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It doesn’t take much imagination to project that when we find a new way for family travel, chances are Mercedes Benz will be at the forefront. All it takes is a little time with the 2024 AMG EQE SUV, a futuristic vehicle suffering only from confusion about its name.

As Mercedes rolls out the newest generation of its vehicles, the midsize SUV for the E-Class was coming due. Too late to make it as a 2023, Mercedes simply got it ready and brought it out as an early 2024 model.

There is no confusion about its excellence, in every way from its appearance to its technology that bristles from its 21-inch wheels to its power panoramic roof, and including the color of the test vehicle — Twilight Blue Metallic. As a confirmed blue person, the chance to drive this jewel-like dark blue vehicle up the North Shore of Lake Superior on a blue-sky day with dazzling deep blue water as a backdrop, as about as close to automotive heaven as a road-tester could find.

As for the name, we know that AMG is the ancillary outfit that began life super-tuning stock Mercedes vehicles and turning them into high-dollar high-performers, and it did such a great job that Mercedes incorporated the hot-rodder into the parent company.

Nowadays you can get an AMG treatment on virtually any Mercedes sedan, sports car or SUV, even if some of them are mainly sporty trim features inside and out. On the AMG EQE, it is far more than that, with AMG upgrading virtually everything from the brake pedal to the shift mechanism to the adjustable suspension and to the motor. That’s right — if it’s an internal-combustion powerplant it is an “engine,” but if it is an electric power plant, it’s a “motor.”

We have witnessed the magic AMG works on gas engines, and now we get to discover what it can do with electric motors and battery packs. We also know, from recent test-drives of advanced hybrids and pure electric vehicles, that while you have to step on the gas and run the revs up in a gas-engine car to reach the horsepower peak, the maximum power peak with an electric motor is at 0 RPMs. So you have to pause when you learn that the AMG EQE has 617 horsepower and 701 foot-pounds of torque zapping you from 0 to whatever speed you choose in what seems like an instant.

Let’s just say that when you pull onto the Hwy. 61 interstate as dusk approaches, and you suddenly realize that there is a fast-approaching vehicle coming that is inadvertently invisible with no headlights on, you simply hit the accelerator and in an instant you’ve topped 70 miles per hour as the thoughtless driver gets swiftly smaller in your rear-view mirror.

Under that blue painted body, with its glassed-in front grille on the hood, you find a 9.6 KW AC charging system, and a 170 KW fast-charging system to send the battery power to all four wheels in the AMG 4Matic all-wheel-drive scheme.

For those reluctant to accept electric cars because of being ultra cautious, ultra conservative or just scared of the automotive future we all face, you might be relieved to learn that the AMG EQE has a 10-year, 155,000-mile warranty on the high-voltage battery. Plug it in to recharge and you can get it up to a conservatively estimated 258 miles of range on a full charge, but if you drive judiciously, and don’t go overboard with the air-conditioner and other optional devices, and downshift with the paddles to help regenerate the battery pack, you can get close to 300 miles.

Naturally, the price tag on such a rolling block of technology is staggering. The base price on the six-passenger vehicle is $109,300, but as-tested, it comes in at $130,850. That’s with all sorts of feature upgrades including a boost for track starts in the Dynamic package, the 21-inch wheels, all sorts of aerodynamic AMG touches, and the interior trim and a massive information screen that not only spans the whole center of the dashboard but can be turned on by the front seat passenger to display much of the information the driver is getting. It’s basically a Cinemascope dashboard in a small-screen world.

The braking system offers regeneration for the battery, and you can adjust it with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, and if the AWD system seems more precise and quick-reacting, it could be because the rear axle is built to angle its rear wheels 9 degrees opposite to the steering direction to enhance cornering.

Inside, you get a high-tech Burmester audio system with 3D surround sound. That could allow you to obscure your fascination with the adjustable interior and exterior sound of muted engine performance that is also programmed into the powertrain — presumably so you can be reminded to step on the accelerator gently because you’ve got over 600 horsepower at your command.

Back to the name, if the presence of AMG is understood, the rest of it comes from the base vehicle from which it evolved. The EQE tips you off that this vehicle is a spinoff of the E-Class midsize sedan. Deceptively simple. But whatever you call it, it works.