8/23/2023 0 Comments Mac all that glitters reviewAs with the Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance I drove recently, easing the pace a bit solved the issue, but it’s frustrating to be admonished in a sporty Benz for having some mostly innocent fun. The car would seemingly apply braking on one or two wheels in the middle of a corner – without illuminating any of the electronic nanny lights, mind you – then release them suddenly to remove any trust I had built in the suspension balance until that moment. Most frustratingly, the Mercedes seems to always be on the verge of full-panic stability control intervention in sporty driving, an issue I noticed when descending a twisty canyon road. There’s a workaround, and that’s to disengage electric regen altogether. And when you want to command more stopping power than the admittedly excellent predictive regeneration can serve up, your foot encounters a stiff, rubbery-feeling brake pedal, like there’s a racquetball stuck on the floorboard. As on most other Mercedes-EQ products, the pedal itself moves correspondingly to the amount of electrical regeneration that’s being served up, giving it an inconsistent feel. At 5,930 pounds, the electric AMG feels heavy and underdamped, with far too much wallowing in fast driving to inspire confidence behind the wheel. As is the case with so many of us, the problem may lie in excessive weight. The sporty EV is smooth and polished in relaxed driving, with a hushed cabin and compliant suspension when cruising down the freeway, as any good German luxury car should be.īut on the curvy, undulating roads east of Escondido, California, the Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV frequently introduced my backside to the bottom of its suspension travel, even with the air springs and adaptive dampers set to their stiffest settings. Unfortunately, the comparison also extends to the EQE SUV’s handling, which pales in comparison to the brilliant straight-line speed. With such prodigious thrust available in a relatively sedate-looking offering, it’s possible to consider the flagship EQE SUV a spiritual successor to the subtle, speedy 1995 E500 or 1999 E55 AMG. The thrust is addicting, and thanks to that sophisticated cooling system and winding layout, it can happen again and again if you want it to. All the more impressive is the ferocious, instantaneous lunge forward when you lift off the brake and let all 677 horses out of the corral – some EVs step off gently and then wallop you with power once underway, but the AMG launches like a slingshot. The sprint to 60 miles per hour is over in a Mercedes-estimated 3.4 seconds, a quick number by any account and faster than the manufacturer-claimed 3.7 seconds for the BMW iX M60 or the Audi SQ8 E-Tron's 4.5 seconds. But both front and rear units benefit from higher currents and adapted inverters to enable greater motor speed – and therefore more power. The rear axle’s motor, in particular, receives unique engineering via a six-phase design (two windings on each of three phases) and a pull-in phase on the stator for faster response. Underneath the tweaked design, the Mercedes is a much more exciting proposition than its conventional stablemates, starting with the model-specific electric motors that are mounted on each axle. That subtlety doesn’t mean the spirits of AMG founders Hans Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher have left the EV alone. Otherwise, this cabin shares much with its non-AMG sibling, though that’s no bad thing if you find its futurism appealing (which I do). But as on the exterior, the myriad details only avail themselves if you’re looking close. The Affalterbach crest appearing on the nose of the car is also embossed into the headrests, with petite AMG badges appearing on the seatbacks. Inside, the AMG EQE SUV (say that five times fast) gets a new steering wheel with a thicker rim and more aggressive spokes, and the seats get model-specific stitched accents – whether you choose the standard MB-Tex/microfiber upholstery or the optional Nappa leather of my tester.
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