Audi Q8 e-tron vs. Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV – Double test

Size larger than EQC

The range of electric Mercedes is steadily expanding in all directions. From now on there is also an SUV variant of the EQE, just like the large EQS. This is the fourth model on Mercedes’ EVA platform for larger electric cars. It is just a size larger than the EQC, which was removed from the range after barely four years. Can that all-new EQE SUV compete with the recently refreshed Audi Q8 e-tron? That Audi – which was then simply called E-Tron – was the first German answer to Tesla five years ago.

Mercedes is considerably more expensive

With a new grille, a restyled logo and newly arranged headlight units with Digital Matrix LEDs (for extra functionality), the changes to the Q8 e-tron seem minimal. The big news is mainly under the skin: with more potent engines and more battery capacity, electrical engineering has undergone a major overhaul. This means that the Audi is again neatly in line with the new SUV from Mercedes. Here you see the Audi as Q8 50 e-tron quattro, the new basic version, next to the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 350 4Matic, the lightest motorized variant with all-wheel drive.
According to the dry figures, the Mercedes and the Audi are quite evenly matched. Although the cards are slightly different when we look at the price list; the EQE SUV is considerably more expensive than the Q8 e-tron with comparable drive technology. Are you therefore a thief of your own wallet with the Mercedes or are you perhaps selling yourself short with the Audi?

Audi is significantly further after facelift

Audi gives you the choice of three power variants: in addition to the 50 quattro (340 hp) in this test, there is the 55 quattro with 408 hp and the 503 hp S quattro. With the EQE SUV, the range currently varies in five steps from the rear-wheel drive 350+ (292 hp) to the 625 hp AMG 53 4Matic with four-wheel drive. When all that gets too crazy, don’t panic: another 300+ will appear at a later stage and then you have to make do with 245 hp. It is also remarkable that the 350+ with its one electric motor delivers as much power (292 hp) as the 350 4Matic in this test, which has a second electric motor between the front wheels, which makes it a four-wheel drive vehicle. Is the battery the limiting factor here? Not at all, because the 500 4Matic and the AMG 43 and AMG 53 are also equipped with the battery with a net capacity of 90.6 kWh. Although the 350 4Matic weighs two and a half tons, 292 hp and 765 Nm are definitely enough. We move through traffic with above-average smoothness.
The combined power of the engines in the Q8 e-tron 50 quattro has increased from 313 hp to 340 hp and the maximum torque goes from 540 Nm to 664 Nm. This results in a smoother response to the power pedal than the Mercedes and a more powerful push forward. Even more important in our view is the increased net battery capacity in the Audi, which has risen from 64.7 kWh to 89 kWh. This results in a WLTP range that increases from 336 km to a maximum of 491 km. A significant increase. For the car as we have it in the test, the RDW has a range of 466 km, which is still neat. Even if that is a lot rosier than what we note in practice: we arrive at a range of 356 km. That is not exactly earth-shattering, although it is considerably further than the paltry 247 km that we noted at the time with the prefacelift version.

The Mercedes is more economical

With 90.6 kWh, the net battery capacity of the Mercedes is slightly larger than that of the Audi. However, on a full battery we get significantly further with the EQE SUV than with the Q8 e-tron: extrapolated we get no less than 438 km from the Mercedes battery. That saves a big sip on a drink. The Mercedes engines not only use their energy more efficiently, other resistances in the EQE SUV are also much lower. What we have extracted from the charging station against the number of kilometers driven teaches us that the Mercedes is simply more economical. Both cars charge on the standard AC charger with 11 kW. Audi also offers a 22 kW charger at an additional cost (€2,009), with the EQE SUV that option is only available for the more potent models. On the fast charger, the Mercedes peaks at 170 kW and the Audi takes it a little easier with a maximum of 150 kW.

How is the chassis?

In this comparison, both cars are equipped with air suspension. Audi gives no other choice while it is an option at Mercedes. In our opinion, you should not unquestioningly tick that option with the EQE SUV, and then we are not even talking about the €2,117 you save with it. More about that. Under the Q8 e-tron, the air suspension provides a nicely balanced whole, unnecessary movements are strange to the Audi bodywork. In the comfort position, it absorbs bumps in the road surface neatly. In the dynamic mode, the whole is a bit tighter, but comfort continues to prevail. Even with the EQE SUV, the emphasis is on comfort in all driving modes. But it fails to really please us. There is too much movement in the carriage, both longitudinally and transversely there is constant unrest, in our opinion the car sways too much after bumps and bumps. From previous experience with a model with a conventional chassis, we know that you are better off with the steel coil springs, then the Mercedes is suddenly neatly balanced. It does not alter the fact that the Mercedes is very stable on the road. Even when you quickly enter a corner, you do not get the feeling that the EQE SUV is letting you down. With its larger battery pack in the belly, the Audi is also not a featherweight. According to the license plate, the Q8 e-tron even weighs 5 kg more than the EQE SUV, but it does come across as a bit more nimble than the somewhat more distant Mercedes.

What about space?

Several car manufacturers use an SUV carriage for their EVs out of necessity. In a high car it is easier to store the battery pack in the bottom, without getting into trouble with headroom. So Audi came up with the E-Tron five years ago. Put simply, the first EV from the Ingolstadters is nothing more than an electrified brother of the Q5 and Q7. Both Mercedes and Audi have now shown that there is no longer a need to put an EV on its feet per se. At Audi they have the low RS E-Tron GT and Mercedes has the regular EQE, among other things. The existence of the EQE SUV is therefore more a diversification of the model range. And it is not entirely coincidental that this Mercedes comes from America, where the public prefers SUVs to low stuff. But American roots or not, the Mercedes is slightly more compact inside than the Audi manufactured in Belgium. In the front you have plenty of space in both cars and the Mercedes seats give just a little more support than those of the Audio. In the back seat you can endure it well in both, only when you are taller than average do you come into contact with the headliner in the back of the Mercedes earlier than in the back of the Audi. The Q8 e-tron is also more generous for luggage: in the Audi you can store 569 liters under the cover, compared to 520 liters in the Mercedes. In addition, the Audi has a frunk in which you can store your charging cable, neatly separated from the rest of your stuff. We do not understand that the EQE SUV does not have a compartment in the front. In principle, you cannot open the Mercedes hood, but when you do manage to open it, you will see enough space there to create a storage compartment for dirty and/or wet charging cables. Perhaps something for an interim model update?

Mercedes interior exudes more grandeur

The design of the Audi interior has hardly changed, mainly due to nuances in the color palette in which gray predominates. Together with the clean lines, this creates a business-like whole. It also shows how fast interior design has progressed in recent years. Where nowadays a large central multimedia screen dominates the dashboard, the Q8 e-tron has two more compact displays above each other. The advantage of this arrangement is that the control of the air conditioning is always visible in the lower of the two, so that you do not have to miss any other information when adjusting the temperature in the upper one. In addition to Mercedes’ MBUX system, the Audi system is now a bit dated. But there is still little wrong with both the speed and the logic with which you can operate it. With the E-Tron, Audi tried to send the wing mirrors to the history books, but they didn’t succeed. The cameras with screens in the doors turned out not to deliver what was expected of them in practice. In fact, we have received reports that many E-Tron drivers have the camera system replaced by the conventional exterior mirrors afterwards. Which does not prevent Audi from still offering the camera option.
The design of the Mercedes interior exudes more grandeur. And then we ‘only’ have the variant with the standard dashboard and not the Hyperscreen, which stretches across the full width of the car. The ‘human-machine interface’ with the equally good yet quite large touchscreen works above average pleasantly. In this area, Mercedes is way ahead of the pack and that is also supplemented with the best voice control that we currently know. Very nice is the navigation with augmented reality. What about the traffic light assistant? As a result, you no longer have to bend over to see if it turns green. The materials used also leave a higher-quality impression than with the Audi, and to think that we have seen it better with Mercedes. We have no idea whether the latter is because this car comes from the US and not from Germany, but that should not matter with such a global concern.

Serious hole

With its range of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), the Audi is still up to date. Much is standard and more is always possible. Nevertheless, the Q8 e-tron has to recognize its superiority in the EQE SUV in this area. At Mercedes, not everything is standard either, but it is all just a little more beautifully crystallized. Even more than the Audi, the Mercedes ADAS act as a natural extension of your senses. And that (unconsciously and perhaps not even rightly so) gives just a little more confidence in the systems that we have not tested, but that you hope will keep you out of trouble as an electronic safety net in case of an emergency. It just all has its price. Where you already have the Q8 e-tron 50 from €71,385, the EQE SUV 350 4Matic has a starting price of 99,089. There is a serious gap in between, and with only rear-wheel drive, the EQE SUV is only available from €91,950. Until recently, we could have pointed out the EQC for an electric Mercedes SUV of around 70 grand, but it is out of production. You may find a stock car here or there, and otherwise you will have to rely on the low EQE in that price range and Audi has no direct answer to that.