Mercedes-Benz EQB Review 2024

If you're looking to make the switch to electric but need seven seats and the practicality of an SUV, your options are surprisingly limited. The larger Mercedes EQC is still only a five seater - so here the Mercedes EQB really stands out. It's a very good electric family car and those extra seats give it the edge over five-seater competition like the Audi Q4 e-tron, Volvo XC40 Recharge or Volkswagen ID.4.

If you want a seven-seat electric SUV, the other choices available to you are the larger Kia EV9 and the considerably more pricey Tesla Model X.

We'd suggest sticking with the less powerful EQB 250+ model - it has be best range of the three models and is more than quick enough if you're carting yourself and six passengers around. 

The EQB 300 4Matic and the EQB 350 4Matic both have the same 250-mile range and 66.5kWh battery capacity but the EQB 350 is faster from 0-62mph, although keep doing that and the range will soon drop.

We suggest the EQB AMG Line Premium is the sweet spot in the range and has everything you need for the money.

With most manufacturers launching electric versions of their SUVs before anything else, if you want an electric family SUV there's now actually decent amount of choice. What few have is seven seats - aside from the even more expensive Kia EV9 and Tesla Model X.

There are plenty of similar sized (and similarly priced) electric SUVs that rival the EQB including the compact Volvo XC40 Recharge, the Audi Q4 e-tron, the BMW iX3, Jaguar I-Pace and our favourite, the stylish Polestar 2. There is also the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq which are more affordable.

Given the EQB is a premium SUV with a £50k price tag, we'd expect nothing less than a high quality finish inside. And indeed, the EQB feels suitably upmarket when you get behind the wheel. If this were a house it would be described by an estate agent as 'well appointed' and would most certainly have a Poggenpohl kitchen.

Every surface, from the doors, to the dash top and all the buttons and controls, offers a wonderfully tactile experience. There are no cheap plastics here but plenty of metal trim including a nice row of switches in the centre console for the air conditioning - something we much prefer to having it controlled through the touchscreen. Volkswagen could learn a lot here.

We're big fans of the latest Mercedes touchscreen system and layout. Across the dash there's a wide screen with the virtual dash at one side and the central infotainment display at the other. It helps add to the stylish and modern design.

The system itself is called MBUX and is very easy to use once you're familiar with it. Like most modern infotainment systems it takes a little getting used to, but once mastered, it proved simple to use. You get DAB radio and a hard disk navigation system as standard.

There are lots of menus and settings to play with, but if you're anything like us, you'll only ever use one or two functions. In other words, stick it on Radio 4 and leave it. It does also come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto although disappointingly it has to be connected through a USB cable rather than working via Bluetooth.

MBUX works like Siri or Alexa (other voice AIs are available) so you can say things like 'hey Mercedes turn the heating up' and feel like an idiot. It's a nice touch although we doubt it's quicker than actually doing those things yourself.

The screen itself is a touchscreen that's responsive and easy to use, which is just as well as the touchpad that was on earlier models has been dropped for the facelifted Mercedes EQB. 

One neat feature available on the EQB is a traffic light camera. If you stop close to a traffic light and can't quite see it, the camera will display it on the main screen for you. So no straining your neck to see it at those awkward junctions. It's part of the £1495 Driving Assistance Package. A wireless charging pad is also available as standard on the AMG Line Premium trim.

With seven seats as standard, the EQB has one up on the competition. That said those seats tucked away at the back are really for occasional use only. Grandma isn't going to be too impressed if she's stuck back there all day. It's not that easy to clamber back there either, but at least younger kids will love it.

Mercedes says the rear row is designed for humans up to 1.65m which is 5ft4 in old money. In other words, don't expect a rugby playing teen who has had their Weetabix to fit back here. But they're very safe with retractable head restraints, seat belts with belt tensioners and force limiters on all outer seats plus a side window airbag that covers passengers in the third row.

At least you can drop the extra rear seats into the floor. And being based on the GLB, it's similarly practical too with a usefully shaped 465-litre boot in five-seat mode which will happily accommodate a pushchair and a kids scooter. 

The backrests of the seats in the second row can be adjusted and the row also slides forward, so you can increase the boot length if need be. If you do use the rearmost seats, there’s practically no boot though. 

And talking of the middle row, thanks to the squarer shape of the EQB, there's plenty of headroom and feels enjoyable spacious back here, something which is becoming increasingly rare with more coupe-styled SUVs.

When it comes to dimensions, the Mercedes EQB is 4687mm long, 2020mm wide including the wing mirrors and 1667mm high.

The original EGB 250 had a 66.5kWh battery, but this has been replaced by a larger 70.5kWh that powers a motor to deliver drive to the front wheels. This produces 190PS and goes from 0-62mph in 8.9 seconds. 

The four-wheel drive EQB 300 and EQB 350 both use the same 66.5kWh battery. In the EQB 300 this delivers 228PS and 370Nm of torque. On paper it covers 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds but it's the pace from a standstill which most impresses, however we found the rapid acceleration from around 30mph most useful for safe overtakes or joining fast flowing dual carriageways from short slip roads.

Go for the EQB 350 and power is upped to 292PS but with the same torque. It's quicker from 0-62mph, taking a mere 6.0 seconds, but we think the EQB 250+ has more than enough power for a family SUV. It certainly never feels wanting while three models are limited to 99mph.

The Mercedes EQB 250+ can cover up to 321 miles officially, though this depends on the trim as this is only possible on the entry-level Sport Executive with smaller 18-inch alloy wheels. On the larger 20-inch wheels that are on AMG Line cars, expect range to drop to a still competitive 300 miles. 

The Mercedes EQB 300 and 350 can cover just over 250 miles on a single charge according to the official WLTP figures. Bear in mind though (and in this includes the 250+ as well) that range is dependent on various factors including the weather - those heated seats that keep your bum warm will also see the range drop - and of course your driving style. Keep overtaking people and those figures on the dash start to drop alarmingly quickly.

So while the EQB 350 may be enjoyably rapid, lots of accelerating will see the range quickly deplete. For maximum range, you want to have a gentle right foot and use the D- setting which maximises braking energy recuperation.

As we've come to expect from the vast majority of electric cars, there's very little noise. However, the lack of engine noise can often highlight road and wind sound, but that's not the case with the Mercedes EQB. Despite its rather square shape, it's reasonably quiet at motorway speeds with hardly any intrusion from road or tyre noise.

Being a Mercedes, we of course expect nothing less than impeccable refinement and that's no exception with the EQB. On especially rough roads it can be a touch noisy and the suspension feels a little bouncy, but elsewhere it's wonderfully serene to travel in and despite a slightly firm ride (due to the weight of the batteries) it's never uncomfortable. 

While the Mercedes EQB hasn't been crash tested by the white-coat wearing crash-happy boffins at Euro NCAP yet, we'd expect it to get the same maximum five star rating as the Mercedes GLB (and indeed the EQC) which were both tested in 2019.

The GLB on which the EQB is based, was awarded 92% for adult occupant safety and 88% for child occupant safety. Up to four child seats can be fitted in rows two and three, plus one more in the front passenger seat.

Being quite new, it's difficult to predict how reliable the EQB will be in the long term but electric cars tend to be more reliable than traditional combustion engine cars as there are fewer moving parts and therefore less to go wrong.

The big worry for most is with the battery and its long term performance. Mercedes-Benz issues a battery certificate, providing a performance warranty. This is valid for eight years or 100,000 miles and guarantees a 'properly functioning high-voltage battery'. The certificate also covers capacity loss in the battery. As always though, it's worth checking all the small print...

The lowest insurance group for the Mercedes EQB is 46, with the range topping out at 50 (the highest insurance group possible). While EVs do cost more on average to insure compared to a petrol or diesel car, it's still pretty high - the Audi Q4 e-tron starts in the low 30s for example. 

Buying an electric car means not only do you get to drive around in near silence, but you can do that in the smug satisfaction that you're not having to pay any road tax for the privilege. Not only is there no annual VED - so you're saving £170 a year - but being an electric vehicle means you also escape the showroom tax that applies to vehicles with a list price of more than £40,000, which covers all EQB models. As a result you save more than £2100 in VED.

The Mercedes EQB Sport Executive comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, front and rear LED light band, privacy glass, electrically folding mirrors and automatically-dimming exterior driver’s mirror, parking package with reversing camera, heated front seats, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Speed Limit Assist and the MBUX multimedia system with two 10-inch displays creating the widescreen cockpit along with Smartphone integration including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Move up to the Mercedes EQB AMG Line Executive and you get larger 20-inch alloy wheels, AMG body styling, ARTICO man-made leather/DINAMICA microfibre upholstery and a multifunction sports steering wheel in nappa leather with galvanised shift paddles and flattened bottom section.

The EQB AMG Line Premium builds on this with a electrically adjustable damping, Keyless-Go Comfort Package, automatic climate control, wireless charging, Parking Package with 360-degree camera and black open-pore linden wood trim.

Finally, the EQB AMG Line Premium Plus enjoys an electrically operated panoramic glass sunroof, Burmester Surround Sound System and head-up display.