First report: The brand new addition to our fleet impressed us with its efficiency, vary and refinement in its first freeway outing.
It was a kind of excellent drives, a uncommon window of relative vacancy on India’s busiest freeway. A mid-morning sprint to the BU Bhandari showroom for the launch of the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 was the simplest Mumbai-Pune journey I’ve achieved in a very long time. Making the drive notably stress-free was the brand new addition to Autocar India’s fleet, the all-electric Mercedes EQE SUV, which obtained its first freeway outing.
It took simply two hours and 6 minutes within the ultra-smooth (and fast) EQE SUV to go from the Autocar HQ to the BU Bhandari Showroom on the Pune bypass. That is lower than what many workplace of us take to get house on a typical working day in Mumbai. It does assist that the AtalSetu has introduced our workplace nearer to the sting of Mumbai, and a ten:15am departure was a candy spot (or time). The early-morning freeway rush was over, the toll plazas had no lengthy queues, and even the Lonavala Ghat, which is choked a lot of the day (and night time) on Google Maps, was surprisingly ‘blue’. Site visitors flowed with out holdups, even on the steepest sections the place vans in any other case block all lanes whereas attempting to ‘overtake’ at a crawl.
Sturdy and {smooth} powertrain effortlessly gobbles miles.
The Atal Setu is all the time an amazing place to check out the ADAS system on any automobile. The vast and completely marked lanes and the light curves on this 21km sea bridge had been excellent for testing the EQE SUV‘s ‘Degree 2’ ADAS functionality. That meant letting the Adaptive Cruise Management (ACC), which I’ve set at 99kph (just under the 100kph pace restrict), and the Lane Hold Help do the work whereas I sat again and relaxed with only a mild hand on the wheel, having fun with the harbour’s breathtaking views.
The Lane Hold Help labored brilliantly, retaining the massive Merc centered properly within the quick lane. When altering lanes, I used to be impressed with how the ACC reacted easily. Once you sign and shift into the overtaking lane, the ACC offers robust and linear acceleration with out abrupt energy surges to match the brand new lane’s pace.
Lively Brake Help prompts on the slightest trace of an impediment.
Whereas the ADAS within the Mercedes EQE SUV is very superior, it has some limitations, particularly when coping with erratic drivers who slice throughout lanes prefer it’s a traditional factor to do. If some fool abruptly cuts into your lane from a pointy angle, the ADAS can wrestle to react promptly. This isn’t the case with simply the EQE SUV – no ADAS is totally able to dealing with such unpredictable occasions, which is a reminder of why the tech can solely help and never change the driving force.
Mercedes’ Lively Brake Help, whereas an amazing security characteristic on paper, can turn into a nuisance – and even a possible hazard – in Mumbai’s chaotic site visitors. Designed for managed environments, it does not fairly account for the unpredictability of pedestrians darting throughout roads or scooters weaving by way of tight gaps. The system usually triggers unnecessarily, slamming on the brakes on the slightest trace of an impediment. In such congested situations, this overly delicate response might be extra harmful than useful. These fierce and abrupt stops are vastly unnerving for the passengers and will catch a driver behind you off guard, rising the chance of rear-end collisions. It is best to change the Brake Help off, which it’s important to do each time you begin the automobile.
The monsoons have made mincemeat of the Nhava Sheva highway, which connects the Atal Bridge to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and on such surfaces, the EQE SUV is out of its consolation zone. To be sincere, it does not fairly reside as much as its SUV credentials and is not snug dropping out and in of potholes like its IC engine brethren. That is as a result of the softly sprung EQE SUV makes use of up its suspension journey fairly simply, and deep ruts and craters crash by way of. Actually, it is best to make use of ‘Sport’ drive mode because the default setting. The suspension feels overly mushy in Consolation and Regular modes, which is ok if you end up crawling in rush hour, however up the tempo a bit on even a barely {smooth} highway, and you will find the EQE SUV tends to wallow and really feel floaty. In Sport mode, the suspension tightens properly to present a extra settled experience, which is what you need on the freeway.
Wallows at pace due to mushy suspension.
Two areas the place the EQE SUV stands out are efficiency and vary, and each are interlinked as a result of, with nice vary, you may benefit from the efficiency with out maintaining a tally of the SOC meter.
Plant your foot down, and this massive and heavy SUV lunges ahead with an depth that may take you again however in a really pleasing approach. The EQE SUV gathers with velvet smoothness, and earlier than you realize it, you’ve got sailed previous the pace restrict. On the Mumbai-Pune expressway, which is now infested with pace cameras, it’s exhausting to not get a dashing ticket. To remain out of bother, I restrict my indulgence to quick jabs of the accelerator pedal simply to get pleasure from all of the 408hp and 858Nm of torque that places most IC engine SUVs to disgrace.
I averaged 66kph on the 140km drive to BU Bhandari, which is fairly good for those who contemplate that this included gradual, non-expressway sections. Not that the expressway raises your common pace dramatically as a result of with so many cameras gazing you, I am compelled to point out a number of restraint! With 332km vary left, I did not want to make use of the Pune Mercedes sellers’ on-site 180kW quick charger, however it’s good to know that it is there and that the dealership is completely happy to let non-Merc house owners plug in as effectively. Situated simply off the Pune bypass, it is an extremely handy place for EVs on a long-distance journey to Mahabaleshwar or past to shortly high up their batteries.
Phenomenal vary eliminates vary nervousness.
The return journey was equally uneventful. Utilizing the regen down the Lonavala Ghat, I may prolong the vary even additional, which, on this spherical journey, I calculated to be 504km. That could be a actually spectacular determine, contemplating how exhausting I used to be driving the EQE SUV. Actually, there was sufficient cost left within the battery (36 %) for me to make one other journey to Pune!
The opposite space the place the EQE SUV shines is refinement. The EQE SUV isn’t just quiet; it is like being inside a luxurious vault on wheels. The adaptive air suspension glides noiselessly over any floor, after which there’s the acoustic insulation, which Mercedes has completely nailed. Highway, tire and wind noises, even the electrical motor’s faint whir, are gone. The cabin is sort of a calm oasis, and that is what makes the EQE SUV particular. It’s luxurious in its most serene type.
Additionally see:
Mercedes EQE SUV vs Audi Q8 e tron vs BMW iX vs Jaguar I Tempo comparability video
Mercedes CLE evaluate: Breezy cruiser
New Mercedes-AMG C 63 SE Efficiency to launch on November 12
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Kanishk Singh has always had a keen interest in fast-paced cars. For the past three years, he has been writing about automobiles, but his fascination with cars dates back even further. He thoroughly enjoys learning about their features and expressing his thoughts through his writing. Kanishk also has a profound interest in the stock market, shares, and business strategies. He possesses a wealth of knowledge on these subjects and consistently writes articles on them. Currently, he is working as a writer for Lattestnews24, specifically focusing on the Automobile, Finance, and Business categories. His well-crafted words are highly appreciated by the readers, as they find them both informative and creative.