Can a battery-electric AMG large car provide the same driving thrills as a high-performance E-Class?
- How much does the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 cost?
- What equipment comes with the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
- How safe is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
- What technology does the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 feature?
- What powers the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
- How far can the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 go on a charge?
- What is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 like to drive?
- What is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 like inside?
- Should I buy a Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
The age of electric performance has arrived at Affalterbach and the latest creation from Mercedes-Benz’s high-performance division, the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53, certainly has the numbers on the board. Its dual-motor drivetrain can produce up to 505kW/1000Nm to hit 100km/h in just 3.3sec, and combines with a comprehensive overhaul of the suspension, brakes and electronics. But does this add up to a satisfying driving experience?
How much does the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 cost?
At first glance, the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 significantly undercuts its rivals at $214,900 plus on-road costs, though it’ll become clear in a moment that to reach its ultimate specification requires a bit of extra outlay.
Nevertheless, this price tag compares favourably to its obvious competition, cars like the Audi e-tron RS GT (from $248,200 plus ORCs) and the Porsche Taycan GTS (from $249,600 plus ORCs).
If you want electric performance then you could also throw in the BMW iX M60 SUV (from $228,400), and if you want performance and aren’t fussed about the electric bit then there’s the Audi RS 7 (from $239,200) and BMW M5 Competition (from $273,600).
Servicing costs for the EQE 53 are basically the same as the lower EQE variants at $1720, $2520 and $2955 for three, four and five years respectively, while servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km.
What equipment comes with the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
As you’d expect, the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 comes with a long list of standard equipment, though most of it is also included in the regular EQE variants.
So if you’re curious as to the entire list, check out our separate 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 launch review.
The AMG-specific inclusions are mostly mechanical. The wheels are an inch bigger and half-inch wider (now 21×9.5-inch front; 21×10.5-inch rear) with wider tyres (265/35 and 295/30 respectively) and the brakes have been suitably ‘AMGed’, with giant 415mm discs and six-piston callipers at the front and 378mm discs and single-piston callipers at the rear.
Those who need even more stopping power can shell out a further $9100 for even bigger 440mm ceramic front discs with fancy gold callipers.
Adaptive air suspension and rear-axle steering – both optional on lesser variants – are standard on the EQE 53 AMG, but performance can be enhanced by selecting the $7400 Dynamic Plus package. More on that later.
Cosmetically, there are AMG and Night packages on the outside to add a body kit and plenty of black chrome trim, adaptive LED headlights are included and 10 colours are available. Six are standard – including five metallics – then three ‘Manufaktur’ colours are another $2200 and the AMG 53-exclusive ‘Graphite Grey magno’ (read: matte grey) is $6100.
On the inside, the front seats are ventilated and rear passengers can choose their own temperatures thanks to quad-zone climate control. There’s an AMG Performance steering wheel, Nappa leather in three colour combinations and illuminated AMG door sills.
Those of a racy disposition can choose carbon-fibre interior trim for $2100, but the big-ticket option is the wild ‘Hyperscreen’ for $15,600 (more on that when we talk tech).
As a result, most EQE 53s will probably end up around the $250,000 mark on-road.
How safe is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
All variants of the new 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE range, including the EQE 53 AMG, come under the maximum five-star safety rating handed down by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).
Bar some confusion regarding the current posted speed limit on our test – the EQE frequently got it wrong – the active safety systems are very impressive in the way they can sit in the background, watching and waiting but not overly interfering in everyday driving.
Pressure sensors in the steering wheel prevent the need for the customary wiggle of the tiller to keep active cruise control operating, and the combination of auto assistance and 360-degree cameras should cover any parking situation you might come across.
What technology does the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 feature?
Let’s get straight to the most eye-catching feature of the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53, the simply enormous ‘Hyperscreen’ that essentially turns the dash into one giant display courtesy of the three separate displays that meld seamlessly into one.
Directly in front is the 12.3-inch digital instrument panel that changes depending on the drive mode selected and can be customised further via the steering wheel.
Then, dominating the dash is the 17.7-inch central infotainment display – my friends and I played four-player Nintendo 64 on screens smaller than this when we were kids.
It’s so big it forces the starter button down into the centre console, but it works in a very similar fashion to the smaller screen with the MBUX infotainment system, only… bigger. It’s probably overkill but the screen’s size is quite helpful as there’s sufficient room to display everything – ie. climate controls – without resorting to endless sub-menus.
Finally, the front passenger gets their own 12.3-inch screen which in some markets can stream video, using clever technology to prevent it distracting the driver (Range Rover uses something similar), but sadly this is not possible in Australia.
Passengers can still control the various infotainment and climate functions, however.
What powers the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
One thing that hasn’t changed in the switch to electricity is AMG’s addiction to horsepower. In standard guise, the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 produces a mammoth 460kW and 950Nm from its dual-motor drivetrain, fed by a 90.5kWh battery pack.
This is sufficient to rocket from 0-100km/h in just 3.5sec, but tick the box for the Dynamic Plus package and outputs increase to 505kW/1000Nm and the 0-100km/h time is cut to just 3.3sec. Top speed is also increased from 220km/h to 240km/h.
There is a slight caveat to this, though. The EQE 53’s drive mode selector is familiar from other AMGs, offering Slippery, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes, but here it also acts as a dial-your-own-power device.
In Slippery there is 50 per cent output, Comfort 80 per cent, Sport 90 per cent and Sport+ the full 100 per cent, but Dynamic Plus overboosts the motors to 110 per cent for launch control starts to unleash the full power.
Long story short, once rolling you have the same 460kW/950Nm. No great hardship.
How far can the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 go on a charge?
Maximum range for the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 is quoted at 500km, though this is cut to 435km under the more stringent – or to put it another way, realistic – WLTP testing procedures.
With gentle use under the right circumstances this is an achievable figure, though as with all cars, petrol, diesel or electric, that figure will rapidly decrease depending on how deeply you dip into the performance available.
Charging from 0-100 per cent on a regular AC wallbox ($1711) takes 14.5 hours, though upgrading to the optional 22kW charge system ($1800) will cut this by more than half.
At the other end of the scale, at the maximum 170kW DC charge rate you’ll top up from 10-80 per cent in around 32min.
What is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 like to drive?
The driving experience provided by the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 is complex and multi-layered, depending on what you’re expecting from it.
As a luxury sedan-coupe-hatch thing it works very well. The standard adaptive air suspension is taut in a way that will feel familiar to any AMG sedan owner in recent years, but it deals with lumps and bumps better than the passive EQE 300 and 350 – it feels more resolved.
Likewise, AMG has successfully eradicated the soft, unresponsive brake feel of the regular variants. The brake pedal in the EQE 53 just feels like… brakes, firm and confidence-inspiring, which is comforting when there is 2450kg to stop.
Possibly the greatest and most important trick AMG has pulled with the EQE 53 is that it feels like an AMG. The control weights and rate of response will feel second-nature to anyone with experience of a recent high-performance Mercedes and that includes the performance.
Despite the massive weight, the EQE 53 is eye-wateringly fast. In typical EV style, stamp the throttle and you are slammed back into the seat instantly; the urge probably eventually fades but by that time you’re going to be so far beyond the speed limit it will be “do not pass go, do not collect $200”.
In one test car this was accompanied by almost pure silence. In another, the AMG Sound Experience, part of the Dynamic Plus package, was active and it will be an acquired taste. In its ‘Powerful’ setting it kind of sounds like a drowning spaceship, but perhaps some will find it appealing.
Drive with a little more enthusiasm and the EQE 53 really impresses. There’s lots of grip, but what’s most remarkable is how agile the car is given its weight. Rear-wheel steering helps, as does the ability of the electric motors to shuffle the torque side to side and fore and aft to keep you pointing in the direction you want to go.
Driven in this manner it’s an enormously fast car and, once again, bar the change in soundtrack you could almost be in an E 63.
It’s when you really get stuck in and back the stability control off to Sport mode that cracks start to appear. The weight becomes an ever more present factor. It may be ideally located, the huge battery pack sitting on the floor between the axles, but it still takes a toll on the tyres and brakes.
In the wet, slippery conditions that constitute most of our test drive, however, different problems arise. The car provides little communication about what it’s doing so you feel hesitant behind the wheel.
This hesitancy increases as if any wheel does slip then the EQE 53 doesn’t behave in a consistent manner.
To be fair, this appears to be an electric car trait rather than anything specific to AMG as everything from the Kia EV6 to the Porsche Taycan can display similar behaviour.
Electric performance cars are obviously in their infancy and it appears that when you get to the (admittedly rare) situation of losing traction the software struggles to know what to do. The most obvious manifestation of this is to stamp the throttle from rest on a wet road – the EQE 53 wriggles and writhes as its brain tries to figure out where to send all those kilowatts and Newton-metres.
As familiarity increases it feels like it would be possible to find the EQE 53’s sweet spot and figure out the correct inputs. Every now and then it will behave exactly as you expect with some mid-corner throttle continuing to rotate the car, accompanied by a little wiggle from the rear on exit.
It’s possible I’m being too harsh on the EQE 53 as it’s still a fairly large executive-level car rather than an A 45 hot hatch or C 63 sports coupe.
But, equally, anyone coming from the likes of an E 53/63 won’t find the same visceral thrills.
What is the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 like inside?
On the inside, the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 carries its price tag well, though optioning that panoramic screen does help.
The AMG-specific enhancements also improve matters, not just the extra kit like the ventilated seats and quad-zone climate but the nicer materials and the proper AMG Performance steering wheel.
There’s ample room in the back for two occupants, though the sloping roofline and sunroof mean those over 6ft may struggle for headroom, while the 430L boot is big enough to take a couple of suitcases, some golf clubs or plenty of shopping.
Should I buy a Mercedes-AMG EQE 53?
It’s not often that the range-topping variant makes the strongest case for itself – usually the pick of the litter lies in the middle somewhere – but that’s the situation with the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53.
The AMG kit helps the styling, the extra equipment enhances the luxury vibe (especially if options are added), but the calibration work, particularly on the brakes and suspension, also makes this the most convincing EQE in terms of driving, even without tapping into the vast performance reserves.
Should you do so, however, you’ll find a brutally fast and effective machine, though one that might leave ‘traditional’ enthusiasts a little cold.
As a point-and-shoot daily driver there’s certainly plenty to commend it.
As mentioned earlier, perhaps the EQE 53’s greatest attribute is that it feels like an AMG. It’s clearly been developed by the same people who created the internal-combustion cars that we’ve all generally become very fond of.
2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 at a glance:
Price: $214,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanently excited synchronous motors
Output: 460kW/950Nm (505kW/1000Nm with AMG Dynamic Plus pack)
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
Battery: 90kWh lithium-ion
Range: 435km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 23.5kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2023)
Keyword: Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 2023 Review