Following a winning act like the sublimely well-engineered EQS 580 is something no vehicle should have to do, and yet the next EV offering from the brand that brought you the country’s first luxury electric EV is one that’s derived from an existing ICE platform.
The EQB arrives alongside its dinosaur-juice-powered twin, the GLB, to fill the interminable pause that lies between the launch of the EQS and the yet-to-be-launched EQE. Unlike the two, the EQB isn’t based on a born-electric skateboard platform. But the EQB does benefit from one particular distinction: if you’re in the market for a seven-seater electric vehicle, this is it.
Its USP set aside momentarily, the EQB is still a winning proposition for many reasons, most of which it shares with the GLB. For starters, it’s the sheer proportion of this SUV, which is a mash-up of the GLA and the supremely ergonomic B-Class, that we didn’t know we needed.
Throw in a third row and the EQB is the greenest people carrier in the market. In profile, its slick front fascia, with tapering LED headlamps which expand and give way to a hexagonal, opaque black grille, immediately gives away its electric underpinnings and marks it out as truly contemporary.
Its ride height and size also mark it out as a soft-roader but one that seems perfectly calibrated to provide just the right height and view that you need for uninterrupted, as-the-crow-flies on-road driving. The looks are even cleaner at the back, with a single red bar running across the breadth of the tailgate with Q-tip like tail lamps attached to the end.
It’s remarkable how a few visual embellishments can completely alter the character of this GLB twin. The insides too have benefitted from a wave of the EV wand, that magically contemporise the more conventional bits of an ICE derivative.
Nothing quite as dramatic as the EQS of course but noticeably different from the GLB, thanks to the use of LED lighting and curious bits of copper that drape the aircon vents, the seat covers and a few other bits. The copper and the ambient lighting go a long way in sprucing up an otherwise humdrum cabin.
The business end
The EQB, like all EVs, doesn’t have an engine. Instead, it has two electric motors powering each axle. A permanent magnet synchronous motor up front and an induction one at the back collectively make 226 bhp of power and 390 Nm of torque. All this juice is extracted from a sizable 66.5 kWh battery, which gives this nimble EV a claimed WLTP range of 423 km, making it the second longest-running EV in Merc’s line-up.
While it may lack the GLB diesel’s additional torque, it delivers it instantaneously, and emerges, from a pure linear acceleration POV, the superior offering. The paddles on the steering wheel allow you to modulate regeneration levels, cranking them up to enable single-pedal driving. It’s still mitigating the bulk of an ICE chassis, so it doesn’t have quite the immediacy of a lighter, skateboard chassis.
The true yardstick for the EQB’s engineering finesse, however, is how superior it is to the EQC – the first all-electric Merc in the country. Having arrived early to the scene, the EQC had much going for it. It was resoundingly quiet, quieter than other luxury EVs at the time.
The EQB takes a similar approach. Only its mannerisms are a bit more genteel and its accelerative prowess is in line with a three-row family carrier. The brute acceleration of an EV has been sensibly dialled down, making driving the EQB in the city a particularly tranquil experience.
Pricing and verdict
EVs aren’t cheap and luxury EVs even less so. The issue with seven-seater SUVs is that between the Rs 30-35 lakh mark and the Rs 75 lakh mark, there are very limited options. There’s the Fortuner Legender, which offers a very different core appeal, but the EQB, in its capacity as a 7-seater SUV, doesn’t help bridge that gap with its Rs 74.5 lakh price tag.
In fact, for the money, you can get the much larger V-Class. However, in its capacity as an EV, offering the levels of luxury and utility that it does, the EQB becomes a more valuable proposition.
For those particularly keen on a Merc family carrier, the GLB and EQB appear interchangeable, in that, the lack of availability or a long waiting period for one, enhances the appeal of the other. While the bottom-end torque and hassle-free highway touring attributes of the GLB make it a better all-rounder, the EQB is undoubtedly the better city car.
Both are remarkable for their design, though. At 155mm, the EQB’s ground clearance is much better than the EQC’s. It’s not too high in the city to wallow during cornering. In fact, thanks to its bottom-heavy structure, it’s a fairly adept handler. It’s also a masterclass in ingress and egress and yet it can be driven over the most ungainly of speed breakers without a concern. Although its utility as a 7-seater is questionable, fold the third row, and you’ve got yourself one of the best everyday family cars in the country.
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