Another day, another all-new electric SUV. But the Mercedes-Benz EQB brings something different to the party: It’s a proper seven-seat family car.
We’ve already seen the Mercedes-Benz EQA—an all-electric GLA—and thus the makeup of the EQB is simple to suss out. It’s the more practical GLB with its engine ripped out and a load of batteries stuffed in.
It arrives with comparable interior room to a gasoline or diesel GLB, too. Which means room for those 5’4” and below in the rearmost pair of seats, or up to 1,700 liters of luggage space if you flip the second and third rows down. The middle seats also adjust through 14cm of movement so you can juggle the space around a bit to free up more rear cargo capacity.
Merc hasn’t given firm powertrain details yet, but you’ll have a wealth of choice: front- or four-wheel drive and various power levels, with up to 66.5kWh of battery capacity and 270hp of power. The range figure is 418km at launch, but we’re promised more in the future. Handy, as we’d imagine each child or small adult you add to the five rear seats will eat away at the EQB’s ability to cover miles. Better start choosing which kid’s your favorite if you’ve a long distance to cover.
Aesthetically, the EQB’s roots are obviously the GLB, just with blanked-out grilles and much copper detailing. It’s not as bold a statement as the mighty EQS limo, but nor is it meant to be—this is a car to normalize the use of electric. And hopefully bring a bit less noise and pollution to the school gates.
More photos of the Mercedes-Benz EQB
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
