Although Mercedes is in the middle of its big electric push, it’s a relief to see that no matter what powers its vehicles, they still need to put in a good performance at the Nurburgring. Indeed, our latest shots of the upcoming Mercedes EQE show it torturing tires at the famed race track. Like the EQS but smaller, this new model is the electric equivalent of the E-Class.
Styled in much the same way as the bigger
car, it will be hard to tell them apart without having them side by side. Some
differences are already evincing themselves, though. Whereas the EQS’s third
brake light is high up on the window, it sits on the trunk on the EQE. It also
appears to be a real trunk, when the EQS gets a hatch.
The EQE may also be a little less smooth
than the EQS. In shots of it rounding a corner, the car seen here
appears to have two character lines down its side. With one per door, this
could be a slightly busier design, though we’ll reserve judgment for when the
camo comes off the car. Under the skin, we know that the EQE will be based on
the same EVA platform as its larger sibling. Unveiled earlier this month, the
EQS gets up to 479 miles of range (on the European test cycle) and can hit 62
mph in just 4.3 seconds for the bi-motor version.
We would expect similar performance
figures, though the smaller EQE may not be able to fit the larger car’s full
107.8 kWh battery. The interior is expected to be as fancy as the EQS’s,
though, and will feature Mercedes‘ impressive new hyperscreen. The EQE is
expected to make its debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September with
deliveries starting in 2022.
