Being a top-spec AMG Line Premium Plus, it has all the bells and whistles, including a Burmester stereo, a panoramic glass roof, heated electric seats, adaptive air suspension, rear-wheel steering, digital headlights and Mercedes’ 11.4-inch touchscreen interface and fingerprint recognition.
But it also has 21-inch wheels that have a detrimental effect on range – 40 miles less than models on smaller wheels. The only optional extra is the no-cost Obsidian Black paintwork, but there are some big numbers to consider, namely the extraordinary £86,345 price tag and 2,535kg kerb weight.
We’ll think about those two figures in due course, but now it’s time to start getting under the skin of this new-generation car. Everything, including the car’s underlying packaging, aerodynamics, design and digital make-up are essentially new for Mercedes.
Which is why we’ve decided to start our time with it in a cradle of automotive innovation, the Brooklands Circuit. As well as being the home of Mercedes-Benz World, this was also one of the world’s first purpose-built race tracks. Brooklands represents a sense of innovation that Mercedes is so keen to channel into its new EVs.
From the Mercedes-Benz streamliners that were constantly on the verge of new land-speed records in the twenties and thirties, to the 300SL Gullwing of the mid-fifties, all represented quantum leaps forward in their fields, something the EQE is aiming to mirror. So the question is whether Mercedes has chosen the correct direction for its new electric luxury car.
