Hyundai IONIQ 6 N vs Mercedes-Benz EQE

The Mercedes-Benz EQE costs £3,565 more than the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N. For that premium it adds 120 miles more WLTP range and 59 litres more boot space. The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is not just cheaper - it also offers 180 kW faster peak rapid charging, 243 kW more power and a 6.6s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Mercedes-Benz EQE comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is £3,565 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £176 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N comes out roughly £3,485 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 252 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N and 281 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQE - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Mercedes-Benz EQE goes roughly 29 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 18 minutes in the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N and 32 in the Mercedes-Benz EQE, so the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N loses less time at each stop. So the Mercedes-Benz EQE stops less often while the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 21 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 460 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N and about 439 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQE. The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz EQE. That gives the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.