There’s a synergy in the working arrangement between Mercedes-Benz and its AMG subsidiary. The former focuses on core model development for widespread appeal, while the latter is tasked with extracting maximum performance from the platform for discerning customers seeking a heightened visceral experience.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV, however, tosses a tiny yet highly conductive virtual spanner into that symbiotic groove. Based on the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, the AMG variant offers more—and not just in terms of performance. It’s better in almost every regard, leaving the standard-issue MB EQE EVs feeling a bit wanting, not to mention making the otherwise lovely Mercedes-AMG GLE-class, its internal-combustion analog, feel a bit like aging ordnance in a world of laser-guided missiles

The plug-and-play componentry and infinitely tweakable software native to electric vehicles provide new and alternative avenues for the intrepid AMG engineers to exploit. In the case of the AMG EQE, you get access to massive torque at any speed, an electronically limited 149-mph top end, and a refined blend of handling and comfort, all with few of the concessions required by ICE vehicle development to achieve the same parameters. Not that we’re saying it’s easy. AMG built its rogue-in-a-tailored-suit identity on a trademark husky exhaust note and a certain menacing presence, and those elements don’t readily translate to this electric SUV.

AMG EQE SUV adds more power

Naturally, the AMG EQE SUV begins with a power infusion. A pair of AMG-specific electric motors, one at each axle, bring an output of 617 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque. That’s an increase of 215 horsepower and 68 pound-feet over the dual-motor setup that powers the Mercedes-Benz EQE500 SUV. Battery capacity is unchanged from the 90.6-kWh lithium-ion unit in the standard Benz. (The base EQE is also available as the single-motor 350+ and dual-motor EQE350 4Matic.) The AMG EQE can charge at rates up to 170 kilowatts on a DC fast-charger, enough to add 100 miles in 15 minutes, according to Mercedes. A/C home and public charging via the built-in charger is limited to 9.6 kilowatts.

True to AMG form, there is a user-selected launch mode. Dubbed Race Start, it can be deployed whether you buy the optional AMG Dynamic Plus package or not, but if you do make the extra spend you’ll get an added boost function. The former performs the familiar launch with all systems primed for a clean, neck-snapping getaway; try the same antics with the Dynamic Plus boost mode engaged, and it temporarily ups the output to the maximum 677 ponies and 738 pound-feet of torque. The car steps off with the same authority but adds just enough extra push to extend the list of physiological-based acceleration clichés to include your choice of internal organs.

AMG claims a 60-mph romp of 3.4 seconds in this setting, and based on C/D experience, we think our testing will reveal it’s roughly two- to three-tenths quicker. That puts it in league with a fellow EV SUV extrovert, the BMW iX M60, while leaving the Audi SQ8 e-tron in the figurative dust—on paper, at least. It can also hang with its EQE53 sedan sibling and the Audi RS E-Tron GT.

Heat is the buzzkill here, so the fortified EQE SUV employs some AMG-specific cooling sorcery to withstand the heat generated by repeated stand-on-it launches. The rear motor features a “water lance,” which, despite sounding like the name of a competition-grade kayak paddle, is a hollow shaft in the motor’s rotor where coolant circulates. Other AMG-specific elements designed to dispatch heat include specific ribs on the stator and a “needle-shaped pin-fin structure” on the inverter, which is constructed of specialized performance ceramics. A transmission-oil heat exchanger manages thermal activity to cool under duress and preheat components during cold starts for improved efficiency.