Having driven the car over a 48 hour test drive, I know that I would love to have this in my fleet.  It is a very comfortable place to travel, whether that is as the driver, or as a passenger

On the Road

When we picked the car up, we set off on a trip to the seaside, on a whim.  S much so, that we changed our minds as to which beach we were headed to.  First it was Lepe Beach, on the Solent, then it was Stokes Bay Beach near Gosport and finally we decided on Highcliffe Beach in the New Forest.  Fortunately, this didn't involve any turning back, as these decisions were made whilst still on the M3 southbound.

The car drove impeccably, even through the first part of the journey which involved the roadworks impacting Brighton Hill roundabout and the A30 going out of the town.  Once on the motorway, it soaked up the miles with ease and we swept along as swift as the traffic conditions would allow.  The cruise control worked well, although the steering wheel controls were quite small and I did find myself occasionally pushing the wrong set of buttons, cancelling the Sat Nav on one occasion when I'd intended to knock 10 mph off the speed.

We turned off the motorway as we approached the New Forest, partly because I couldn't get Apple CarPlay to work.  I stopped in a little car park at Cadnam Cricket Ground and tried to find CarPlay in the car's menu systems.  I failed.  I had the iPhone plugged into a USB port near the cup holders, but there was nothing.  I gave up and decided to continue to rely on the built in Sat Nav, something we continued to do throughout the time with the car.

Setting off again, we drove to Lyndhurst, around the one way system and on to the A35 towards Christchurch.  I nearly ignored the Sat Nav and turned onto Furzy Lawn Lane, in order to avoid the traffic chaos of driving through Lyndhurst, but, stupidly, didn't.  The traffic going through the picturesque New Forest town, on a sunny bank holiday, was as bad as I have ever seen it.

However, the car made it seem almost irrelevant.  We sat in extreme comfort and Gai, my girlfriend, set about checking out features in the car, in between cooing at the New Forest Ponies.  She opened up the sunroof and this stayed open until we picked up speed again on the A35.

Whether we were slowly moving through the traffic, or pushing on along the faster sweeping bends, the Mercedes performed superbly.  When you push the accelerator hard, the car moves quickly, but not in the jerky aggressive manner I've been used to in some fast electric cars.  The rise in speed was far more serene.  I was possible to push on without giving the passengers the sense that you were driving quickly.

Trying to get into a space in a busy seaside carpark is aided by cameras and all round sensors; not just front and back, but literally all around the car.  Very helpful, both here and when squeezing the EQE into my parking space at home later that day.

During my time with the car, I drove across many poor road surfaces, as we all do in this pot hole infested nation, and the car was never unsettled.  Where my other cars would feel harsh over the bumps and uneven surfaces, the Mercedes just moved serenely; truly a very comfortable drive.

Range and Charging

The stated range of the EQE 350+ Premium that I was driving is 382 miles.  When I mentioned this to someone, their response was to say that I wouldn't get 300 from it.  However, my first drive i the car was about 120 miles and, when I arrived home, it still had 200 miles showing on the range predictor.  In fact, the car has two range predictions.  The first shows what range you should expect if you continue driving as yo have been, with the same settings in the car, including the air conditioning.  This is the one that showed a range of 200 miles left.  The second shows what you could achieve if you switched off the air conditioning and this predicted a range of almost 230 miles.

Considering I had been doing an occasional acceleration test and had not been driving, at any stage, with economy in mind, I'm pretty sure it would be easy to get 350 miles range.  If you actually focussed on driving carefully, with efficiency as the main drive, I'd hazard a guess that it would be possible to push on towards 400.

I didn't have a need to charge on the journeys, relying purely on home charging.  However, if I had needed to charge at a public rapid charger, the EQE can charge at a rate of 173kW, or, according the figures from EV Database, about 485mph.  So, a 20 minute comfort break should enable another 160+ miles of range to be added.

The Interior

The Premium package I drove had fabulously comfortable seats that could be adjusted in many ways with simple controls on the door.  Both front seats had three memory positions too.  The front seats were heated, but not ventilated.  I did actually ask about ventilated seats and was advised that this wasn't an option that could be added.  I will check this though, as I spotted 'climate seats' being listed as a feature of the Exclusive Luxury trim.

The passengers I took to a family lunch on the Sunday were wowed by the interior of the EQE, mentioning the quality and the impressive large central screen amongst many things they liked.  As we arrived at the restaurant, they confirmed the car was supremely comfortable, but did complain about cold feet.  I pointed out that they had separate controls in the rear, that not only allowed them to choose their own temperatures, but also where the direction of air flow went.  The return journey was more comfortable for them.