Mercedes AMG EQE SUV is powerful letter-salad

It will come as no surprise to those who understand the significance of the AMG badge on a Mercedes-Benz vehicle that my recent AMG tester was much more powerful and performance-oriented than its non-AMG siblings. The question in my mind is, how do you get a midsize electric crossover to land below $130K?

While many manufacturers today have particular naming conventions for their vehicles, especially when differentiating them from gas and electric variants, nobody knows how to conjure up a letter salad like Mercedes. Case in point: my tester, the 2024 AMG EQE SUV. Sure, it’s a mouthful, but every bite is tasty – every bite is expensive – and when you are done, there’s no room for dessert.

Electric vehicles are not for everyone, though luxury clients seem to be intrigued, and performance-minded customers are instinctively drawn to the neck-snapping torque ratings. However, the masses cannot afford six-digit SUVs, no matter how many trips it saves them at the pumps, so that leaves a skinny slice of the pie to divvy up at this luxury EV SUV level.

Picking out the AMG EQE SUV will take more effort than previous AMGs. The front grille is unique with its vertical chrome strips and the wheels exhibit an AMG-exclusive Y-spoke design.

Luxury cabin

As you might expect, the cabin is a glorious mixture of upscale materials from leather and wood to carbon-fiber textures. My tester added a dozen additional luxury features from a built-in dashcam ($200) and a supple black micro-fiber headliner ($1,600) to a $3,300 Pinnacle Trim package featuring a head-up display and ambient light.

Possibly the most unique design element of the cabin is the Hyperscreen digital dash that combines a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with a 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3-inch passenger touchscreen as part of a running 56-inch pane of glass. It is incredibly engaging and intuitive to operate.

Performance

The EQE SUV’s two electric motors, which deliver 617 horsepower and 701 lb-ft of torque, get their power from a standard 90.6-kwh battery pack. Mercedes says the increase in power is thanks to enhanced motor windings, laminations, currents and inverters that allow for the electric motors to run at higher speeds.

Mercedes says the AMG EQE SUV is capable of 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph with the AMG Dynamic Plus Package ($4,000). The $4K extra is worth it if you want your Mercedes SUV to jump to attention with a power boost of 677 hp and 738 lb-ft.

The extra power is only available when using Race Start mode. Comfort mode gives you 80% of the power (493 hp), and Sport ups power output to 90% (555 hp). The system needs to be switched to Sport+ mode to get the full 617 hp.

On paper, it is pretty impressive. For someone who drives a lot of EVs, I will say it’s really about average when it’s on the pavement. It is hard to describe jumping to such high speeds with only the sound of a slight whine from the motors, the hum of the low-friction treads, and wind across the bow.

I don’t typically spend a lot of time talking about braking systems, but AMG models make a point of it. The faster you go – the more the brakes matter. Bring in the EV equation and it matters even more.

The AMG EQE SUV features upgraded 6-piston front calipers with 16.3-inch rotors and single-piston rear calipers with 14.9-inch rotors. My tester “went to 11″ with 17.3-inch carbon-ceramic rotors up front ($5,450). This AMG has stopping power!

As with other EVs, the regenerative braking system is a big part of the energy efficiency. I hated the two-stage regen braking system. I never got used to the two stages of suddenly slowing down and then feathering the brake automatically as it engaged the regen mode.

The AMG EQE SUV weighs in at 5,930 pounds but handles like a lightweight wagon. I experienced very little body roll in hard turns thanks to standard active anti-roll bars. The standard AMG Michelin Pilot Sport EV MO1 tires were 21-inch front and 22-inch rear wheels. They grip the pavement as well as anything out there that is not an EV.

The AMG EQE SUV has a starting price of $110,450. My tester added a lot of upgrades to make it AMG-performance and passenger-worthy, which pushed it to a final $130,850. While it is a Mercedes AMG, the ruling on the performance aspects of an EV-AMG is still out. I think it’s a lot of dough for an AMG that’s not better, just different, than its gas-powered sibling.

• John Stein is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. He has more than 25 years of experience driving, testing, and writing about the automotive industry, its latest innovations, and new vehicles.