that the latest all-electric luxury SUV models from the Tristar-brand are more than up to the task.

Electric Mercedes-Benz buyers want cars which offer luxury, performance, safety, and leading-edge design and technology. 

The new EQS and EQE SUV range more than deliver on these brand attributes, and fortunately production in the Tuscaloosa plant is now back to pre-covid levels to provide an adequate supply to meet global customer demand according to Mercedes-Benz Cars New Zealand general manager Joerg Schmidt.      

Much like its competitors Mercedes-Benz has been extremely canny in developing a fleet of new luxury vehicles from a common electric platform and drive train but is still able to provide the necessary levels of differentiation required from different segment buyers.

The EQS SUV and the EQE SUV sit on the same platforms developed by Mercedes-EQ for the super luxury large EQS sedan and the smaller and more dynamic medium-sized EQE sedan.

Inside the fit and finish and the appointments of the EQS SUV more than matches its low-slung sedan counterpart, but it can seat up to seven people in complete comfort. 

Think of it as an electric SUV masquerading as a S-Class and you wouldn’t be far wrong, as it has all the same attributes of the legendary line of Mercedes-Benz luxury sedans.    

On the road the EQS SUV offers the same large car comfort as its EQS sedan sibling, with a pliant and comfortable ride thanks to its air suspension, but with the deft handling and cornering ability of a much smaller vehicle. The car begins to shrink around you as you become more familiar with its dimensions and on/off road capability.

Only one variant of the EQS SUV will be marketed here in New Zealand, which is the 450 4Matic which provides 265kW of power and 800Nm and was more than ample to propel the big beast around the back country roads of the North Waikato.

The EQS SUV is priced from $196,500. The Comfort Plus Package adds $11,700 the MBUX Hyperscreen Package adds $6,700 and upgrading the rear-axle steering to 10 per cent steering angle adjustment adds another $2,900, and certainly makes the vehicle more manoeuvrable when parking in tight spaces such as shopping malls and the like.

Less is more

Sometimes less is more, and often the entry level car in a new model range is a pleasant surprise, and this is illustrated by the new EQE family of electric SUVs. 

Once again, the EQE SUV shares the same electric platform as its EQE sedan sibling, but this all-electric medium size five seat SUV comes in three different versions for the New Zealand market.

The EQE range will take over from the five-seat EQC SUV as the new medium sized five seat offering from Mercedes-Benz in this market, as production of the EQC 400 has ceased.

The range kicks off with the rear-wheel-drive EQE 300 which offers 180kW and 550Nm of torque and is in our opinion the ‘sleeper’ of the range for $139,900 and possibly the best value.

While the more powerful 215kW/750Nm EQE 350 4Matic offers greater traction and more response through its all-wheel-drive system, it felt heavier and not as lively through the twisty bits as the rear-drive EQE 300.

Mercedes-Benz also offer the high-performance 460kW/950Nm EQE 53 4Matic+ AMG SUV but this version was sadly not part of the media drive programme.

In specification terms, the $10,000 walk up between the EQE 300 and the EQE 350 4Matic buys the more powerful engine with all-wheel-drive and the ‘transparent’ bonnet for ease of parking and off-roading, but in all other aspects the two are equally matched for luxury accoutrements.

The EQE 300 will have more appeal to urban buyers who want the cachet and space of a medium sized Mercedes-Benz SUV but don’t necessarily want soft road capability and a powertrain that uses more electricity.