2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 Review: A Compelling Compact Close-Range EV Crossover

Since it arrived in 2019, the GLB-Class crossover has quickly proven one of the most popular vehicles in Mercedes's American portfolio. In the first quarter of this year, it was the carmaker's fourth most-popular model, outselling all but the C-, GLE- and GLS-Classes. Pairing a boxy old-school SUV vibe with the ease of entry and drivability of a car-based unibody ride — the GLB and GLA are based on the same platform as the A-Class and CLA-Class sedans — the GLB is an easy sell for anyone who desires a Benz badge but doesn't want or need the size of a bigger SUV.

The EQB, in turn, is almost identical to the GLB, apart from the powertrain under the hood (or, in this case, not). The biggest exterior difference is a slightly different front fascia that lacks a proper grille, since electric motors don't need to breathe, and packs smaller headlights and a blacked-out trim section to bring it more in line, visually, with Mercedes's other EQ electric models. Unless you park the gas and electric versions side by side, though, odds are good you'd guess they look the same.

The driving experience is a good bit different, however — in the best way. The GLB-Class uses versions of the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four found in many entry-level Mercedes models; it's a reasonably peppy powertrain for real world driving, but like many such direct injection turbo fours these days, it suffers from a bit of combined turbo-and-kickdown lag, and it's hardly an icon of refinement compared with the inline-sixes, V8s and V12s that long defined the brand.

The electric motors in the EQB, by contrast, not only deliver more power than the non-AMG GLBs, but deliver it in a much smoother, more seamless manner than the little turbo four / nine-speed automatic combo can. It's the sort of refined driving experience you'd expect of a proper luxury car.

Building an electric vehicle off the basis of an internal-combustion one can mean compromises, and in the case of the EQB, one of those is the battery. The bulky power pack beneath the floor holds 66.5 kWh of electricity — just a little more than half the size of the one found in the brand's EQS electric sedan, and smaller than most batteries found in new EVs today.

In the real world, that doesn't translate to a lot of range. When I climbed aboard the EQB, it had a 97 percent state of charge ... which the trip computer claimed was equivalent to around 190 miles of driving. In practice — by which I mean driving around the greater New York area in a mix of urban and highway driving — that felt fairly accurate.

I did drive the EQB in the middle of winter, however, when the cold temperatures would have dragged down the efficiency; in milder temps, the EPA range of around 227 miles seems reachable for the combined city/highway driving cycle. Still, based on its stats, I wouldn't feel super-comfortable taking a long road trip with the EQB; at 75 mph, I'd ballpark its range at 180 miles or less even in good conditions, with that falling quick in cold weather.

On the plus side, that small battery pack means this baby Benz can charge up fairly quick on almost any Level 3 charger you'll come across, since its fast charging rate tops out at 100 kW. Plug in to a CCS cable that can funnel that much power, and the EQB will hop from 10 to 80 percent — figure 120–130 miles of highway range — in just half an hour. And with an on-board AC charger that can handle 9.6 kW of power, a sufficient Level 2 charger can take it from empty to full in just over seven hours.

While it may not look all that large on the outside, the EQB is more spacious than you might expect once you clamber into the cabin. Four adults can dally about inside without much trouble, helped in no small part by the usable volume delivered by the tall roof and upright sides. (Mercedes even offers the option of a token third-row seat, but it's so small, it's really only useful for buckling in small pets in their carriers.)

Speaking of the interior: if you're expecting to find the rainbow ambient light shows, swoopy flowing lines and Hyperscreens of the brand's top-end electric vehicles here ... well, you're better off saving up for that EQS SUV instead. The EQB's insides are effectively identical to the gas-powered GLB's, apart from a slight loss of cargo space due to the size of the battery hiding down under the floor.

Fans of the tank-like West German-era Mercedes-Benz models like the 190E and SEL will surely cry fowl at some of the interior materials here, as they often do with many modern Benzes. The EQB certainly has its fair share of hard plastics — some metallic, others piano black — and pebbly rubber-like textures, even where your fingers are likely to land. It's moderately acceptable in a $40,000 GLB-Class base model, but harder to justify at this car's $61K test price.

On the flip side, those rock-solid, super-premium Benzes of the Cold War era and its immediate aftermath were way more expensive than you might remember. An option-free 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 — the equivalent of today's C300 — that Car and Driver tested back in the day rang up the register at $34,800 — the equivalent of $97,276 in 2023. A new C300? $46,000.

If you're looking for purely electric crossovers of a similar size from luxury brands, your options are rather tight for the moment. The Audi Q4 E-Tron is probably the closest competitor in most respects, all the way down to its okay-not-great range. The Genesis GV60 surpasses the Benz in most manners — performance, range, interior quality — but its design is much farther outside the mainstream. The Lexus RZ also delivers a superior interior and pairs it with a design that better blends traditional SUV and modern EV, but its terrible range (C/D found it capable of just 120 miles at 75 mph) just makes the EQB looks like a Lucid Air.

If you're willing to expand your horizons a little beyond the fancy brands, there are a few other options. The Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 all offer more range for less money; the Ford Mustang Mach-E is also more affordable, but once you start speccing it out — say, adding AWD and the extended range battery, as many buyers will — the price starts closing in on the EQB. But of course ... none of those have a Three-Pointed Star on the nose.

Base Price / Price as Tested: $61,700 / $61,700

Powertrain: 66.5-kWh battery; dual electric motors

Horsepower: 288

Torque: 384 lb-ft

EPA Range: 227 miles

Seats: Five

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