Mercedes EQB Review & Prices

The Mercedes EQB is a seven-seater that brings the family SUV into the electric age. Based on the GLB, it’s like a Victorian detached house that’s been given a full modern revamp – a classic exterior with a modern upgrade.

As with other Mercedes EQ models, the face of the EQB is blanked off with a gloss black finish, with a lightbar across the top connecting the headlights. Beyond that, it’s more of a conventional SUV, with large slab sides and a squarer rear end design with some funky tail lights.

In the cabin, you get a high-quality finish as you would with most Mercedes, with excellent materials like leather and soft-touch fabrics used. You get large displays for the infotainment system, while some models also get a head-up display – which is very clear. 

Space-wise, you won’t be found wanting for more. It’s no GLS, but considering the size of the car there’s good head- and legroom throughout, and does better than many of its rivals for overall space. The rearmost seats are a bit of a squeeze, so we’d say only children for those, but the central row can slide forward to afford a bit more space.

As it’s based on the petrol-powered GLB, space has been taken up by the battery pack in the boot. That does mean a sacrifice of 100 litres in the EQB, down from 565 litres to 465 litres as you have the extra seats in the back too.

Talking of batteries, you get a 66.5kWh pack with the Mercedes EQB that offers up to 253 miles of range. You can pair it with one of two power options, both of which are four-wheel drive and offer either 228hp or 292hp. That’s not bad, but consider real-world range and you’re looking closer to 210 miles after a week with the car. 

Other comparable EVs do offer more range. The Kia EV6 returns up to 316 miles, while a Tesla Model Y can cover up to 331 miles.

But behind the wheel, the Mercedes is arguably the most relaxing to drive out of all its alternatives. Despite weighing 2,100kg, this doesn’t feel that heavy through the corners. It’s quite manoeuvrable, with an 11.4m turning circle, which is as good as most family hatchbacks. That means getting around town is much easier. 

You also get regenerative braking, and that means you have one pedal driving. But it doesn’t quite bring you to a stop. The acceleration can be a little sluggish in normal mode, but sport mode can give you a good kick.

The EQB cruises nicely too, and there’s not a lot of exterior noise coming into the cabin. It’s also very comfortable, despite being heavier and needing stronger springs over the standard GLB.

Although there is a sport mode that can improve the sharpness of the controls, leave it in normal mode and you’ll find this to be a very accomplished EV. With the weight mounted low down, it’s got plenty of grip through the corners, and although it’s not an exciting car to drive, the EQB handles well. 

On the whole, the EQB manages to be accomplished as a family EV by being pretty spacious and fitted with a high level of kit, while also being comfortable for all. 

One thing against the EQB is that it’s quite pricey. But if you want the best price, check out the latest Mercedes deals on carwow, or browse used EQB models from our network of trusted dealers. You can also take a look at other used Mercedes, and when it's time to sell your car, carwow can help with that, too.

As a seven-seat electric car, the Mercedes EQB doesn't have many direct competitors if you need to make use of every seat. You have the Tesla Model X, but that's considerably more expensive, as the forthcoming Volvo EX90 will be, too. Most other options are vans with lots of seats instead of a cargo bay, and are a lot less flashy than this stylish Mercedes.

If we look at five-seat options, though, there's much more choice. We're big fans of the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y, both of which undercut the Mercedes on price by quite a margin. The Audi Q4 e-tron is another great option, but this is pricier than the other two and you'll only save a bit compared with the EQB.

The Mercedes EQB isn't cheap, then, so if you don't need to make use of the extra seats there are big savings to be had by looking elsewhere. But if you really need an electric seven-seater, the EQB is less expensive than other premium options and much nicer than everything that costs less.

Comfortable to drive around town and on the motorway, but the EQB isn't the most thrilling companion on a twisty road

In town

This is where the EQB shines. With its small turning circle of 11.4m and a serene driving experience, you can feel very relaxed when you’re behind the wheel. With large wing mirrors and a large rear window, you have a great view around you. 

Add to that the optional surround-view camera, and getting into tight parking spaces or down narrow streets is much simpler than you might think. With the acceleration not being too fierce, it makes it comfortable to cruise around in, and with better efficiency at slower speeds, you get the most out of your battery.

The regenerative braking system also makes this easy to drive around. In its ‘Auto’ mode, the car either puts on the anchors or lets the car coast to make the most out of the battery. 

On the motorway

While the EQB is a practical shape for creating a spacious car, it can seriously hamper the range of the battery. With the flat windscreen without much of an angle, air hits it fairly abruptly compared to a sleeker EV, meaning more power is needed to push it along. That’s the EQB’s main downside, as the claimed 253 miles of range is more likely to be 213 miles, especially with lots of motorway driving.

That being said, the EQB is very accomplished to drive over a longer distance. It’s comfortable, wind and tyre noise is rather subdued, and you get cruise control as standard. You do have to fork out £1,495 for the advanced driver systems that include adaptive cruise control, though it’s worth optioning that to make long drives even easier. 

On a twisty road

This car is not one to thrash down a country road. Even though there is a sports mode that firms up the suspension and adds weight to the steering, it just isn’t that inspiring to drive aggressively.

There’s some punch from the electric motors that can drive you out of corners and the weight low down means it doesn’t roll too much, but it’s never what you’d call fun. And that’s not what the EQB does best. 

There's loads of space for passengers in the front two rows, but adults in the rear-most seats will find it a bit cramped for longer journeys

As a seven-seater, the EQB is inherently spacious. For those in the front two rows at least. Behind the wheel, you have lots of adjustment to make you more than comfortable enough, and the seats are well-padded to mean you won’t be too tired on longer drives. The front passenger will also find plenty of space, with headroom especially good.

Space in the back seats

Moving to the second row and again, there’s more than enough head and legroom for most. As the EQB is based on an internal combustion engine platform, the floor is raised a bit more than you’d expect to house the batteries. That can mean your legs are in a stress position in cars with similar issues, but it’s not bad here.

To help with the rearmost seats, which are best saved for children, you can slide the middle row of seats forward to give them a bit more legroom. Headroom isn’t that great though, and you would be very cramped back there as an adult. 

Storage-wise, the EQB has a decent amount of cubby spaces in the centre console, well-sized door bins and a good glovebox, a theme that continues in the back, with seat pockets and door bins big enough for a water bottle.

Boot space

There’s some compromise compared with the GLB in terms of the boot, as you lose 70 litres for adding a lot of batteries underneath the floor. With the seven-seat version, you lose an additional 30 litres, meaning you have 495 litres to play with. Folding the rear seats down extends that to 1,710 litres. 

Compared to the Tesla Model Y, for example, that figure is way down as the American EV has 854 litres with the rear seats in place. That’s only available as a five-seater on UK shores though. Compared to an all-wheel drive Kia EV6, the Mercedes' boot is larger by 25 litres.

Material quality is fantastic and the infotainment is one of the best you can get, though we'd avoid controlling it through the tricky touch-sensitive clicker in the centre console

As with any Mercedes, the cabin is high quality and on the slightly wackier end of stylish. That being said, all the parts and features are well-built, while being easy to use. All except the infotainment touch-sensitive clicker in the centre console, which can be overly sensitive at times. 

There’s a good amount of metallic detailing which is matched to black wood detailing and man-made leather for the seats, while some red stitching adds a bit of colour. As with other Mercedes EQ models, you also get ambient lighting, and there’s 64 colours to choose from – meaning plenty of customisation on that front. 

The Mercedes infotainment system is currently one of the best for ease of use. It’s slick, is super clear, and across the joined screens works near-seamlessly. The two 10.0-inch displays are pretty simple to control, but the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel and the central mouse-like system can be fiddly to use on the go. 

You can get a series of accessories with your EQB, such as roof bars, bike holders and child seats. But just be aware that any exterior additions, like a roof box or bars, will affect the aerodynamics and reduce your range on longer drives considerably.

You can get the EQB with two power options, both of which are four-wheel drive. There's the EQB 300, which has 228hp, or the 350, which has 292hp on tap. Both have 370Nm of torque, and are predominantly rear-wheel drive until you need to accelerate or need the extra grip.

The 300 takes 8.0 seconds to go from 0-60mph, while the more powerful 350 takes just 6.2 seconds to reach that. It doesn’t feel too aggressive and for most people, the restrained performance is perfect. The top speed of both options is 99mph.  

Despite having more power from its two electric motors, the EQB 350 has slightly more range than the slower 300. With the 350, you can expect up to 256 miles, while the 300 can go up to 248 miles. During testing in mixed conditions, we achieved 3.1mi/kWh, which would get 206 miles of real world range.

With charge speeds of up to 113kW on fast DC charging, you can go from 10-80% in just 29 minutes. You can have up to 11kW from an AC wallbox charging point, which can get you from 0-100% in 7h15. Trickle charging from a three-pin plug means a full charge takes 34 hours. 

As with any EV, road tax is free, making it cheaper to run than almost all seven-seaters currently available.

Tested by the independent safety board Euro NCAP, the Mercedes scored a full five-star rating and impressed on individual categories as well. For adult and child occupancy, the EQB scored well into the 90% bracket, which is excellent. 

Vulnerable road user safety, i.e. pedestrians and cyclists, was at 78% – mainly because of the high bonnet line of the front end. Safety assists were marked at 74%, with the lane keep assist the feature seen as the most compromised. However, it’s more than good enough for most situations. 

The EQB comes as standard with active brake assist, lane keeping assist, speed limit assist, multiple urban warning assists and cruise control. Adding the additional driving assistance includes the mirror package that folds the mirrors and adjusts them to glare, as well as the adaptive cruise control system, which you would expect with this car as standard.

Fitted with the Urban Guard pack as part of the Mercedes me Connect mobile car management app, it alerts you to any break-ins, thefts or changes in position. Hopefully you’ll never have to worry about that, but having the system available is helpful.

Mercedes has managed to be reasonably reliable across all its models in recent years. That being said, there’s no real data to back up whether the same will be the case for the EQB. 

With any EQB, Mercedes has a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, while the battery gets an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. But compared to a Kia EV6, that’s pretty average. The EV6 comes with the Kia-standard seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty, which is markedly better.