Mercedes-Benz EQE review

Firstly, yes: you can have the MBUX Hyperscreen... for the princely sum of £7k. That's a lot of money, even for 55 inches of screenage.

As with the EQS, some may find the presence of the Hyperscreen a touch intimidating. Despite sitting up 65mm higher than in an E-Class, you feel ensconced by the cliff face of glass ahead of you. The effect is lessened with the standard interior.

So I should give the monster screen a miss?

We'd say so. Most EQEs will play host to the not-exactly teeny 12.8-inch touchscreen found in the S-Class, supplemented by a 12.3-inch driver info screen, which is no bad thing. It offers almost all the same functionality as the Hyperscreen, without transforming the car into a miniature Piccadilly Circus. Nor will passengers miss the display in front of them because they’ll be busy looking at their phone.

By not going for the Hyperscreen, standard EQEs are less of a fingerprint haven and you get the option of some pleasing wood veneers with intricate marquetry effects. It’s a warmer, more welcoming cabin for it. 

Okay, enough pixels. What else is good?

Aside from the obvious tech, the EQE continues to impress. Material quality isn’t obviously lowered from the EQS: a bit more ‘piano black’ plastic than the big S, but that’s about it. The leathers are soft, the wood tasteful, the metal mostly pleasing and the seats nicely shaped.

Is it practical?

Space up front for both people and their things is fine, but rear headroom is compromised by the roofline: you’re going to need the panoramic roof blind open at all times if adults are sitting back there. Seems a pity that this platform should offer superior packaging to an E-Class, but the demand for ultimate aerodynamic efficiency has carved into the EQE’s usefulness. Mercedes points out the EQE offers more shoulder and legroom than the current E-Class, but the perception of space is hampered by that roofline.

It’s also destroyed rear visibility. Lamborghinis have bigger rear windows. Yet another modern car that’s utterly dependent on cameras and sensors to be reversed safely, this. Although there are many, many cameras. A little live display will even pop up on the central screen to show you the traffic lights whilst you’re waiting at a red. Not sure why, though. Surely that’s what the windscreen is for?

Overall it’s still roomier in the back and far more practical than a Porsche Taycan or Audi e-tron GT, but a more direct competitor like the BMW i5 makes a far better fist of things here.

Oh, and while we’re talking about practicality – at least we were until we got sidetracked – it’s probably worth mentioning that boot space is 430 litres. Less than the i5. And less again than a contemporary E-Class.