Fresh spy shots of the mid-size EV reveal production lights and a far more conventional body shape than the slow-selling EQE had

Mercedes’ EQE was a flop, lasting just four model years in the US. Its battery tech was outdated, and the melted soap-bar styling certainly didn’t help. Now, as the EQE bows out, Mercedes is preparing its replacement, and these new revealing spy shots suggest the E-Class Electric has learned a valuable lesson. Turns out a battery-powered sedan can actually look like a regular sedan, and be all the better for it.

The latest prototype has ditched much of the heavy camouflage we saw when we last caught an E-Class Electric testing in January. We’ve got our first proper look at the production headlights, which reveals a pair of Mercedes’ star-shaped daytime running lights in each lamp cluster, ensuring nobody mistakes this thing for a BMW after dark.

Also: Blob Be Gone! The EQE Gives Way To A Proper Sedan

And though we still can’t see it, we’re expecting Mercedes’ gigantic illuminated grille treatment, already rolled out on its latest electric GLC and C-Class, to feature out front when the EV goes on sale next year. Whether you think it looks reassuringly expensive or as tacky as Times Square squeezed between two headlights, it will certainly give the E-Class Electric some real presence, something the bland EQE always lacked even after its last-ditch facelift.

There’s a surprise at the other end, though. Earlier test cars wore placeholder taillights, and we expected the finished units to continue Mercedes’ current obsession with three-pointed stars. Instead, the production lamps appear to feature straight-line graphics and thankfully no stars at all.

Beneath the skin is Mercedes’ MB.EA architecture already in play with the C-Class Electric and its GLC SUV cousin. Based on what we know of those cars, the E-Class will feature an 800-volt electrical system, and charging speeds reaching 330 kW.

Out-Charges BMW And Audi

That’s not quite a match for the 400 kW inhalation rate of BMW’s Neue Klasse iX3 and i3, but it easily trumps the 205 kW offered by the Benz’s direct rival, the BMW i5, and the 270 kW of Audi’s A6 e-tron. Both of those cars, though, also offer a wagon body style option the sedan-only E-Class won’t.

A dual-motor E400 version using the C400 4Matic’s setup could deliver 482 hp (489 PS / 360 kW) and a zero-to-62 mph (100 km/h) time of just over 4 seconds, although Mercedes hasn’t confirmed specifications yet. The C400 employs a 94 kWh gross battery to deliver 473 miles (762 km) of claimed WLTP range, and Mercedes might not feel the need to go bigger because the i5’s pack is only 84 kWh gross and promises 356 miles (573 miles).

We can’t see inside the E-Class Electric in these pictures, but again, the existing EVs have set a precedent we expect Mercedes to keep following. If it does, the mid-size sedan will get a full-pillar-to-pillar digital dashboard in its most luxurious form, though buyers will almost certainly have to pay extra for the passenger screen one recent study told us hardly gets used.