The EQB 250+ seats seven in quiet comfort and with good space within.
Believe it or not, the EQB 250+ sits in a league of its own.
No, seriously. At its price point in the local market, which other premium electric SUV can one find with this level of headroom and legroom? One would need to spend another $20-grand to step up to the next larger electric SUV, the BMW iX3.
The EQB is the electric version of the GLB. Where the latter has proven quite popular and successful in Singapore, does the EQB have what it takes to do the same in the electric vehicle (EV) segment in which it resides?
first impressions
From head-on, the EQB is differentiated from the GLB by the solid front grille, more smoothed-out headlights and a front bumper with fewer openings for more aerodynamic efficiency.
Black plastic trim clads the lower perimeter of the bodywork and would contrast nicely with lighter paint colours.
19-inch rims wear MO-mark 235/50 R19 Bridgestone Turanza T005 rubber, and for the most part, they remain quiet and comfortable on the move, only protesting if one tries to hustle the EQB around tighter corners.
Viewed from the side, this is unmistakably a Good Likeable Bread-van. That it sits as tall as it does bode well for its occupants, but more on that later. You won’t lose your EQB in a large, sprawling carpark, that’s for sure.
Roof rails mean that up to 75kg of outdoorsy items can be strapped down up there.
The rear end combines a large and rather flat tailgate with nicely rounded corners for a cohesive-looking rump. A lightbar stretches from one end to the other and lets others know that this SUV is powered by the zappy-zappy stuff.
what is within
Don’t be surprised when that tailgate electrically swings open and you find two extra seats in the rear of the EQB.
Although this is a five-seater for most intents and purposes, that last row of seats can be deployed if a pair of very young children need to also be transported in a pinch, for a grand total of seven occupants. The two young’uns would have their own pair of cupholders too.
In standard configuration, 565 litres of luggage space is available, which is plenty. Drop the 2nd row of seats, and the EQB literally turns into a minivan with 1,800 litres of cargo capacity.
Headroom and legroom in the rear are good. The seats themselves can be slid forward to liberate more boot space, while the seatbacks can be reclined for added comfort on longer journeys.
A couple of aircon vents keep the rear occupants nice and cool.
Adjusting the driver’s and front passenger’s seats is a doddle, thanks to the seat controls being mounted on the respective doors with two memory settings each. Why more manufacturers don’t do this is a mystery, for it is supremely ergonomic.
The multifunction sports steering wheel itself is nicely sized and adjustable for reach and rake, but the swipey-swipey optical trackpads a la Blackberry Bold on the spokes are best used only when necessary, because it’s more intuitive to use the media controls on the infotainment’s touchscreen instead.
The instrument screen measures 10.25 inches across and can be configured to display dials in a few different ways. Readability on the move is spot on, and a pleasure to use.
The infotainment system also features a 10.25-inch touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available. Other functions can be accessed via the MBUX built-in settings and apps.
The standard audio system played nice and loud without becoming tiring on the ears as David Draiman from Disturbed shrieked his signature “OW-WA-A-A-A!” as he came Down With The Sickness, and if the hifi can handle that at three-quarters volume level, it can handle pretty much anything else.
Thankfully, physical rockers feature to control the dual-zone climate control system, although it can also be adjusted via the infotainment’s touchscreen. Setting the aircon to Auto and simply adjusting the temperature was sufficient for this review drive, and the system did a great job.
driving the EQB
There’s a contorted saying that goes “People who live in glass houses should undress in the dark.” Speaking of glass houses, the view out of the EQB is excellent! Blind spots are minimal, and it is easy to place the SUV where one intends for it to go.
Even reversing without using the backup camera is easy, thanks to the large wing mirrors which offer superb visibility. That one sits higher up off the ground also helps in this regard.
There’s also a nifty feature called “Traffic light view” which turns on the front windscreen-mounted camera when one is at a standstill at a traffic light-controlled junction, for that added convenience of seeing when the lights change. Nice touch!
Road and wind noise are well contained and befitting a premium SUV EV that wears the three-pointed star emblem. The suspension is also supple and soaks up bumps with good body control.
Helping in this regard is the battery pack which sits underfloor and moves the centre of gravity lower. The end result, even at highway speeds, is an SUV that feels stable and planted at all times.
The 70.5kW battery pack can be charged via DC at a maximum of 100kW or via AC at 11kW, with the former said to take around 35 minutes. Due to the truncated timetable of the test drive, charge time was not tested.
Propelling the EQB forward is a 190hp electric motor that drives the front wheels. Now that may not sound like much, but 385Nm of torque is a handful for just the front tyres to handle. Floor the throttle from a standstill or at low speed and the front wheels will scrabble for grip.
What isn’t in doubt, however, is that this EQB prefers cruising on the highway as compared to sitting in stop-and-go street traffic.
Naturally, your mileage may vary with use-case, driving style and conditions, but a weighted and normalised test-drive average of 14.5kWh/100km or 6.89km/kWh compared to Mercedes-Benz’s 18.5kWh/100km or 5.41km/kWh WLTP efficiency claim is pretty good.
This brings us to the $305,000 question – “is the EQB 250+ a worthwhile purchase?” After spending some time with it, I would say ‘yes.’
Maybe a panoramic sunroof would have been a good addition, but with the exception of the Blackberry-esque optical trackpads on the steering wheel’s spokes, there’s not much to complain about here. Okay, maybe adaptive cruise control would also have been a nice addition.
It looks pleasant. It feels premium. It’s got the space. It has sufficient pace. And most importantly, the EQB 250+ is definitely worthy of wearing the Mercedes-Benz emblem. Difficult to argue with that, really.
Photo Credits: Sean Loo (@auto.driven)
technical specifications
Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
Power: 190hp
Torque: 385Nm
Drive: front wheels
0-100km/h: 8.9 seconds (claimed)
Top Speed: 160km/h (claimed)
Unladen Weight: 2,105kg
Battery Size: 70.5kW
Energy Economy: 18.5kWh/100km or 5.4km/kWh (claimed)
Range: up to 569km (claimed based on WLTP)
Price: from S$305,888 with COE (accurate at the time of this article)
Contact: Mercedes-Benz Singapore
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