Side by side · 2027 model year

BMW i5vsMercedes-Benz EQE

328 mi EPA · 29 min 10–80%302 mi EPA · 33 min 10–80%
vs

The BMW i5 is rated 328 miles on the EPA test, the Mercedes-Benz EQE 302. A 10–80% stop takes 29 minutes in the BMW i5 and 33 in the Mercedes-Benz EQE. Every figure below names the version of the car it belongs to, and the three tools further down turn the same numbers into a charging race, a road trip and a yearly bill.

At a glance

BMW i5 · i5 eDrive40 Sedan (19 inch Wheels)

328mi EPA

29min 10–80%

$68,275from

Mercedes-Benz EQE · EQE 320 Plus (SUV)

302mi EPA

33min 10–80%

$64,950from

The short answer

The BMW i5 turns the same electricity into more miles.

1

The BMW i5 is rated 328 miles against 302 — 26 miles, 9% further. It uses 28.9 kWh to cover 100 miles where the Mercedes-Benz EQE needs 36.1.

2

A 10–80% stop takes 29 minutes in the BMW i5 and 33 in the Mercedes-Benz EQE. On a 50 kW post it is 68 and 75 minutes, so most of the advantage disappears at a slow site.

3

The BMW i5 is rated to tow 3,307 lb against 1,653 lb.

Which one, in one line

Pick the BMW i5 ifit wins on range (328 mi against 302), running cost (28.9 kWh per 100 miles against 36.1), charging (29 minutes against 33).

The priceThe Mercedes-Benz EQE is the cheaper to buy, listed from $64,950; both are US list prices before tax, delivery and incentives.

2027 · i5 eDrive40 Sedan (19 inch Wheels)BMW i5

BMW i5

Sedan · 81.2 kWh usable · CCS1

EPA range
328mi
Efficiency
3.46mi/kWh
DC peak
206kW
Boot
17.3cu ft
2027 · EQE 320 Plus (SUV)Mercedes-Benz EQE

Mercedes-Benz EQE

Sedan · 89 kWh usable · CCS1

EPA range
302mi
Efficiency
2.77mi/kWh
DC peak
170kW
Boot
15.2cu ft

Charging, raced

Two cars, one post, same clock

Charging speed is a station number and a car number, and the smaller one wins. Set the post and both cars fill against the same clock — the interesting part is not who wins, it is how much of the gap a slow post takes away.

Each car is modelled on its own published 10–80% time, which gives an average power over that window: 118 kW for the BMW i5, 113 kW for the Mercedes-Benz EQE. A post above that average changes nothing; a post below it sets the pace.

Mercedes-Benz EQECCS133min
BMW i5CCS129min

At 150 kW, going from 10% to 80% takes 29 min in the BMW i5 and 33 min in the Mercedes-Benz EQE — a gap of 4 minutes. Both cars are limited by their own packs at this post, so a bigger one would change nothing.

Every figure

The numbers, with the version attached

A tick marks a figure that is simply more useful — more range, less energy per mile, a faster stop. Rows without a tick are different, not better: a bigger battery, a longer wheelbase and a wider body are all trades, and this page does not pretend otherwise.

BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE, US model years as labelled. Sources: fueleconomy.gov for the EPA rows, evstats.org for the catalogue figures, Euro NCAP for the stars.
MeasureBMW i5Mercedes-Benz EQE
Range and efficiency
EPA range328 mi✓2027 i5 eDrive40 Sedan (19 inch Wheels)302 mi2027 EQE 320 Plus (SUV)
EPA efficiency3.46 mi/kWh✓2.77 mi/kWh
Energy per 100 miles28.9 kWh✓36.1 kWh
Battery, usable81.2 kWhBMW i5 eDrive40 Sedan (MY23-24)89 kWhMercedes-Benz EQE 300 (MY25)
Range left in the cold57%modelled envelope56%modelled envelope
Charging
DC peak206 kW✓170 kW
10–80% at peak29 min✓33 min
Average power, 10–80%(derived)118 kW✓113 kW
AC maximum11 kW11 kW
Full charge on 240 V8 h✓11.5 h
Fast-charge plugCCS1CCS1
Size and weight
Length199.2 in194.7 in
Width with mirrors84.9 in82.8 in
Height59.6 in59.4 in
Wheelbase117.9 in122.8 in
Kerb weight4,861 lb5,236 lb
Space and practicality
Seats55
Boot, seats up17.3 cu ft✓15.2 cu ft
Front trunk0 cu ft0 cu ft
Maximum cargo27.7 cu ft31.6 cu ft✓
Towing, braked3,307 lb✓1,653 lb
Heat pumpStandard EquipmentStandard Equipment
Performance and safety
Power250 kW✓195 kW
0–100 km/h6 s✓6.9 s
Euro NCAP stars55
Battery warranty8 years / 99,419 mi8 years / 160,000 km10 years / 155,343 mi10 years / 250,000 km
V2L / V2HNot supportedNot supported
Price
Starts at$68,275US list price$64,950✓US list price
Top version$85,275✓$97,400
Per mile of range$220cheapest version$211✓cheapest version

How to read the mixed rows. Range and efficiency come from one EPA row — the longest-range version of each car's current model year, not the longest range it has ever been rated at. Battery, charging and the catalogue dimensions come from the catalogue's headline record, which is not always the same trim. Each of those rows names its trim where the two disagree, and the model pages carry the full per-trim table.

What the cold row is not. “Range left in the cold” is the catalogue's modelled cold-highway figure as a share of its mild-urban one — a European model, not an EPA test in US weather. It is shown as a share rather than in miles so it cannot be mistaken for a US range rating.

Euro NCAP is the European crash programme; NHTSA and IIHS ratings are not in this dataset and are not claimed here. Warranty terms are the catalogue's kilometre figures converted to miles, so read them as indicative until a US warranty source replaces them.

Your numbers

What this pair costs you, on your drive

Two questions decide most purchases: how often you stop, and what the year costs. Both are arithmetic on the figures above, so change the inputs and the answer changes with you.

The drive

Starts full, arrives at 10%, charges back to 80% at each stop, and assumes a highway range of 85% of the EPA figure.

BMW i5
2

stops · 58 min charging

Mercedes-Benz EQE
2

stops · 66 min charging

The year

Energy at the wheels from the EPA label, priced at the tariff you pay. Home charging is usually cheaper than the directory's median.

BMW i5
$1,215

$10 per 100 mi

Mercedes-Benz EQE
$1,515

$13 per 100 mi

The trip model ignores charger detours, queueing and the last 10% of the pack, which is slow on both cars. The yearly cost is energy only: no session fees, no idle fees, no home-charger installation, and no petrol car to compare against.

Your priorities

A verdict you can argue with

There is no single winner, only a winner for a set of priorities. Move the sliders and the weighting changes — nothing here is a magazine score, and the page never hides the numbers it is built from.

Weighted result

BMW i5

wins 5 of 7 measures on these weights

BMW i578%
Mercedes-Benz EQE22%

Each measure is scaled between the two cars, so a weight of 5 means “this is the thing I care about” and 0 means “I do not care at all”. The scores are relative, not a rating out of ten.

Questions

Short answers, then the reasoning

Every figure here comes from the same data as the rest of the page. Where the data cannot answer, the page says so instead of guessing.

Still unsure about a term? The charging glossary covers the rest of them.

Which has more range, the BMW i5 or the Mercedes-Benz EQE?

The BMW i5. The BMW i5 is rated 328 miles and the Mercedes-Benz EQE 302, each on the longest-range version of its current model year — 2027 i5 eDrive40 Sedan (19 inch Wheels) and 2027 EQE 320 Plus (SUV) respectively. EPA figures are lab scores from one standard test, not a promise for a cold morning or a steady 75 mph.

Which charges faster?

The BMW i5. Going from 10% to 80% takes 29 minutes in the BMW i5 (206 kW peak) and 33 in the Mercedes-Benz EQE (170 kW peak). At a slow post the station becomes the limit and the gap narrows, because the slower car is short of power rather than short of time.

Do they use the same plug?

Yes. Both list CCS1 for DC fast charging, so either car can use the same sites without an adapter. An adapter still cannot raise the power a car will accept.

Which is cheaper to run?

The BMW i5, by about $856.92 a year at 12,000 miles and $0.35 per kWh. It uses 28.9 kWh per 100 miles against 36.1. That is energy only, at the wheels: session fees, idle fees and home-charger installation are not in it.

Which has more space?

The BMW i5: 17.3 cu ft of boot against 15.2 cu ft. Boot volumes are measured by different conventions between makers, so read the direction as reliable and the exact size of the gap as indicative.

Which is cheaper to buy?

The Mercedes-Benz EQE is the cheaper of the two to buy, listed from $64,950.00 against $68,275.00 for the BMW i5 — $3,325.00 between the two starting prices. Both are manufacturer list prices before sales tax, destination and delivery charges, options and incentives, so a dealer's number will differ; these are US list prices from the price sheet, not the catalogue's European figures.

Other comparisons

All comparisons

Every figure on this page comes from the same records the BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE pages use. How the sources are chosen, and what a figure here never claims, is on the methodology page.