Mercedes EQE 350+, now we are serious and Tesla can? start shaking | Video

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Mercedes EQS paved the way for the new electric course of the Germans, but it was clear that it would be for the few. Exclusive luxury, but not for this a recipe that could not be applied to the slightly lower segment, that of Class E.

Cos & igrave; Mercedes EQE is born which becomes the car for companies and professionals high level. Look to those who had an E-Class and promises them that, in terms of monthly cost, the expense for a means of representation with which to travel in maximum comfort will be; the same. It will be true?

  • THE REPRESENTATIVE CAR
  • CLASS E DIESEL VS EQE ELECTRIC
  • TECHNOLOGY: ADAS AND INFOTAINMENT
  • ENGINES, CHARGING AND BATTERY
  • CONSUMPTION TEST ON THE HIGHWAY
  • TEST ON THE ROAD
  • DATA SHEET
  • PRICE
  • VIDEO

COMPANIES AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE SIGHT

Right then starting from an analysis of operating costs , those that only some of us do (I told you about telematics on my car), but which become fundamental in the company and fleet environment. The professional uses the car for work : it must be comfortable and reliable and, like many other tools, becomes a monthly cost to put in the budget .

For this reason & egrave; more easy for the business world to be more used to talking about TCO, Total Cost of Ownership . In simple terms & egrave; that number that answers a question: how much does it cost me to use the car every month? The road tax and the costs for fuel, tolls and the price for parking come together here. In short, all the items that are then placed side by side with the residual value.

MERCEDES EQE 350+ VS CLASS E 300D

Does the electric car really cost a lot? The price list tells us yes, & egrave; unequivocal. E-Class 300d 4MATIC Premium Plus costs 74.791 & euro ;, EQE 350+ Launch Edition & egrave; available at € 93,017, even if the set-up is; more rich because & eacute; includes 8,000 & euro; of accessories . The advantage? They are counted in the residual value calculations, don't lose them when it comes to returning or selling used using the most appropriate; common official assessments.

With an advance of 21,000 & euro; for both, the diesel E-Class takes home with a fee of 688 & euro; for 36 months and 90,000 km, a figure that rises to 1,010 & euro; for EQE. The advantages in terms of road tax, RCA, Area C, parking, fuel and maintenance, bring the Mercedes simulation to a near breakeven: TCO of 1.279 & euro; for E-Class diesel, 1,270 & euro; for electric EQE .

The calculation considers 60 & euro; of Area C per month (12 admissions for a non-resident) and 40 & euro; parking . Too many? Only in April 2022, in my small and off-target freelance career for an EQE, would I have spent at least 20 & euro;/25 & euro; of Area C and about thirty euros of parking if I didn't have an electric car.


Clear that the table is not; universal in all its voices: this one looks more & ugrave; to the cities of the North and North/East (and in particular in Milan), the area where the Class E public is located, as well as; the one where most of the SMEs to which this car is located destined. It must also be adapted according to the period in which you are reading this article for any asymmetrical fluctuations between the price of diesel and that of home/company recharge.

The goal is not take for universal the data of the calculation of Mercedes, but urge you to make your own and then tell us if the conclusion is; the same or diverges (and in what).

TECHNOLOGY p > Among the options there is; MBUX Hyperscreen , but already the & quot; base & quot; version of MBUX has a very generous screen and digital instrumentation. The top of the range is; fascinating, but not & egrave; strictly necessary because & eacute; & egrave; the hardware under the body (8-core CPU and 24 GB of RAM) and the interface that make the difference.

By now Mercedes has reached the top of the market: the system & egrave; fluid, very intuitive in its functions, modern and complete, but easy . In today's panorama & egrave; difficult to find something that satisfies the technology-hungry Millennial, but at the same time is Baby Boomer-proof who maybe just wants to connect the smartphone for the speakerphone. And here can & ograve; do it easily and intuitively guided by the interface.

An example? I click on the phone icon and in that screen a voice suggests me how to do it. It seems normal to expect it there, but it is not; so & igrave; for many infotainment systems.


The same dual speech can; be done for ADAS , a field in which Mercedes has achieved excellent levels . In summer 2022 it will come Level 3 in Germany, today they have a perfect Level 2 in centering the car in the lane, able to change it using the arrow and with the top of what is available on the market.

At the same time, for & ograve ;, they have filed the resistance of the steering to the manual lane change that today understands when we want to do it intentionally even if we have not put the arrow, and does not oppose us that strenuous resistance that instead Tesla, to give an example of a another very advanced player in autonomous driving, continues to apply. Not to mention the generalists, many still rough even in the car centering system.

For some they may seem trivial, but at certain levels the difference is noticeable: if Tesla is; going on its way, Mercedes listened to customers less accustomed to ADAS and corrected that stubborn harshness of the steering. The result? He convinced more of them; to keep them active (thus ensuring safety), but at the same time prevented them from invoking the saints at every lane change without direction indicators.

MOTORS, CHARGING AND BATTERY

Protagonist of the test, EQE 350+ faced a purely working path: from Milan and Modena passing through a simulated stage in Desenzano. The outbound traffic from Milan has therefore left room for a longer day; of 400 kilometers traveled aboard the German sedan.


The first 130 kilometers run quite fast considering the time lost to get out of Milan: 1h and 41 minutes and are in Desenzano with an average of 77 km/h and the adaptive cruise control always set to the classic 140 per hour. The car travels with the air conditioning always active, the day is egrave; very hot (24 & deg;), the seats fully ventilated to keep the shirt dry and all the ADAS that make the journey less stressful on the motorway.

  • Milan-Desenzano : 17.8 kWh/100 km, residual range of 383 km. Total autonomy with 100% recharge: 505 km

Another 120 kilometers and arrival in Secchia Ovest for recharging with Free-To-X, one of the columns installed in the AdS directly on the motorway. Consumption rises to 19.3 kWh/100 km, conditions remain unchanged except for the temperature which is; climb up to 27 & deg ;.

Auto 10 May


The day ends with the return to Milan: at 17:06 there are 29 & deg; and I left the toll booth with a total consumption of 19.8 kWh/100 km, 396 kilometers traveled and an average of 93 km/h. The autonomy with a recharge , under these conditions, is of 455 kilometers, almost all motorway . Charging on the highway did not allow to empirically verify the theory, but the data returns, the reading via OBD shows that the State of Charge (SoC) is; correct and that therefore the kilometers that can be traveled are effective at those speeds; and in real traffic.

Obviously, if you go at 180 per hour in the empty BreBeMi at night you cannot expect to reach such autonomies. But if for you it is; the norm, there is always the classic E-Class (and a very high risk of fines).

HOW DO YOU GO, TEST ON THE ROAD

The thrust of the electric, on the EQE 350+, is; powerful and constant, but never brutal . With the AMG we will have very different performances, of course, but EQE 350+ & egrave; made not to detach too much from the driving style we are used to in terms of delivery. Shoot like an electric, but always sweet.

Although the slingshot effect is missing, however, you will not be the slow ones on the highway, useful when reactivity is needed; to avoid dangerous situations. In the city the four steering wheels work to make EQE look like a compact one , those who have never tried them cannot; understand the feeling of maneuverability; of a car with this technology, especially if 5 meters long like the sedan of the Germans.

The remaining driving sensations are the classic ones: the dynamics of EQE & egrave; that of a car certainly more addictive by EQS, flagship from great chauffeured journeys. Here I am more & ugrave; encouraged to look for performance and to let myself go to manual controls in mode & agrave; Sport, also because & eacute; the weight cut compared to the electric S-Class is felt.

In this setup, however, EQE is never extreme and does not want to be a fun sports car : its focus remains maximum comfort and performance on the go , with the advantage of a very low center of gravity which makes it more pleasant, but with the disadvantage of the important mass that is felt when trying to bend the laws of physics, even if the 4WS also help in dynamic driving for stability; and held in fast corners.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET MERCEDES EQE 350+

TECHNIQUE

  • MOTOR: permanent magnet synchronous electric
  • POWER: 215 kW (292 HP)
  • TORQUE: 565 Nm
  • DRIVE: rear
  • SUSPENSION: front four-link, rear multi-link


DIMENSIONS

  • LENGTH 4,946 mm
  • WIDTH: 1,961 mm
  • HEIGHT: 1,510 mm
  • PITCH 3,120 mm
  • BOOT: 430 liters
  • RIMS: 20 & quot ;, tires 245/40 R20
  • WEIGHT: 2355 Kg (empty, without driver)
  • BATTERY: 90.56 kWh (328.5 V)


PERFORMANCE

  • SPEED & Agrave; MAXIMUM: 210 km/h
  • ACCELERATION 0-100 Km/h: 6.4 seconds
  • AUTONOMY: 567-654 km (WLTP)
  • CONSUMPTION: 18.7-15.9 l/100 km (WLTP)
  • CO2 EMISSIONS: 0 grams per km
  • DC CHARGING: 170 kW (32 minutes 10-80%)
  • AC CHARGING: 11 kW (22 kW optional) for 8.25 hours (4.25 hours)

PRICE: from 93.000 & euro;

PRICE prices Mercedes EQE 350+ Launch Edition you can & ograve; have starting from 93.0017.01 euros . The MBUX system is standard but not in the Hyperscreen variant which must be requested separately. This model is however complete as it offers a particularly wide range of equipment. We find, for example, 20-inch black wheels, 4-zone climate, ambient lights, keyless, reality; increased, wireless smartphone charging and much more.

On the ADAS front, the Launch Edition offers 360-degree camera, parking assist, adaptive cruise, active steering that centers the car and changes lanes with the arrow, braking d & rsquo; emergency and much more. Apart from that, for example, you pay for the panoramic sunroof, heated windscreen, towbar with stabilized ESP, massage seats and air-conditioned front seats.

And if you want the AMG version you have to be prepared to shell out at least 116.142 euros in the Premium version. If you aim for the Premium Plus you will need & agrave; add an additional 3,288 euros.

ONLINE CONFIGURATOR

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