The 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE Is a Speedy Little Pill That Goes Down Easy

Matt Bubbers March 3, 2023

Some cars just hit right, and at times it’s the ones you’d least expect that sneak out of the woodwork to spark equal parts surprise and joy. Gangly name aside, what makes the all-electric 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 4MATIC+ sedan so remarkable is how smooth it is: from the cushy ride, the seamlessly-integrated tech, to the ballistic acceleration.

Escaping Los Angeles’ twisted mess of highways, for example, the EQE’s enormous heads-up display with augmented-reality points the way forward, down to the correct lane, with arrows that appear to hover magically over the road, in real-time. It means you’re never lost in a foreign place.

What makes This EQE an AMG?

Later, as we hit the ramp to the Pomona Freeway, the AMG accelerates up to speed with the merest flex of the driver’s foot. You get the feeling there’s a tidal wave of power just waiting to be unleashed, because, well, there is. If Merc’s other EVs are firecrackers, this thing is a rocket.

We’re talking 677 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque in “boost” mode, with the AMG Dynamic Plus Package. Put your foot down and the EQE powers onto the freeway as if shot from a gun. (It certainly feels quicker than any of AMG’s traditional V8-powered sedans, and that’s saying a lot.)

The electric motors — there’s two of them, one driving the front wheels and one driving the rear — have been fettled by AMG to produce immense power and torque. Just as the in-house tuning division does with other Mercedes model, AMG also tweaked the EV’s chassis, stiffening up the subframe and tuning the air suspension to cope with the increased grunt.

Enormous, beautiful, but optional carbon-ceramic brakes hide behind some of the coolest wheel designs in recent memory. (Pictured below, we’re referring to the 21-inch AMG Y-spokes in case you’re interested.)

The heavy sedan feels heavy, but its sure-footed grip and poise, even when pushed, gives the driver plenty of confidence to drive it as AMGs are meant to be driven. The steering feel is lacking, sure, but overall level of performance and handling is still a significant improvement over all the non-AMG Mercedes EVs we’ve driven.

What’s the Range of the Mercedes-AMG EQE 4MATIC?

The downside to all that performance is range, of course. The AMG EQE is rated at 362 km by the U.S. EPA, where the less-powerful EQE 350 and EQE 500 are both rated for 418 km.

Will that 56 km difference matter in the real world? Not really. Is the extra cushion nice to have for first-time EV buyers, to help ease any feelings of range anxiety? Yes. But you should know that any range anxiety tends to fade once owners get accustomed to using and charging an EV.

You should also know that Mercedes’ EQ sedans have a nice habit of beating their EPA ratings, returning even more range. As Edmunds found in its testing, the EQS 450+ kept going for an incredible 679 km despite being rated for 563.

How Big Is the AMG EQE Sedan?

It’s like the Doctor Who’s police-box-time-machine: bigger on the inside. You’d swear, walking up to it, that this is a compact car, like the Mercedes C-Class maybe. Compared to the larger EQS sedan, the EQE is roughly 28 cm shorter and 15 cm narrower. However, the distance between the front and rear wheels — wheelbase, in engineer-speak — is only slightly smaller.

All of which is to say that, once you swing open the door and drop into the high-tech cabin, it feels so much bigger than you imagine. Rear-seat passengers seem weirdly far away. Inside, the spaciousness is similar to the E-Class, Merc’s mid-size luxury legend.

(Here’s a full inventory of what we fit into the EQE, for science: three adults, one baby in a baby seat, one stroller, one portable crib, one gigantic suitcase, one normal suitcase, and four backpacks. And it was still, somehow, comfortable inside.)

Mercedes is leaning into the inherent advantages of EVs, with their compact motors and underfloor batteries. Instead of the long, stately hoods you’ll find on the E- or S-Class, the hoods on company’s electric cars are almost non-existent. The cabin takes up nearly the whole length of vehicle, because there’s simply no need to leave room for a huge V8 or V12 engine. This is how Mercedes pulls off that Doctor Who trick, and it’s a good one. Although, the smooth pill-shaped design is admittedly a love-it or hate-it look.

In the cabin, you’ll find a 12.3 inch LED instrument screen, plus a 12.8 inch OLED central display. The Hyperscreen – a door-to-door glass panel that hides three separate screens — is optional, but, honestly we prefer the standard two-screen setup. It looks more luxurious, and isn’t such a fingerprint magnet like the Hyperscreen.

How Much Is the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE Sedan in Canada?

Along with driving range, price is the other thing to keep in mind when considering the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 4MATIC+ sedan. Here in Canada, it starts at $121,500. That puts it firmly in Lucid Air and Tesla Model S territory.

Meanwhile, the standard EQE 350 offers 4Matic all-wheel drive and 288 horsepower for $85,600. The EQE 500 4Matic gets 402 hp and 633 lb-ft of torque for $95,000. Those two machines should be in dealerships by the time you read this. But, Canadian drivers will have to wait until this summer to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG EQE.

There are more than a few fast, luxury sedans in AMG’s catalog these days. High-performance juggernauts like the E 63 and the E 53 are some of our favourite cars, full stop. But, not only is the new 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE quicker than those machines, it rides more comfortably, and packs in more high-tech features. Oh, and it also doesn’t burn a single drop of gasoline.

Learn more about the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 4MATIC+ Sedan here.