Base Camp: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 4Matic Sedan

Mercedes-Benz is well on its way to stuffing its showrooms full of all-electric vehicles from each vehicle segment, now home to SUVs of several sizes plus a couple of sedans. The subject of this week’s Base Camp is the latter – and we’ll go on record as saying it’s pleasant to see car makers continuing to produce this body style instead of being blindly laser-focused on crossovers and SUVs.

The EQE is Merc’s midsize all-electric sedan, mashing the brand’s “EQ” nomenclature with the familiar “E” from the long-running gasoline-powered E-Class sedan. Hey, at least it gives customers a known anchor point on which to find their footing. A trio of trims are on offer in Canada, starting with the $85,600 EQE 350 4Matic. To put this vehicle in perspective, its size straddles the gulf between Tesla’s compact Model 3 and larger Model S. There are a host of paint colours available, including the tasty Patagonia Red shown above.

Canadian customers will find all-wheel drive on every new EQE sedan, which is not the case in many other markets. Its electric motors are good for 288 horsepower and 564 lb.-ft of torque, while its 90-kWh battery has an estimated range of just over 400 kilometres on a full charge. When it’s time to replenish those electrons, the EQE should be able to hoover up electricity from a 170kW Level 3 fast charger with sufficient vigor to juice the thing from 10 to 100% in about half an hour.



In its Exclusive trim, the EQE 350 comes standard with MB-Tex upholstery, a material which looks and feels much like real leather but historically has been so durable that it’s likely to outlive the car itself. A 12.3-inch instrument cluster serves up key information to the driver while a separate 12.8-inch OLED media display in the centre stack serves as party central for infotainment and ventilation controls. It is also host to wild and wonderful animations about the car’s power delivery and 4Matic all-wheel drive operation.

What We'd Choose

As with nearly all Mercedes-Benz vehicles, trim levels and option packages can quickly swell the EQE’s price tag faster than you can say auf wiedersehen to your bank balance. Stepping up to the EQE 500, with 402 horses and 633 lb.-ft of electric twist is nearly a $10,000 proposition – we’re not sure $87.50 per pony is a sensible spend of cash.

Sticking with the EQE 350, moving from the Exclusive to Pinnacle trim is approximately half that premium but does bring a host of excellent features such as a heads-up display, quad-zone climate control, and Mercedes’ trick interior ambient lighting system. It’s the latter which is most tempting, since it turns the cabin into an event of illumination, responding to changes in ventilation temperature and even subtle beats of music – yet manages to do so in a way that isn’t devastatingly distracting. For this author, selecting that trim on the EQE 350 is an easy choice.

Every week, wheels.ca selects a new vehicle and takes a good look at its entry-level trim. If we find it worthy of your consideration, we'll let you know. If not, we'll recommend one - or the required options - which earns a passing grade.