![]() ![]() GearJunkie took a flight over to Stuttgart, Germany, for a chance to take the luxury crossover for a first drive. ![]() It helps to have more products to choose from, like the all-new Mercedes-Benz EQB, an all-electric alternative to the automaker’s compact GLB. Sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped by nearly 70% during the first half of this year - and could climb even faster in the months to come. While gas prices might finally be settling down a bit, plenty of American motorists aren’t waiting for the next big surge. When you put in a destination, this system will take account of the amount of charge you have, the way in which your car and your driving style uses that charge, and other factors such as the weather and how hilly or flat your route is, and will automatically add in stop-offs at charging points to make sure you can complete your journey.We flew all the way to Germany to get some seat time in the new 2022 Mercedes EQB electric compact crossover and came away impressed. The EQA also gains a new function, the so-called Electric Intelligence add-on for the satnav. This features now-de-rigeur online connectivity, smartphone integration and digital instruments, as well as a cheery “Hey, Mercedes” digital voice assistant. The EQA gets the same MBUX electronic dashboard as the EQA, with its distinctive widescreen displays (which look rather as if an iPad has been stretched and distended out as far as it will go). Mercedes is also rolling out the styling tweaks for the EQA, with “rose gold” trim edging on the exterior, and for the high-priced Edition 1 version, perforated leather seats that reveal another layer of electric-blue material beneath. The EQA proves that, by using a tried-and-tested architecture, it is possible to achieve an excellent compromise between performance, costs and time to market.” “And for those for whom the issue of range is particularly important, our portfolio will in due course also include a special version of the EQA with a radius of more than 500km. And this is just the first model in a whole EQA family – according to Markus Schäfer, Mercedes’ head of research: “We will offer a whole family of EQA models, with output ranging from 140 through to more than 200kW, and with front-wheel as well as all-wheel drive. The EQA’s average electrical consumption is pegged at 15.7kWh/100km, which is impressive for a relatively tall vehicle, helped no doubt by a slippery 0.28 coefficient of drag figure and aerodynamic alloy wheels.Īcceleration from the 140kW electric motor (equivalent to 190hp) is brisk, with 100km/h coming up in 8.9 seconds. While the NGCC platform has been created with electrification in mind, there are compromises to be made.įrom its 66.5kWh battery, Mercedes claims that the EQA can stretch to 426km between recharges, which is broadly comparable with the Volkswagen ID.4 (albeit the ID.4 uses a slightly smaller battery to achieve similar performance). While rivals such as Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford’s incoming Mustang Mach-E use purpose-made, bespoke electric chassis, the EQA uses the same basic structure as the conventional GLA (a platform that Mercedes refers to as NGCC, or New Generation Compact Class). Well, obviously it’s a little more complex than that (indeed, Mercedes refers to the borrowing of EQC styling cues as “electro-aesthetics”) but the three-pointed star brand is potentially taking a risk by launching an all-electric model that shares so much with a petrol equivalent. All but inevitably, the second battery Merc is also an SUV, but this time a rather smaller one – it’s the EQA, based on the GLA.Įssentially, to create the GLA, Mercedes has ripped the petrol or diesel engine out of a conventional GLA, inserted a 140kW electric motor and a 66.5KWh battery pack and slapped the blanked-off grille from the EQC on to the front. Mercedes has launched its second all-electric model, following on from 2018’s EQC SUV. ![]()
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