Launching powerful EVs from a standstill is always exciting, but Mercedes-AMG adds amusing theater to the experience in the EQE SUV. Press hard on both pedals, and the crossover thrums and shakes as pulsating lights fill the cabin. Release the brake, and the AMG EQE SUV rockets forward with violent instantaneity, reaching illegal speeds right about… now. All along, a sound resembling a roaring V-8 remixed with a UFO’s propulsion beam fills the cabin.

All this show is backed up by serious go. With its dual motors making up to 677 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque combined, the AMG EQE SUV rips to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds before crossing the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds at 117.0 mph—making it the quickest AMG SUV we’ve tested so far. Thrilling as that power and speed is, though, the overall dynamic excellence expected from AMG is missing. That this performance model is built on the EQE SUV, which suffers its own peculiarities, doesn’t help. Fast or not, the AMG EQE is the latest example of how Mercedes is still figuring out what makes EVs fun, satisfying, and cool in the first place.

Our testing proves the AMG EQE SUV’s high-performance potential. It grips the skidpad at 0.94 g average and posts a figure-eight lap of 24.1 seconds at 0.82 g average. That skidpad result is within the top five ever among AMG-badged SUVs, and its figure-eight time ties the 2018 GLC63S for first. Equipped with optional $5,450 carbon-ceramic brakes, the AMG EQE SUV stops from 60 mph in 109 feet, also among the shorter distances we’ve measured from AMG-badged Benzes. These figures are especially notable considering the AMG EQE SUV’s 5,868-pound curb weight—heft comparable to the G63 AMG, which despite its iconic status just can’t match its all-electric counterpart’s performance.

In its EV capabilities, too, the AMG EQE SUV puts up commendable numbers. In MotorTrend’s road trip range test, which finds EV distance potential under factors like climate control use and highway speeds, it travels 230 miles, a minimal reduction from its 235-mile EPA range rating. That number isn’t far off from the entry-level EQE350+, which achieved 249 miles in our range test despite having only one motor making less than half of the AMG’s power. Clearly, AMG’s custom-tuned electric motors are technically impressive, even if we wish a vehicle this pricey offered better overall range estimates.

But technical prowess means little when the driving experience is this disjointed. It’s possible to drive the AMG EQE SUV in a way becoming of its stupendous acceleration, but doing so is a matter more of managing its foibles than ever feeling in command of the vehicle and conquering the road ahead of it.

On wide-open sweepers, the AMG EQE SUV feels eminently stable thanks to its low center of gravity and excellent ride composure. It can arc through gradual bends at breathtaking speed. But in tight, technical corners the vehicle’s weight becomes a liability. There’s a certain reluctance to change direction, a factor exacerbated by the standard rear-wheel steering system. How the rear wheels turn seems out of sync with the fronts, leading to delayed reactions and steering corrections when the road goes wrinkly.

Like with many of Mercedes’ all-electric models, the AMG EQE SUV’s brake feel is terrible. This isn’t to say there isn’t major stopping power available; our panic-stop braking test proves that. Nor is its one-pedal driving function ineffective; in normal driving, lifting the accelerator brings the vehicle readily to a stop using only motor regeneration.

Rather, Mercedes has plenty of work to do figuring out how regenerative and friction braking should be blended, a tricky handoff that hybrid cars and many electric competitors have long ago overcome. Pedal travel is long and vague at the top of the stroke, where the electric motors’ regen function is handled, but it abruptly firms up as the pedal’s pressed further, a jarring transition seemingly to the brake pads actually touching the rotors. With the pedal’s reactions differing seemingly from one application to the next, consistency is an issue.

That pales in comparison to the brakes’ biggest oddity: how the pedal moves itself in accordance with motor regen, a peculiarity common among Mercedes EVs. The idea is, when the regen’s slowing effect isn’t enough and the driver presses the brake pedal for more, it’s supposed to approximate the pedal position matching the regen’s deceleration rate. In practice, a pedal that moves from its expected position is unnerving. The new plug-in hybrid S63 avoids this vagary, as AMG’s engineers admitted they’ve come to realize it’s too inconsistent for high-performance driving; we wish they’d reached that conclusion before releasing the AMG EQE SUV, whose stunning speed capabilities demand consistent braking responses.

Even if this AMG lacks the brand’s typical assertive dynamics, it still has redeeming qualities. Thick A-pillars and a slab-like dashboard conspire to make the cabin feel slightly claustrophobic, although an abundance of glitzy materials fill the space nicely. We’re not keen on the bulbous bodywork—to say nothing of its entirely fake grille and vestigial exhaust outlets, each utterly pointless on an EV—but the EQE SUV nevertheless looks tidier than its larger EQS SUV counterpart, and drives that way, too.

Other amusing details enhance the AMG EQE SUV. What’s best described as sci-fi spaceship noises play outside the vehicle every time it’s locked or unlocked. The available Hyperscreen infotainment system isn’t a necessary upgrade over the standard setup, but it still gives the cabin a seriously futuristic vibe; the driver can view a wonderfully colorful and reconfigurable head-up display. As the AMG EQE SUV proves, Mercedes knows what it’s doing with interior ambient lighting and massaging seats. These features verge into the realm of gimmickry but nevertheless add endearment and distinction.

With all this, what to make of the AMG EQE SUV? It could be a choice for someone who wants an electric crossover that’s comfortable, feature-filled, and versatile enough for regular everyday use but who also appreciates a spike of adrenaline when opportunities to floor it appear—even for drivers accustomed to EV acceleration, the AMG EQE SUV will thrill.

But in its price bracket—over $110,000 to start and $130,000 as tested—the AMG EQE SUV faces strong competition. Rivals like the BMW iX, Cadillac Lyriq, or Genesis GV60 may not be as quick in a straight line, but they have refined all-around driving manners and comparable luxury appeals. To become the clear choice over these, the only thing the AMG EQS SUV doesn’t need to improve is its acceleration.