2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB

Mercedes-Benz EQB – Exterior

The EQB is based on the GLB crossover. It comes with the signature EQ model characteristics. There’s a Black Panel grille up front along with the LED headlights. The derriere comes with LED taillights and a strip that runs the entire width and connects the taillights. Mercedes has also equipped roof rails and black plastic cladding to give the car a sporty appearance.

Mercedes will offer the EQB with up to 20-inch wheels. The designs shown don’t look like they’ll please everyone, but the automaker said it will offer them in dual-tone or tri-tone finishes. It was earlier noted that the EQB will measure 184.4 inches in length, 72.2 inches in width, and 65.6 inches in height. It will have a 111-inch wheelbase, which allowed Mercedes to pack in an extra row of seats, although it will be a tight fit.

Mercedes has paid special attention to protect the battery. The packaging of the battery module is done in extruded sections and there’s also a guard on the outside for further protection. Despite being a crossover, the car is aero-efficient and boasts a drag coefficient of .28, beating even the standard C-Class sedan’s rating of 0.30.

Mercedes-Benz EQB – Interior

All the Mercedes EQ models we’ve seen so far set the benchmark in terms of plushness in their respective segments. The EQB is no exception. There’s no Hyperscreen on offer here. Instead, it comes with a pair of 10.3-inch screens. One of them is for the digital instrument cluster and one for the touchscreen system. The touchscreen will be powered by the MBUX system. The details regarding the upholstery options are not revealed yet, but we will most likely hear more about them as we get closer to the launch.

As mentioned earlier, the crossover will be offered as a five-seater as optional and a seven-seater as optional. The third row will be a tight fit and will be suitable only for kids and folks who are less than 5’4” tall. That said, it’s a good move on the automaker’s part to offer a third row and manage to squeeze it in a vehicle that measures the same as the 2021 Mercedes C-Class.

The Euro-spec model is said to offer up to 17 cubic feet of space with all seats in place and up to 60 cubic feet of space with the rear row folded. In the three-row model, 16 cubic feet of space is available with all the seats in place and up to 57.2 cubic feet of cargo space with the last two rows folded. The second-row seats are longitudinally adjustable up to 5.5 inches and this allows an additional 6.7 cubic feet of cargo space. Similar numbers can be expected for the U.S.-spec model because the overall dimensions are nearly the same.

Mercedes-Benz EQB - Powertrain, Battery, and Range

The U.S.-spec EQB will be offered in two trims – the EQB 300 and the EQB 350. Both of them feature a dual-motor setup and the company’s 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system.

The EQB 300 will churn out 225 ponies and 288 pound-feet of twist, whereas the EQB 350 will make 288 horses and 384 pound-feet of torque.

The motors will draw power from a 66.5 kWh battery pack. The WLTP-estimated range is rated at 260 miles, which means the EPA-estimated range would be around 220 miles. As for the charging, the EQB supports DC fast-charging up to 100 kW. This means the battery can recuperate from 10- to 80-percent in 32 minutes.

We’ll have to wait and watch if the company will offer a bigger battery pack option or a single-motor setup for the U.S.-spec EQB. This could be the only way a 300+ mile range will be offered. If not, then it holds a distinct disadvantage as the Tesla Model Y comes with an EPA-estimated range of 326 miles.

Mercedes-Benz EQB – Pricing

Mercedes hasn’t announced the price of the EQB, but we speculate it to start around $55,000. This puts it on par with its chief rivals, the Tesla Model Y and Audi Q4 e-Tron.

Conclusion

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that the EQB will cross the pond and come Stateside in 2022 as a 2023 model. The sales will start with the 300 and 350 trims, but a single motor option could be offered to bring down the starting price. The company has also said that the AMG versions of the EQ models will come in the future, but we aren’t sure if the EQB will be AMG-fied. For now, only the AMG EQS is confirmed, but we’ll surely see the EQE and the upcoming EQG being offered in the high-performance AMG models.