New Mercedes EQE saloon: electric E-Class starts from £76,450

• Available with a single-motor powertrain at launch
• Capable of up to 395 miles on a full charge
• Can be ordered now

The all-new Mercedes EQE can now be configured on the brand’s website, so we know the starting prices for the electric executive car. Three of the four available trim levels are based on the sporty-looking AMG Line specification, while an Exclusive Luxury version is also offered to those who want a more subtle look.

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The new EQE is billed as an electric equivalent to the existing E-Class saloon and aims to steal sales away from the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan. It gives Mercedes a significant advantage over its German competitors, with electrified versions of the next-generation BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 still far from production.

2022 Mercedes EQE: prices and specifications

Starting from £76,450, the Mercedes EQE AMG Line doesn’t skimp on standard equipment - as you’d be justified to expect given its price. Kit includes Mercedes’ Artico leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, flush-fitting door handles, a fingerprint scanner and active park assist.

AMG Line Premium adds features like remote boot closing and bigger wheels for an extra £5,000, while the £88,450 AMG Line Premium Plus gets upgraded headlights, a heated windscreen, augmented reality navigation, sat nav and a Burmester sound system. The EQE Exclusive Luxury edition costs the same as the AMG Line Premium Plus.

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If you don’t want the standard gloss black paint, you’ll need to pay between £895 and £2,059 for metallic colours.

Compared to the E-Class, which starts from under £42,000, the EQE seems very expensive. We’ll see if the EQE feels twice as special when we drive it.

Platform, powertrains and charging

There is only one powertrain offered at launch, badged as the EQE 350+. This consists of a single 288bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels and is paired with a 90kWh battery. Drivers can expect to reach 0-62mph in just 6.4 seconds and travel up to 395 miles on a single charge - though this figure varies depending on wheel size and trim level. A dual-motor, four-wheel-drive model will be coming soon.

Mercedes has also confirmed two high-performance models from the brand’s AMG motorsport division. The entry-level AMG EQE 43 4MATIC produces 469bhp from its dual-motor setup and can manage 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds. Mercedes claims this version should be able to do 331 miles on a charge.

Sitting at the top of the range is the AMG EQE 53 4MATIC+ which produces 617bhp. If that isn’t enough, the optional ‘AMG Dynamic Plus’ package brings that number to an Audi RS e-tron GT-rivalling 677bhp. This will allow the EQE to do 0-62mph in just 3.3 seconds and provide a range of 322 miles.

Pricing for the two AMG models has yet to be revealed, but we expect these to incur a significant premium over the entry-level EQE 350+.

DC rapid-charging at up to 170kW is standard on all variants of the EQE, with a full top up of the battery taking 32 minutes. Using an 11kW wallbox, a full charge takes around 8.5 hours. Buyers can also upgrade to a 22kW AC on-board charger, cutting the charging time to around four hours.

To help top the battery up on the move, the EQE is fitted with four regenerative braking modes, including a single-pedal driving mode. Owners can also schedule charging start and finish times.

Design and size

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The EQE sits beneath the flagship EQS luxury saloon in Mercedes’ electric range but shares several design cues with that car. At the front, there’s a gloss black closed-off grille to aid aero-efficiency and a pair of upswept LED headlights. The car’s sweeping side profile is similar to the CLS saloon.

At the rear, the car has a full-width LED light bar that connects the wraparound style tail lights, along with a lip spoiler mounted on the boot lid. Buyers will be able to spec a range of alloy wheel designs ranging from 19- to 21-inches in size.

While the EQE is effectively the electric E-Class saloon, it offers more shoulder room than the conventionally powered car for front passengers and improved interior space generally thanks to a longer wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels). Boot space is respectable at 430 litres, but some way off the E-Class.

According to Mercedes, the bonnet of the EQE can only be opened by a service centre technician, with the left wing incorporating an access flap to allow owners to fill up the windscreen washer fluid. The car’s aerials are hidden away beneath the bodywork, along with a series of cameras and sensors behind the front grille, and a reversing camera fitted into the badge on the boot.

Interior and technology

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The interior bears a near-identical design to the larger EQS, with Mercedes’ latest MBUX setup. Mercedes’ Hyperscreen, shown here incorporating three OLED display screens, doesn’t seem to be available as an option at the moment, and neither is rear-wheel steering (these may be off the table until the semiconductor shortage is over).

The Hyperscreen uses a 12.3-inch digital dial cluster that sits behind the steering wheel, with a matching 12.3-inch display on the passenger side. In the middle of the dashboard, a 17.7-inch screen joins the other two displays together to make them look like one seamless unit.

For more on Mercedes’ electrified models, read our review of the electric EQC SUV or the plug-in hybrid A 250 e hatchback.