MERCEDES-BENZ EQB350

UP-SPEC 350 GAINS A SECOND MOTOR, BUT LOSES THIRD-ROW SEATING

- PETER ANDERSON

WHEN MERCEDES introduced the GLB in 2019, its exterior styling was definitely a form-following-function thing because, into this reasonably small footprint, the engineers had crammed seven seats.

The third row wasn't hugely usable, but sufficient for the rare time people needed it.

Switching out the internal combustion engine for an electric motor and a battery gave us the EQB250. Once again, that was a quirky-looking seven-seater with some changes to the exterior appearance to tell you it was electric.

Adding a second motor at the rear has resulted in this EQB350, but it also meant binning the third row in favour of extra propulsion. And a bigger price tag to go with all the extra AMG bling.

The EQB350, therefore, tops the two-car range at $106,700 before on-road costs, nearly $19K more than a seven-seat 250. Mercedes has not exactly skimped when it comes to standard spec, but the EQB equipment list does have some glaring omissions. The front seats might be very comfortable and warm on a cold day with their fancy heating, but you have to move them manually. The 10.25-inch MBUX screen is excellent, except Apple CarPlay is constrained into a small rectangle - unlike every other MBUX-equipped Merc I've seen.

You can tell the EQB and GLB apart by the former's full-width LED lighting strip at the front, blue badging and full-width LED lighting at the rear. It's subtle, even when rolling on 20-inch alloys.

Our test car had the Urban Guard protection pack ($1300), black leather upholstery ($1700), Burmester audio system ($1400) and 'climatised' front seats ($1200). Add to that the paint (Iridium silver, $1490) and you've got yourself a $114,090 (before ORC) five-seater, which is sailing perilously close to larger SUVs from Mercedes itself and its rivals.