Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 Facelift Long Term Review: Is An EV Worth A Buy?

This is the new EQB 350 which means it looks even better now with a star pattern blanked off grille at the front, new headlamps while it still has the boxy rear styling

The ride too is comfortable save for a bit of low speed firmness, but the silence plus the lack of any wind noise made it a sanctuary on the move! 

Source : Somnath Chatterjee

A lot of times, the question arises whether the fact that an electric car makes sense buying or not, especially if you have been driving petrol/diesel cars for years. That said, it does require a reset in how you approach a car with an EV. We had the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 with us for a month or so and we did a lot of kilometers to see whether an EV fits into your life or not. This is the new EQB 350 which means it looks even better now with a star pattern blanked off grille at the front, new headlamps while it still has the boxy rear styling. It is also not very big and that is one of the reasons we liked it because parking it was easy as was squeezing it through thick traffic.

EQB 350 range and performance 

Being an EV, range is important and here, the new EQB 350 has a 66.5 kWh battery capacity while the official range figure is 447km. We were pleasantly surprised that the range indicator was accurate and more or less showed the actual range. Which meant that typically we got around 380-400km. That was a mix of city driving with the eco mode on. Sport mode will reduce that figure. We also took the car across Chandigarh, where the range was also just below 400 odd km. 

The range typically is around 350-400km but a lot depends on how you drive plus the conditions. While being adequate, these days a figure of 500km real world is expected. However, the EQB 250 has a larger 70.5 kWh battery pack with more range but with less power. Speaking of which, the dual motor EQB 350 was quick and very fast. So much so that it runs upto triple digit speeds with ease thanks to the 288bhp/520Nm torque. Hence, it made overtaking a breeze and the instant power was so addictive that everytime I jumped into another car, I missed the power that this car had! The ride too is comfortable save for a bit of low speed firmness, but the silence plus the lack of any wind noise made it a sanctuary on the move! 

 

Mercedes-Benz EQB interior, space 

Of course, being a  Mercedes, you expect some things including an interior which makes you feel special and here, the cabin is top class even though it does not have the huge display of the more expensive Mercs. The touch controls on the steering wheel were a bit fiddly to use but voice control helped here. The interior also has an AMG touch while the excellent Burmester audio with 12 speakers provided good company. 

Other features which stood out included the augmented reality HUD and the intuitive voice control. The EQB also gets ADAS features but we have to reset our preferences every time we start the car! While heated seats were nice, we did miss cooled seats. Space was good and so was the rear seats thanks to the tall roofline. Boot space was decent. 

Verdict

We do think the EQB is a nice luxury EV which doubles up as a comfortable SUV while not being as big- which means it is easy to use. That said, we would have more range from the battery pack but that aside, the power, compact size and the luxury did impress us. Prices for the EQB 350 is around Rs 77 lakh.

What we like- Looks, quality, features, performance, handling, ground clearance 

What we do not like- More range required, missing some features like cooled seats