Mercedes EQE luxury sedan, up to 660km range, will monitor your eyelids

Overnight, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the EQE, a more practical, hopefully more affordable luxury sedan, following the announcement of their EQS a couple of months ago.

The EQE is being positioned as a ‘business saloon’ and is the second model to be based on the EVA2 architecture. The EQE will have its world premiere at the IAA show (September/Munich), with a staggered global launch set to take place in mid-2022. These will be produced in Bremen for the world market and in Beijing for the Chinese market.

The EQE features a sporty ‘purpose design’ with all the characteristic elements of Mercedes-EQ, one-bow lines and cab-forward design. Sensual Purity is reflected in generously modelled surfaces, reduced joints and seamless transitions (seamless design).

The overhangs and the front end are kept short, the rear provides the dynamic accent with a sharp rear spoiler. Flush with the outer edge of the body, the 19 to 21″ wheels, together with a pronounced muscular shoulder section, give the EQE an athletic character.

Inside, the EQE features a very similar, luxury design, with seats that look uber-comfortable, on-par with the more expensive big brother of EQS.

Range of up to 660 kilometres

Mercedes says their 90 kWh battery will be good for up to 660 km according to WLTP standard. If that’s correct, it’s pretty impressive, given the Tesla Model S Long Range, offers up to 652km WLTP from a 100kWh pack. Is it possible the Mercedes is more efficient with their energy than Tesla, that would be impressive if it plays out that way.

Mercedes says they’re using a cell chemistry that consists of nickel, cobalt and manganese in a ratio of 8:1:1. What isn’t being promoted are the 0-100km/h performance times or price which leaves big question marks. It’s a safe assumption this won’t come cheap and performance is not likely to challenge the Model S.

The model range will include two variants at market launch: the EQE 350 (power consumption acc. to WLTP: 19.3-15.7 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions: 0 g/km) with 215 kW, as well as a second performance model with around 500 kW is being planned.

OTA Updates

Like many automakers these days, Mercedes is commiting to make the car better over time with over-the-air updates. Unfortunately far too many make this promise at the time of announcement and fail to deliver on the promise.

The EQE will offer the ability to activate completely new vehicle functions via over-the-air updates (OTA) in many areas (which we assume means certain markets).

Available from launch: the additional sound experience “Roaring Pulse”, two special driving modes for young drivers and service personnel, mini-games, the Highlight mode and DIGITAL LIGHT with projection function and DIGITAL LIGHT individualisation. In Highlight mode the vehicle presents itself and its equipment highlights – this is activated by the “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant.

In addition to the light animation “Digital Rain”, DIGITAL LIGHT individualisation includes other coming-home/leaving animations such as “Brand World”. This means that after purchase and the original new car configuration, some of the EQE’s equipment can be adapted according to personal preferences.

Build into the navigation is intelligent routing that offers you the fastest and most convenient route, including charging stops, based on numerous factors and reacts dynamically to traffic jams or a change in driving style, for example. This includes a visualisation in the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system as to whether the available battery capacity is sufficient to return to the starting point without charging.

Charging stations along the route that have been added manually are given preference in the route calculation. Proposed charging stations can be excluded. The estimated charging costs per charging stop are calculated.

With Mercedes me Charge, customers are able to charge at over 530,000 public charging stations around the world, more than 200,000 of them in Europe. With the new Mercedes me Charge Plug & Charge function, the EQE can be charged even more conveniently at Plug & Charge-enabled public charging points: inserting the charging cable automatically starts the charging process. No further authentication by the customer is required.

MBUX Hyperscreen option

The MBUX Hyperscreen is the absolute highlight in the interior (optional extra). This large, curved screen unit sweeps almost from A-pillar to A-pillar. Three screens sit under a glass cover and appear to merge into one. The 12.3-inch OLED display for the front passenger gives them their own display and control area. In Europe, the front seat passenger is also able to watch dynamic content while on the move.

This is because Mercedes-EQ uses an intelligent, camera-based blocking logic: if the camera detects that the driver is looking at the front passenger display, this is automatically dimmed for certain content.

Driving assistance

The latest generation of driving assistance systems includes numerous driver support functions. One new function is the additional microsleep warning from ATTENTION ASSIST (in conjunction with MBUX Hyperscreen). It analyses the driver’s eyelid movements using a camera in the driver display. The assistance display within the driver’s display shows the operation of the driving assistance systems in a comprehensible full-screen view.

Key technical data