Are the differences only in the centimeters or is there more?
In the Mercedes range, the S-class is clearly higher in the pecking order than the E-class, which you can see from a distance. With their electric counterparts, the EQE and EQS, the differences seem smaller. Is it optical illusion as a result of an extensive corporate identity or are the differences really minimal? How do the EQE and the EQS relate to each other?
How can you tell the EQE and the EQS apart?
The external similarities of the Mercedes EQE and EQS are great, very great in fact. In any case, we must do our best to see whether an EQE or an EQS is passing by. While we can see the difference between an S-class and an E-class at a glance – despite the extensive corporate identity – we are a lot less likely to do so with the electric counterparts. Are there any differences at all? And if so, what are they in? When we put them next to each other, it is noticeable that the headlights at the bottom have a slightly different shape and that the EQS lights are optically connected to each other by means of an LED strip that the EQE does not have.
Isn’t the EQE just a shortened EQS?
The EQE and EQS are based on the same scalable platform architecture EVA (Electric Vehicle Architecture, Mercedes’ construction system for the larger electric models). Thanks to the flexibility that this construction system offers, the EQS naturally turns out to be the larger of the two, as expected. At least in terms of length (+ 27 cm) and wheelbase (+ 9 cm), because the cars are exactly the same width. However, the EQE is definitely not the SWB version of the EQS. The latter is a five-door hatchback, or better said with its large tailgate, a liftback, while the EQE is a four-door sedan.
How big is the financial gap between the basic versions?
Initially, the EQS price list started at €89,903 for the EQS 350, but with the arrival of the EQE, that ‘entry level’ disappeared. The price list of the EQS now starts with the €109,090 450+ Business Line, while from €71,348 you have an EQE 300 Business Line (like our endurance test car). There is almost 40 grand in difference, but also a significant difference in performance and equipment. However, the similarities are great. When we get in, we don’t immediately see any major differences. Both cars have the standard dashboard with separate instruments and a separate multimedia screen (the car-wide Hyperscreen is an option in both cars). All buttons are in the same place and in both cars the MBUX infotainment system can be operated in exactly the same simple way, with the same functionality if desired. Whether it is a suggestion or not (after all, the EQS is higher in the pecking order), we do have the feeling that the EQS is just a little bit neater finished. It doesn’t make much difference, but it’s as if everything we handle feels a fraction better.
Is air suspension really necessary?
When we take a look at the wheel arches, we see an above-average number of similarities. The suspension seems almost identical. Both cars have a multi-link construction at the rear and double triangular wishbones at the front. However, we also see an important difference: the suspension. The EQS has air suspension as standard, while the basic EQE has coil springs. We also see that the rear wheels of the EQS can steer and those of the EQE cannot. For those who appreciate this, the EQE is also available with air suspension and rear axle steering. Yes, the options list is long, but is that necessary? After more than a century of building cars, doesn’t Mercedes know better than anyone else how a car should drive? That is completely true, but where in the past we had the idea that the tuning of a wheel suspension with steel springs more or less corresponded to the normal driving mode of an air-suspended chassis, we now see it slightly differently. Granted, it may be about nuances, but at the level these cars are at, that’s what matters. Due to the large vehicle mass (after all, there is a heavy battery pack on board), the steel springs of the EQE have difficulty with bumps and ridges in the road surface at lower speeds. Only when the pace increases does the car seem to become better balanced. With the air-suspended EQS, everything is fine from the moment we drive away. The EQS seems to float over the asphalt like a large comfort bubble. The impact of bumps and lumps is kept to an absolute minimum. Regardless of the suspension system, the handling of both cars is extremely stable and confidence-inspiring. Not for a moment do we have the feeling that the cars do not want to follow the course we dictate.
Can you make an EQE drive like an EQS?
The EQS 450+ has 333 hp, allowing you to sprint from a standstill to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. According to WLTP, you can travel up to 762 km on a full battery. The EQE that comes closest in terms of range is the 350+ Longe Range with 292 hp, which completes the sprint in 6.4 seconds and has a WLTP range of 671 km. However, in terms of equipment, that car cannot be brought to the same level as the EQS. The 350 Luxury Line is. You then also have 292 hp, but a range of ‘only’ 607 km. If you equip the EQE 350 Luxury Line with, among other things, air suspension, four-wheel steering and a premium pack (mandatory for 4WS) up to the level of the EQS, the price difference is ‘only’ €13,000. From previous experiences with air-suspended EQEs, we know that the suspension comfort is in any case neatly in line with that of the EQS.
Can you turn the Mercedes EQE into an EQS SWB?
Because you can order almost everything that the EQS comes with as standard more than the EQE with the EQE – either separately or in a package – you can reduce the gap between the two cars a lot. It just doesn’t change the dimensions of the cars. The EQS keeps the longer wheelbase and therefore more legroom for the rear passengers. Although you won’t be short of anything in the back of the EQE, more centimeters is always better. There must be a difference.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl